The emerald is probably the most rare of all precious stones
and is considered by some to be even more valuable than the
diamond. Compared with other precious stones the emerald in its
occurrence in nature is unique, for it is found in the rock in
which it was formed. Unlike diamonds, sapphires and rubies, it
never occurs in gem gravels. The earliest known locality where
emeralds were found was in Upper Egypt near the coast of the Red
Sea. The best stones, however, are found in Columbia, South
America. Fine specimens have also been found in the United
States in North Carolina.
While the usual shade of color seen in emeralds is alluded to as
emerald green, there are other shades, such as grass green, sea
green and green slightly tinged with yellow. The shades most
highly valued are those of an intense fresh green sometimes
compared with that seen in a meadow in spring.
Beryl is a mineral known to gem lovers under several different
names, the most valued of which is the Emerald. The mineral
beryl composing the various gems is practically the same in
composition, hardness, and other properties, and the gems may be
differentiated only by their color. In composition beryl is a
silicate of aluminum and glucinum. On the scale of hardness
beryl is graded 7 ½ to 8, and is thus much softer than the
diamond, ruby, or sapphire. It is owing to this fact that the
emerald scratches easily and that care must be taken that when
worn it is not subject to chafing by diamonds or other harder
gems.
Beryl as a mineral is of quite common occurrence, and the
crystals of the mineral in its cruder form often grow to
enormous size. There is one such single crystal preserved in the
Boston Museum of Natural History, which is three and one half
feet long and three feet wide and weighs several tons.
Beryl in this common form occurs in many localities, but the
mineral in its rarer form of emerald is comparatively of very
rare occurrence. The emerald or green beryl, as it should be
scientifically known, has long been the most highly prized of
the green gems. In brilliancy it exceeds all other green gems
excepting only the very rare green sapphire. The most valuable
specimens exhibit a vivid grass-green shade, and it is to this
color that they owe their great value. Other considerations,
such as freedom from imperfections, are quite secondary in
determining the value of the stone. In fact a perfect emerald is
almost never found, and this circumstance has passed into an
Eastern simile which runs, “As scarce as a perfect emerald,”
this being a symbol for the acme of rarity. The emerald is light
in weight and an emerald of a given size will be about a third
larger than a diamond and forty-five per cent larger than a
sapphire of equal weight. The distinctive color of the emerald
is probably due to a trace of chromium in its composition.
Fine emeralds are generally cut cushion shape with step cutting,
and in the East are often cut cabochon. Fine emeralds have
advanced very rapidly during the last few years, both on account
of the growing demand of fashion for the gems and the scarcity
of really fine specimens.
Many curious legends of gigantic emeralds have been handed down
to us, principally culled from the narratives of early
travelers, who thought every transparent green stone they saw to
be an emerald.
The ancients valued the emerald highly, not alone for its
beauty, but for its supposed occult properties and its marvelous
power of healing all diseases of the eye—they also believed that
if the eyes of a serpent met the gleam of the emerald, it
immediately became blind. Moore alludes to this superstition in
the lines:
Blinded like serpents when they gaze Upon the emerald’s virgin
blaze.
The Emperor Nero, who was shortsighted, had an eye-glass formed
of an emerald, through which he gazed and gloated over the cruel
sports of the arena.
Many interesting stories are told of the first emeralds taken by
the early conquerors of Peru to Spain, and a certain Joseph D’
Acosta is said to have returned to Spain in 1587 with two chests
of emeralds, each of which weighed over one hundred pounds. The
truth of this story may be questioned, but it is a fact that the
stones were highly prized and much used by the Incas and Aztecs
in the extraordinary civilization which once existed in Peru.
The emerald was highly prized by the ancients and by gem lovers
of the middle ages, and this accounts for many interesting
legends and superstitions relating to the gem.
As for today, the emerald is still very highly valued as one of
the most precious stones. The emerald is May’s birthstone and is
a favorite stone for fine jewelry craftsmen throughout the
world.