March birthstones: aquamarine and bloodstone
March has two birthstones: aquamarine, a pale blue to blue-green gem, and bloodstone, a dark green stone flecked with red.
How to read it
Aquamarine is the blue to blue-green member of the beryl family, and its name comes from the Latin for seawater. Bloodstone, also called heliotrope, is an opaque dark green chalcedony with red spots of iron oxide.
Also searched as: aquamarine birthstone, birthstone for March, bloodstone birthstone.
Which is the March birthstone?
Both. On the 1912 list bloodstone was the March birthstone and aquamarine its alternate; GIA lists them together today.
More birthstones
Sources
- March Birthstones: Aquamarine and Bloodstone (GIA), Gemological Institute of America
- Birthstone Chart: Modern and Traditional Birthstones, International Gem Society
- The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, by George Frederick Kunz, 1913, J. B. Lippincott (Project Gutenberg edition)
Last reviewed September 27, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research