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The Emerald Gemstone is a variety of the mineral Beryl and is a
beautiful strong velvety green in colour, although more recently a
bluish green seems to be the most desired.
Beryl is colourless in it's purest form, but the presence of chromium
and vanadium is what gives this flawed but fabulous Gemstone it's
rich colouring. Emerald is the birthstone for the month of May and is
also the anniversary Gemstone used to celebrate the twentieth and
thirty-fifth years of marriage. Best sources of Emerald are mined in
Brazil, Colombia and Zambia but can also be found in Australia,
India, Pakistan as well as Russia, South Africa and the United States.
The Emerald Gemstone is a very precious jewel indeed and by weight is
the most valuable Gemstone in the world, it's rarity prompting the
development of synthetic Emeralds.
This beautiful green Gemstone is one of the oldest known to mankind
and has been used in Jewelry for hundreds of years. The ideal Emerald
should be highly transparent with a good even colour, clarity is
important but overall the colouring of the Gemstone is the key
factor. Emerald Gemstones will usually be found with cracks and
fissures and it is normal practice to treat these flaws with oil,
most commonly cedar oil is used as it has a similar refractive index
and helps to show off and disperse the stones rich vibrant colour.
Some Emeralds are filled using a heat and vacuum technology, this
involves using epoxy resin, which becomes part of the stone and helps
to hide the natural flaws the stone possesses. A lot of Emerald from
Brazil and Colombia is treated this way but Gemstones from Zambia are
not normally subjected to filling, almost all stones however are oiled.
This dazzling green stone was mined for thousands of years by the
ancient pharaohs with the most famous being Cleopatra who had a vast
collection of Emeralds, the Cleopatra mines in Egypt was probably the
source of a large amount of historical Emerald but the mines have
been depleted for many years now. At present probably the finest
specimens come from Colombia as they are normally a nice pure green
with a touch of blue, Brazilian stones are a little lighter in colour
and can seem to appear cloudy but they usually do not have so many
inclusions, Emeralds from Zambia are a deep lush green with very good clarity.
Because of the natural flaws of the Emerald it has been given it's
own unique cut, usually rectangular with the corners beveled so as to
prevent the flaws from splintering the jewel, although the stone is
quite hard it prevents accidental damage by chipping the corner of
the gem if you were to knock it. This cut also shows off the Emeralds
beautiful colouring perfectly.
The Emerald Gemstone is said to make the wearer full of love, and
that if a man and a woman present each other with an Emerald Ring
their love will grow and become permanent.
Venus the goddess of love is said to have been totally captivated by
the Emerald.
It is believed that if Emerald is tied around a lady's waist during
childbirth, that the delivery will be normal and painless. Legend and
lore states that the green gem destroys black magic and assists in
predicting the future, wearing the stone is also said to aid health
and immunity as well as increase the ability to concentrate and focus
the mind.
Emerald is also believed to help in career opportunities and increase
wealth and social staure. Placing a real Emerald on your eyes gives a
cool feeling, if the gem was imitation it would warm quickly.
Although Emerald has a hardness of 7.5-8 on the Moh scale this can
vary depending on the inclusions in the Gemstone, as the stone is
quite brittle care should be taken with your Emerald Ring, try to
select designs that border the stone fully and offer the Gemstone as
much protection as possible, this is even more important with rings.
A soft cloth and very mild soap and water are the best way to clean
Emerald or better still, have it done professionally and do not ever
use a ultra sonic cleaner as this de-greases the Gemstone and will
dull the colour and have adverse effects on any treatments your
Emerald has received.
When buying Emerald Jewelry of course it is important to be sensible
and go by your budget but the larger the stone you can buy the better
the gem will show off its fantastic colour.
The Emerald is one of the few Gemstones that look beautiful in both
white and yellow gold emerald rings.
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