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Aquamarine, along with emerald, is a gemstone variety of the silicate mineral beryl. Its name meaning "sea water," aquamarine ranges in color from a sea-green to a sky-blue and generally forms large, somewhat clear crystals. In ancient times, aquamarine jewelry was thought to protect sailors. Larimar is a rare gemstone found only in an inaccessible region of the Dominican Republic overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The sky blue stone's name was coined by a Dominican, Miguel Méndez, who combined his daughter's name Larissa, with mar, the Spanish word for sea. Natural pearls are formed when an foreign object becomes trapped in the shell of an oyster or pearl and the animal surrounds the object with several mineral layers in order to protect its soft tissue. Most pearls sold today are farmed pearls, created by intentionally inserting small mother-of-pearl beads in the oyster's shell. The resulting pearls are harvested up to two years later. Pearls come in a range of pastel colors from cream to blue to pink, and irregularly shaped pearls are often called "baroque" pearls. Mabe pearls are hemispherical cultured pearls grown against the inside shell of an oyster rather than in the mollusk's body. Mabe pearls are typically used in settings such as that conceal their flat backs. Derived from "tapaz," the Sanskrit word for fire, topaz is one of the most brilliant cut gemstones in existence. Topaz comes in a variety of colors from yellow to blue, and deeper blues and pinks are often created by heat-treating stones. Brazil is the world's top exporter of topaz.
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