{"title":"March — Aquamarine","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe do not carry aquamarine yet, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.\u003c\/strong\u003e What follows are the stones we would wear in its place until we do.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAquamarine is beryl — the same mineral as emerald, coloured by iron instead of chromium. Sailors carried it because it was the colour of water they wanted to see. The March list has kept it since the list was written.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSky blue topaz sits closest to it: the same pale, cool, almost transparent blue. It is a different mineral and a different stone, and it is worth saying so plainly.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"sky-blue-topaz-ring","title":"Plain Speaking — Sky Blue Topaz Ring","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis blue did not exist before 1970.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTopaz has been carrying somebody else's name for two thousand years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePliny recorded a green stone from an island in the Red Sea called Topazios and the name attached. The island produced peridot. It has never produced topaz. Everyone worked this out eventually and nobody was willing to renumber the whole of Western mineralogy over it, so topaz kept a name it was never owed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor most of history topaz meant a golden stone. Imperial topaz, sherry-coloured, from Ouro Preto in Brazil — a town whose name means black gold, which is a coincidence I did not arrange.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow the honest part.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis blue did not exist before 1970.\u003c\/strong\u003e Natural blue topaz occurs, but it is pale and rare and almost none of it reaches a shop. Sky blue topaz is colourless topaz — abundant, cheap, entirely natural — that has been irradiated and then heated to bring the colour up. The process is fifty years old, standard across the industry, and regulated: irradiated gems are held until residual activity falls below legal limits before they can be sold. The colour is permanent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo this stone is natural, and this colour is ours. Both of those are true at once and I am not going to pick whichever one sells better.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA simple ring on purpose. One stone, a slim band, dark accent stones along the shoulder. Nothing to explain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e925 sterling silver. Made after you order it, up to twenty days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e£129 at launch, £139 after.\u003c\/strong\u003e The lowest price in the collection, and the one I expect to sell most, and it is not the one I would call the least serious.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMaterials\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNatural topaz — irradiated and heat-treated for colour, as is standard for blue topaz\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e925 sterling silver\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMade to order, up to 20 days\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTopaz has been worn for centuries as a stone of clear thinking. Some people feel something. Some don't. If you don't, it is still a very good blue.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Asi8","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49038645002410,"sku":"ASI8-TOP-008","price":139.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0719\/3313\/2970\/files\/p08a.jpg?v=1786491297"},{"product_id":"blue-topaz-drop-earrings","title":"Open Current — Sky Blue Topaz \u0026 Amethyst Drop Earrings","description":"\u003cp\u003eTwo clusters, one hanging from the other. Pear and oval sky blue topaz set against amethyst, with small nano sapphires closing the gaps — cool blue on top, violet cutting through it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe lower drop swings. That is the whole design: a fixed cluster at the lobe and a loose one beneath it, so the colour changes every time you turn your head.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMaterials\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSky blue topaz, 6 × 9 mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNatural amethyst, 4 × 4 mm and 4 × 6 mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNano sapphire and nano emerald accents\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eApprox. 28.5 mm drop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSolid 925 sterling silver\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eMade to order.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Asi8","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49045091418282,"sku":null,"price":139.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0719\/3313\/2970\/files\/36-1.jpg?v=1786612696"}],"url":"https:\/\/asieight.com\/collections\/march-birthstone.oembed","provider":"Asi8","version":"1.0","type":"link"}