Emerald – Did you know?
Emerald is the green version of the mineral Beryl.Emerald is considered to be the talisman of the goddess Venus and it represents faith, goodness and kindness. They are traditionally thought to enhance the clairvoyance of their wearers.
The word “emerald”derived from the Greek word “smaragdos”, even if it might not seem so.Emerald was discovered ever since ancient times and was worn by royalty in Babylon and Egypt.The “healing powers” of emerald are believed to soothe strained and tired eyes, just by gazing at this splendid green gemstone.
Colombia in South America is the most famous and possibly the most important source for this high-quality gemstones. Emeralds are also known to be found in Siberia (Russia), U.S., North Carolina, India, South Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Brazil and the Sandawana area in Zimbabwe, known to have produced significant quantities of gems.Emeralds usually contain inclusions and other flaws, but they are appreciated very much even so; it’s very difficult to find an emerald bigger than one carat without inclusions.
The Egyptians were known to engrave Emeralds with the symbol for foliage to represent eternal youth, and to bury these jewels with their dead.A fine emerald can be sometimes more expensive than a high quality diamond of the same carat weight.Emerald hardness ranges from 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale.Even though emeralds are relatively hard stones, the presence of cracks and inclusions in emeralds can affect their durability.
Nearly all emeralds are treated with oils or epoxy resins to fill-in surface cracks, making the cracks less visible and improving transparency.Among all the gems to be copied and faked, emeralds are on the top of the list.They have been used to great effect when set beside diamonds and pearls in the Crown Jewels.
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