Emerald is a green variety of the beryl family.

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The word emerald comes from the Old French “Esmeralde”, derived from the Latin “smaragdus”. Since ancient times, the emerald has soothed souls and inspired the imagination with its lush green hue. The color green has intrigued people’s imaginations and minds since ancient times. Pliny the Elder described the emerald in his Natural History as “nothing greener”. He also described the use of the emerald by early lapidaries as a way to restore their vision by looking at it. Even today, the color green is associated with relieving eye fatigue and reducing stress.

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Emerald mining began in Egypt over 5,000 years ago. Cleopatra was also known for her emerald worship, with one of the most famous collections in her possession. At the time, she was also in possession of the emerald mines in Egypt, which later passed into the hands of the Romans after her death.

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Emeralds were part of the loot when 16th century Spanish explorers conquered the New World (present-day Colombia). The value of emeralds was recognized by European and Asian royalty through Spanish trade. Indeed, the Spanish valued gold and silver much more than precious stones, so they traded emeralds for precious metals.

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Color: The green color of the emerald is due to small amounts of chromium and in some cases vanadium, which gives it its characteristic green color.

Hardness: The emerald has a hardness of 7.50 to 8 on the Mohs scale. Most emeralds have a high degree of inclusions, so their resistance to breakage is generally classified as low.

Origin: Gem-quality emerald is found primarily in deposits in Colombia, Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Russia and Afghanistan.

Value: Emeralds, like all gemstones, are graded using four basic parameters known as the 4 Cs: color, clarity, cut and carat weight.
Typically, in gemstone grading, color is by far the most important criterion. However, in the grading of emeralds, clarity comes in second. A quality emerald must not only possess a pure green hue, but also a high degree of transparency to be considered a top-quality gem.