Gems from the Emerald City

Emerald, this green gemstone is known as the birthstone for May.  There are as many shades of green for emeralds as there are for the old Emerald Isle of Erin. 

Scientifically speaking, color is divided into three components: hue, saturation and tone. Yellow and blue, the hues found adjacent to green on the spectral color wheel, are the normal secondary hues found in emerald. Emeralds occur in hues ranging from yellowish green to bluish green. The primary hue must, of course, be green. Only gems that are medium to dark in tone are considered emerald. Light toned gems are known by the species name, green beryl. In addition, the hue must be bright (vivid). Gray is the normal saturation modifier or mask found in emerald. A grayish green hue is a dull green hue.

The name 'emerald' is believed to have originated with the Greek word smaragdos meaning 'green',  possibly of Persian origin. The word went through various etymological changes eventually becoming the Middle English emeraude and eventually emerald.

The oldest known emerald finds were once made near the Red Sea in Egypt. Those gemstone mines, already exploited by Egyptian pharaohs between 3000 and 1500 B.C. and later referred to as 'Cleopatra's Mines', had already been exhausted by the time they were rediscovered in the early 19th century.

Most of today's emerald production is in South America with Africa second. Colombian emeralds are particularly well known. Provenance on the ring above right shows that it is from Columbia and is an exceptionally fine stone. Emeralds come from three main emerald mining areas in Colombia: Muzo, Coscuez, and Chivor.  Emeralds are also found in other countries,  Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Somaliland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In the US, emeralds have been found in Connecticut, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina and South Carolina.  In 1998 emeralds were discovered in the Yukon.

Emerald has been sought after since ancient times and it is said that Cleopatra had an emerald engraved with her portrait. Ancients associated Emerald with the Greek goddess Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, it and was said to protect lovers from unfaithfulness. If the heart was loyal, the gem would glow in a beautiful green color, but if the heart was went astray, it would turn a different, lifeless color. In addition, it was believed that wearing an Emerald would improve one’s memory and intelligence, enabling one to think clearly about the past, present, and future.

The Incas and Aztecs of South America, where the best emeralds are still found today, regarded the emerald as a holy gemstone.

A Roman legend tells of a king whose only fortune was a single magnificent emerald, which he threw into the sea as a sacrifice to gains the gods' favours. The next day, the emerald was found again in the stomach of a fish that had been served at the king's table. Later on the latter became Emperor Augustus and encased the miraculous stone at the foot of the altar dedicated to the goddess of Concord.

In the Christian tradition, a bowl shaped emerald fell from Lucifer's helmet during his battle with Archangel Michael. That bowl was later used by Christ at the last supper, and Joseph of Arimathea caught Christ’s blood dripping from the cross in that bowl, founding the order of the Holy Grail.

Since as far back as there is evidence of emeralds, there has been evidence of its healing powers. Some said emeralds would heal if simply worn, others said gaining help required gazing deeply into the green for a while. In every language, there are reports of the emerald helping eyesight. The Sumerians said that if an emerald was worn in a ring on the little finger of the left hand, it would cure inflammation of the eyes. During the time of Hippocrates, emeralds were crushed into a fine powder and made into an eye lotion.

Emerald tends to have numerous inclusions and surface breaking fissures.  Emerald is graded by eye. Thus, if an emerald has no visible inclusions to the eye it is considered flawless. Stones that lack surface breaking fissures are extremely rare and therefore almost all emeralds are treated, 'oiled', to enhance the clarity as part of the post lapidary process. Cedar oil, having a similar refractive index, is often used in this traditional practice. Other liquids, including synthetic oils and polymers with refractive indexes close to that of emerald such as Opticon are also used.  Because of the oiling process, it is not recommended to have your emerald jewelry steam cleaned.

*

Please visit our Ebay store to view more photos of these beautiful jewelry items we have for sale.  The link is in the right hand column.  You can also become a fan and follow us on Facebook, again the link is on the right.