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Emerald: Gem of Eternal SpringMythology & Lore: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. 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. One legend says that Satan lost the emerald from his crown when he fell. The emerald was shaped into a bowl which 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. How Green is Your Garden?>What is the source of the timeless appeal of emerald? Today scientists tell us that the human eye is more sensitive to the color green than to any other. Perhaps that is why green is so soothing to the eye, and why the color green seems to complement every other color: think of the beauty of a garden. 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 firey redness. The Treasures of the Incas and AztecsAncient 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: Chivor, Coscuez, and Muzo, the richest emerald mines in the planet and still the source of the finest stones today. Hernando Cortes, the conqueror 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. Choosing an EmeraldToday, emeralds from Colombia are easier to obtain: they are as close as the nearest jewelry store. They are prized for a vivid saturated green like a lawn of new grass after a rain. This color is so prized that visible inclusions are accepted in these emeralds in return for the incomparable color. Emerald connoisseurs today are lucky because a relatively new find in Zambia has made emeralds much more available on the market today. Long thought of as a producer of lower quality emerald, Brazil today now produces fine emeralds that rival those of its famous neighbor. A mine called Nova Era has produced some top gem quality emeralds that are changing Brazil's reputation. Brazil now produces more emeralds than any other country. Zimbabwe's famous Sandawana mine is known for producing top quality emeralds in small sizes. Other potentially important producers of emerald are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Russia. Emeralds are cut in Jaipur, India and Tel-Aviv, Israel as well as in the mining countries. Emerald is one of the most difficult gemstones to cut because of the high value of the rough stone and the many inclusions found in crystals. Small changes in orientation can make a large difference in the final appearance of the gem. When choosing an emerald, the most important value factor to consider is color. The more vivid the green, the more valuable the emerald. Because emeralds are so rare without inclusions, some inclusions are expected and do not detract from the value of the stone as much as with other gemstones. However, you should look to make sure that fissures and inclusions do not go too deep into the stone so that it might be weakened enough to break if it were hit accidentally. Specifications:
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