The rich green emerald holds within it the promise of new life in springtime. How appropriate that it should also be considered the May birthstone.
Long ago the emerald was dedicated to Venus, the goddess of love. Lovers were told that this gemstone could reveal the faithfulness of their beloved. Faithfulness was reflected in a fresh, bright green color; a cheating heart was betrayed by a lifeless color.
Emeralds have always been highly prized by royalty. Cleopatra, queen of Egypt wore emeralds from her mine in Upper Egypt. Emeralds are heavily represented in the Russian Crown Jewels from the time of the czars. The Emperor Nero is said to have gazed through a large emerald to soothe his eyes as he watched the gladiator games in the Coliseum.
The ancients prized the emerald highly and believed it held many powers. They felt it could endow the wearer with the ability to think clearly in the past, present and future. It was supposed to improve one's memory, promote eloquent speech, quicken intelligence and endow the ability to foretell the future. It was also believed to promote honesty and frugality. Powdered and taken as a medicine, it was considered a preventative of epilepsy and other serious disorders.
Like many other gems, emerald had to share its earliest fame with other green gems which had not yet been recognized for their uniqueness. Also called emerald by the ancient Romans were green sapphire, turquoise, smithsonite, malachite, jasper and glass. According to the historian Pliny, the Romans believed that emeralds ripened into their color, so gems with light patches or consistent paleness were considered immature.
The emerald's exciting color has always been its lure. Even uncut, unpolished crystals are immediately recognized as something special. Indeed, when evaluating emeralds, color is the most important quality factor. Included crystals and cavities are not a hindrance unless they weaken the stone or cause it to appear cloudy or muddy. In fact, emerald inclusions often create a graceful, branch-like pattern known as a "jardin" (French for "garden").
Colombia, South America has always been the source of the finest emeralds. When the Spaniards conquered the Incas in the early 16th century, they stole all the emeralds they could find. However, the Incas refused to reveal the source of these coveted gems, and fortunately, the jungle quickly grew over the paths to the mines. The precious treasure was safe from the plunderers---at least temporarily. In 1555 one of the mines of Muzo was discovered by accident, and the Spanish began mining.
Colombian emeralds are a relatively clear pure green, slightly yellowish-green or slightly bluish-green. The only neighboring country to Columbia that is important as an emerald source is Brazil. Other sources are the African countries of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The two most famous emeralds are the Devonshire and the Patricia. The Devonshire is a 1383.95-carat, uncut Colombian crystal of fine green color. It was given to the sixth Duke of Devonshire by Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil in 1831. It is on permanent loan to the British Museum of Natural History. The 630-carat Patricia Emerald is another crystal of fine color that resides in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Synthetic emeralds first became commercially available in the 1940's. This was a tremendous technological improvement over the imitations which had been substituting for emeralds for generations. The synthetic is physically, optically and chemically identical to the natural gemstone. It is the result of the scientist's attempt to duplicate nature's processes in the laboratory.
The most popular cut for emeralds is a rectangular step cut. As a matter of fact, this cut is so widely used, the cut itself is often called the emerald cut. It is preferred because it shows fine color to the best advantage.
Emeralds are used in a wide range of jewelry styles from dainty pinkie rings to the most extravagant emerald and diamond necklaces. Quality and prices vary just as much. Emeralds are popular as center stones in rings, earrings and pendants, either encircled or offset by diamonds. Small emeralds are often combined with diamonds in cluster rings or pins or set into an anniversary ring. They are sometimes carved into exciting ring stones or pendants.
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