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Emerald
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Emerald - Gem of Love and Life Emerald,
a gem of beautiful, deep green color is associated with Thursday and is the
birthstone of May. Its name is derived from the French word “esmeraude”, which
in turn comes from a Greek word “smaragdos”, or simply a “green gemstone”. Symbolizing
the eternally returning spring, this gemstone celebrates all of life and
living, and is linked with eternal love, beauty, and rebirth. It is
traditionally given on the 35th and 55th marriage
anniversaries. The
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. It was known
that Emerald was a favorite gem of Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, and the Emerald
mine in Upper Egypt, rediscovered a hundred years ago near the Red Sea, was one
of the earliest Emerald occurrences in the human history. Emperor Nero was said
to wear glasses made of Emerald to soothe his eyes during gladiator fights. Emeralds
also adorned Russian crown jewels. The Irani State Treasure contains an
exquisite collection of Emeralds, as well as the Emerald tiara of ex-Empress
Farah. Shah Jahan, one of the moguls of India that built the Taj Mahal, loved
Emeralds so much that he had sacred texts inscribed into them and used these
gemstones as talismans. The ancient writings of Veda, the sacred text of
Hinduism, testifies to Emerald as being the “gem of good luck” and the “gem
that improves one’s well-being”. These “Mogul Emeralds”, as they are known
today, can be found in modern museums and collections. Emerald
plays a vital role in religion, as well. Green is the holy color of Islam, and
the states belonging to the Arab world possess green banners symbolizing the
unity of Islam. In the Catholic Church, green has a special meaning as well, since
it has always been considered the most natural and elementary color in liturgy.
Some say that an Emerald in a shape of a bowl fell off the Satan’s crown. 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. In the
olden days, Emerald was mined in the Middle East, mostly in Egypt and in what
is now Afghanistan. However, the Spanish explorers also found an abundance of
exquisite Emeralds when they arrived in the South American continent that the
local Aztecs worshipped as holy. After years of searching for the source of
these extraordinary fine-quality stones, a favorite of the Inca, the Spaniards
found them to be in modern day Colombia. Legend
has it that Hernando Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico,
tried to bring huge chunks of Emerald that he took from the Aztecs back
home with him. However, one of his ships was shipwrecked, and delicately carved
Emeralds in the shape of flowers and fish and other rare Emeralds, including an
Emerald the size of a man’s palm, became lost forever. Today, the finest
quality Emerald continues to come from Colombia, and other sources include
Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The
Romans once considered light-colored Emeralds to be unripe, and believed that
an Emerald becomes a darker shade of green as it matures. However, it is now known
that an Emerald comes in many different shades of green, however, the more
dramatic the green, the more valuable the Emerald. It is very rare for Emeralds
to come free of inclusions, therefore minor inclusions are expected and do not
take away from the brilliance and the value of the stone as much as other
gemstones. In fact, Emeralds with tiny inclusions, resembling branches, are
frequently known as a “Jardin”, or a “Garden”. Emerald is considered to be one of the most difficult gemstones to cut because of its brittle structure and the many inclusions found in crystals. Emerald is cut in many shapes, however the cut that seems to work best with Emerald is the “Emerald-cut”, or that of a rectangle. It ensures that the gemstone is cut with minimum imperfections and preserves the natural beauty of the stone. A good-sized Emerald can easily be more expensive than an equal-sized diamond, making Emerald one of the rarest and most beautiful gemstones found in Nature. |