As we spring in to March, Hancocks London is delighted to share its Jewel of the Month: a stunning aquamarine, ruby and diamond cocktail ring. Designed by Hancocks, it is one of the latest new additions to its curated collection of the finest jewels and gemstones.
Many March birthdays will fall under the star sign Pisces, one of the water signs of the zodiac which is symbolised by two fish, this makes a watery aquamarine all the more relevant and meaningful for those born this month.
The ring is centred with a wonderful emerald-cut aqua-marine weighing 14.17cts, corner-claw set in platinum, its scooped gallery is embellished with round brilliant diamonds. Each shoulder is set with a tapered baguette ruby in bezel setting surrounded by a frame of round brilliant diamonds set flush to the tapering platinum band. Guy Burton, Director of Hancocks, comments: “As we come out of lockdown, we felt this ring was an apt choice for our Jewel of the Month as it evokes thoughts of cool blue waters, warm sunny days and blue blue skies, dreams of summer and carefree days. Just what we all need right now. “The combination of two primary colours in this ring – cool blue aquamarine with rich, red ruby – is striking and unusual and is perfectly complimented by the bright sparkle of white diamonds. It’s simply a fabulous ring. “Aquamarine is a stone beloved by royalty including our own Queen Elizabeth II who has a truly magnificent aquamarine parure that she wears regularly. The necklace and earrings were a coronation gift from the president and people of Brazil in 1953 and the Queen loved them so much she had a tiara made to go with them. On learning just how thrilled she was with the gift, the government of Brazil later gifted her with a matching aquamarine bracelet and brooch making a truly beautiful suite of jewels.”
Aquamarine occurs naturally in a range of shades from pale bluish-green through to a strong mid blue and belongs to a family of gemstones called Beryl. Its spotlight stealing big sister is emerald and its lesser known but still beautiful siblings include pink morganite and yellow heliodor. Legend has it that Aquamarine (the name is derived from the Latin for ‘water’ and ‘of the sea’) was the treasure of Mermaids and was carried by sailors or worn as an amulet as they believed it could calm waves, keeping them and their ships safe. On land it can be found in countries such as Mozambique, Madagascar and Brazil where an incredible crystal was discovered in the 1980s weighing about 225,000 carats. After cutting it was named the Dom Pedro and today it is the largest cut aquamarine in the world at 10,363 carats.