Emerald History

Legends gave emerald the power to make its wearer more intelligent and quick-witted. It was once believed to cure diseases like cholera and malaria. Its color reflects new spring growth, which makes perfect choice of a birthstone for the month of May. It's also the gemstone for twentieth and thirty-fifth wedding anniversaries.

History

Emeralds have one of the longest histories of all gemstones. The word emerald derives from the Greek word "smaragdos". Tools found at the entrance to ancient emerald mines in Egypt date back to the Rameses II era, about 1300 B.C. When the Spanish invaded South America, the conquistadors observed the native rulers wearing them. In 1537 the Spanish discovered the famous Chivor and Muzo mines, in what is now Colombia.

Because the rich green color of emerald is the color of spring, the ancients prized it as the gemstone symbolizing love and rebirth. Treasured for at least 4,000 years by different cultures all around the world, emerald is said to quicken the intelligence as well as the heart. Legend gives its owner the gift of eloquence.

Ancient emeralds were from mines in Egypt and perhaps what is now Afghanistan. But Spaniards arriving on the continent of South America were stunned to see emeralds finer and larger than any ever seen before. The Spaniards spent years searching for the source of the fantastic green stones favored by the Incas. They found it finally in what is today Colombia.

Hernando Cortes, the conquerer of Mexico, was carrying carved emeralds taken from the Aztecs in the shapes of fish and flowers and a carved emerald bell, and an emerald the size of a man's palm when he was shipwrecked. Many of the finest stones were lost forever. The Incas had an emerald goddess, a fabulous emerald the size of an ostrich egg. In tribute they sacrificed her children: smaller emeralds which were presented to the goddess. Treasure hunters seeking wrecks of Spanish galleons are occasionally rewarded with the ultimate treasure: emeralds lost by the conquistadores long ago.

Cleopatra prized her emeralds more than any other gem. She may have dropped her pearls in her wine for Mark Anthony but she kept her emeralds for herself! The ancient emerald mines of Cleopatra, long a mystery, were discovered again a hundred years ago near the Red Sea. Some tools found in the mine were dated at 1650 B.C. but no quality emeralds were found: the mines were exhausted thousands of years ago. Mummies in ancient Egypt were often buried with an emerald on their necks carved with the symbol for verdure, flourishing greenness, to symbolize eternal youth. Emeralds from what is now Colombia were part of the plunder when sixteenth-century Spanish explorers invaded the New World. The Indians had already been using emeralds in their jewelry and religious ceremonies for 500 years. The Spanish, who treasured gold and silver far more than gems, traded emeralds for precious metals. Their trades opened the eyes of European and Asian royalty to emerald's majesty.

Emerald is often mined and sold under peril - the natural resource Colombians cherish is also coveted by underworld drug traders. The availability of fine-quality emerald is limited, and emerald was plagued in the late 1990s by negative publicity about treatments commonly used to improve its clarity.

The Romans also loved emeralds because, as ancient scholar Pliny said, "nothing greens greener." Pliny said that emerald was the only gem that delighted the eye without fatiguing it. He said his eyes were restored when gazing at emerald. Emperor Nero wore emerald sunglasses to watch the gladiators.

One legend says that Satan lost the emerald from his crown when he fell. The emerald was shaped into a bowl that the Queen of Sheba sent to Nicodemus. Christ used the bowl at the last supper and Joseph of Arimathea used the bowl to catch blood from the cross, founding the order of the Holy Grail.

The Moguls of India, including Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, loved emeralds so much they inscribed them with sacred text and wore them as talismans. Some of these sacred stones, called Mogul emeralds, can still be seen in museums and collections today.

Emerald is the birthstone for May, the month of springtime romance, and the anniversary gemstone for the twentieth and thirty-fifth year of marriage.

Gemology

The emerald is a gem that was not meant to be. Exceptional geological circumstances are required to form this gem. Emeralds are composed of two elements that rarely come together. Beryllium is found at a depth of eight to ten kilometres in the earth while chromium is found much deeper between 40 and 50 kilometres. They are brought together through the right geological conditions resulting network of inclusions in the depth of the emerald that the French call the "jardin," or "garden," because it resembles foliage. The inclusions are like a fingerprint, giving each emerald a distinct personality. The extreme rarity of transparent emerald is why emeralds can be more valuable than diamonds.

Emerald is a beryl, a mineral that is normally colorless. Emerald's rich green color is caused by minute traces of chromium. Chromium is the rare Midas element of gemstones: its presence also gives rubies their fiery redness. Crystals of emerald grew long before human history in metamorphic rocks, which usually restricts the size of emerald crystals, making them even rarer in large sizes.

As a member of the beryl family, emerald shares its common physical properties such as good durability, hardness (8), but moderate to high brilliance and moderate luster. Emeralds typically contain minute fissures and fluid and mineral inclusions, called "jardin" (or garden), as the inclusions resemble leaves and branches. Some emeralds are found with very few fissures or inclusions but these are few and far between and consequently expensive.

Most emeralds occur in mica schist, hence the predominance of black, mica inclusions. However the Colombian emeralds are formed in vugs in calcite and quartz veins. Colombia is the world's largest producer of high quality emeralds. Brazil is the world's largest producer of commercial quality gems. Zambia and Russia are also significant producers of fine quality and commercial gems. Canadian emeralds are of similar quality to Colombian sources.

Color and clarity are the most important considerations when evaluating emerald. A rich velvety green, uniform throughout the stone, is the best color. Skillful cutting is important as this minimizes the prominence of flaws. Almost all emeralds are oiled to help hide minute fissures. Oiling with a colored fluid, to improve the color, is considered fraudulent treatment.

Brazilian stones have a secondary yellow color and Colombian and African stones have a more bluish secondary color to them. The Canadian emeralds are bluish-green.

Sources

Colombia is one of the largest commercial producers of emerald. Fine Colombian emeralds are highly regarded for their excellent color. Zambia is also a commercial source of emeralds with good clarity. Other sources include Afghanistan, Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, and Zimbabwe.

Emerald Fact Sheet

CREDIT:  http://www.truenorthgems.com

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