Emerald Gemstone Fun Facts

If you’re born in May, turn everyone green with envy because Emerald is your birthstone. If you are celebrating your 20^th, 35^th, or 55^th wedding anniversary, do consider enduring jewelry gifts of emeralds. You might have already guessed that the iconic green color of this gemstone which signifies spring and rebirth, makes it a perfect May birthstone. Now read on for a few interesting fun facts about this gorgeous green gemstone.

Emeralds abound

Emeralds are mined across the globe, making it among the most recognized stones in the world alongside rubies, diamonds, and sapphires. Emeralds usually are found alongside deposits of quartz gemstones. Colombia accounts for more than half of the world’s production of this gemstone.

Emeralds were first found in the Yukon Territory in North America as recently as 1997. Large emerald deposits continue to elude United States and Canada to this date.

 

Enviable Green

Emerald is a member of the beryl family like aquamarines, with chromium and vanadium lending the green shade to this stone.

Transparent emeralds with no inclusions are extremely rare, making the top quality flawless emerald sometimes more expensive than top quality diamond. Also a 1 carat emerald looks larger than a 1 carat diamond as emeralds have lower density.

Dealers refer to the natural inclusions in emerald as “jardin” – French word for garden! Cracks in emeralds are often filled with oil to hide them. Wash them with ultrasonic cleaners and you run the risk of washing off the oil and bringing the imperfections back into focus.

Historic Gemstone

The oldest emeralds are 2.97 billion years old but the first emeralds in recorded history were mined in Egypt in 1500 BC. Little wonder that emerald was Cleopatra’s favorite gemstone.

Ancient Incas knew about the existence of emerald deposits in Colombia but protected their secret even under duress and torture by the invading Spaniards. In the 16^th century, the Spaniards finally discovered the deposits in Chivor Colombia, quite by accident.

Emperor Nero wore emerald sunglasses to watch gladiators following Pliny’s advice that described the green gemstone as something that refreshes and restores sight by merely looking at it.

Ancient Moghuls of India wore emerald talismans engraved with religious texts. They also possessed the one of the largest emeralds with a total carat weight of 217.80 carats.

An emerald necklace owned by Elizabeth Taylor auctioned for $6.5 million in 2011. The buyer paid about $280,000 per carat to own this piece of history.

Emeralds Spin Folklore

Emeralds were believed to improve the owner’s intelligence. According to ancient folklore, an emerald under your tongue instantly makes you able to predict the future!

An emerald is a thing of pride for the owner and envy for others. So it’s no surprise that May born or not, most women covet emerald jewelry and this gemstone finds its way into jewelry boxes all over the world.