As the hot summer heat begins to take over Arizona, the lush green tones of May’s gorgeous birthstone, emerald, are sure to cool you down! While many tend to quickly fall in love with emerald for its gorgeous color and beautiful cuts, emerald has an amazing lore, unique powers, and astonishing background that most are unaware of. Read on to discover more about this lovely gemstone and all of its history!
Emeralds were first found in Egypt in 1500 BC. The gorgeous green stone became quickly loved and known by many. Queen Cleopatra had a strong passion for emeralds, in fact, it is said that during her time ruling over Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra claimed an Emerald mine just 15 miles west of the red sea. Today, emeralds are found all over the world, from Colombia to Brazil to Zambania. Fun fact, the world’s largest emerald was discovered in Zambia, weighing a whopping 5,655 carats. This amazing jewel is valued at almost 400 million U.S. dollars!
Emerald is included in the “big three” of precious gemstones, the other two being ruby and sapphire. For years, “the big three” have remained the most popular and admired colorful gemstones in the world. Compared to other green gems such as tourmaline and peridot, emerald is always associated with richness and wealth, typically making it the favorite of the world’s green gemstones. Emeralds are very rare, in fact, they are often more rare than diamonds! To determine an emerald's value, four factors, also called the four c’s, must be considered: carat, cut, color, and clarity. The most important of these is color, as an emeralds rich green shade is what truly defines it. Emeralds have a hardness of 7.5 to 8, which is a very strong hardness, which is ideal for making jewelry. However, emerald gemstones tend to have many inclusions, which can sometimes cause them to be delicate and brittle. Due to these attributes, emerald jewelry is better to wear on special occasions rather than daily, making it all the more valuable.
Besides its amazing history, emerald is also said to have plenty of astonishing powers and healing properties. Emeralds are known as the “Stone of Successful Love”! They are said to bring joy, romance, communication, and emotional healing to any relationship. According to some legends, an emerald will lose it’s beautiful color if a love is untrue! Their positive attributes remove any and all negative emotions from one's life, including worry, stress, anger, and shame.
Overall, emeralds are amazing gemstones that have so much valuable history and attributes to them. Their glorious green color is a perfect reminder of May and the last taste of spring before the heat takes over the desert this summer. Celebrate the last month of spring with a gorgeous piece of emerald jewelry!
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