150 Interesting Facts About Emeralds

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Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the Mohs scale. Most emeralds are highly included, so their toughness (resistance to breakage) is classified as generally poor. Emerald is a cyclosilicate.

Interesting Facts About Emeralds

The birthstone for the month of May.
Emeralds are made from the mineral beryl.
You can find emeralds in all types of rocks.
1500 BC is the first time emeralds were mined.
Today emeralds are found in over thirty countries.
The emerald is the birthstone for the month of May.
Every year around six tones of emeralds are produced.
The Bahia emerald was dug up in a small mine in Brazil.
In 1997 emeralds were discovered in the Yukon Territory.
There are emeralds believed to be 2.97 billion years old.
The most crucial factor for pricing an emerald is the color.
It was used for enhancing intuition and guarding memory loss.
The Aztecs and Incas of South America considered these gems holy.
The Spanish discovered emeralds in South America in the 16th century.
Emeralds get their dark bluish-green shade from vanadium or chromium.
It is the birthstone of someone whose birthday is in the month of May.
Historically, the most famous antique emerald mines were found in Egypt.
You can’t easily tell the difference between fake emeralds and real ones.
Christians in ancient times believed that Emeralds belonged to the devil.
High-quality emeralds are quite transparent and have a medium green shade.
Emerald is green variety of mineral beryl that is highly valued as a gemstone.

Amazing Facts About Emeralds

The green of the emerald has been taken as symbolic of spring and life itself.
People mostly want to get emeralds with perfection, which is a very rare find.
These stones were also believed to prevent memory loss and enhancing intuition.
Emerald’s quality is assessed with naked eyes without wearing any filming layers.
Emeralds are thought to enhance love and commitment while also promoting healing.
Cleopatra loved emeralds and they were considered to be one of her favorite stones.
The word emerald is derived from the Greek word 'smaragdus' which means 'green gem'.
Colombia has three primary emerald mining areas, which are- Muzo, Chivor, and Coscuez.
Because emeralds have a lower density, a 1 carat emerald is larger than a carat diamond.
Egypt was the first place that mined emeralds in 1500 BC, which is around 3,500 years ago.
Ancient folktales say that if you put an emerald below your tongue, you can see the future.
One carat of emerald is bigger than 1 carat diamond because emeralds have a lower density.
The origin of the name emeralds comes from the Greek ‘smaragdus’ which means, simply, green.
The lush green shade of the emerald symbolizes harmony, the joy of life, and love for nature.
In the United States, a couple's 55th wedding anniversary is celebrated with an emerald gift.
In Pompei, Italy, a beautiful emerald jewelry piece was found under the ash from Mt. Vesuvius.
High-quality emeralds are just right – not too dark and not too light, and also very transparent.

Economic Facts About Emeralds

Emerald encourages growth, reflection, peace and balance. It also represents healing and fertility.
Emeralds have high value in the market. Top-quality emeralds even cost more than diamonds per carat.
Harry Winston, an American jewelry company, bought an emerald for $5.5 million at an auction in 2017.
The Duke of Devonshire Emerald is cubical in shape. It’s sides are five centimeters long on each side.
The Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas assert that emeralds promise good luck and enhance well-being.
According to popular belief in ancient Egypt, emeralds could treat eye diseases and short-sightedness.
Trapiche is a very rare type of emerald. It has six dark pointed spokes which radiate from the center.
The emerald is often considered to be the gemstone for the Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer astrological signs.
An emerald's value is determined by four main factors including carat weight, color, cut, and its clarity.
Emeralds are made from Beryl, just like aquamarine and they get their green color from chromium and vanadium.
Ancient folklore suggested that putting an emerald under your tongue would make it possible to see the future.
Elizabeth Taylor once owned an emerald necklace that sold in 2011 for $6.5 million. It was more than 23 carats.
Rare and beautiful, emerald’s stunning green color has brought it an honored status amongst cultures worldwide.
Emeralds should not be cleaned in ultrasonic cleaners. You should rather clean it in warm water with your hands.
There is an emerald weighing 1,383.93 carats. It is called the Duke of Devonshire Emerald. It is an uncut emerald.

Historical Facts About Emeralds

In the United States emeralds have been found in South Carolina, North Carolina, Nevada, Connecticut, and Montana.
Emeralds are the birthstone of May. It is the traditional gift of the 20th, 35th, and 55th wedding anniversary in the U.S.
Colombia produces the largest number of emeralds in the world, contributing almost 50% of the world’s emerald production.
In 1935 synthetic emeralds were created for the first time. Rubies and sapphires had been synthetically created since 1907.
Emeralds often have many inclusions (imperfections) which makes them a weaker stone and more difficult to make into jewelry.
During the Spanish conquest of South America, vast quantities of emeralds were taken from several rich deposits in Colombia.
On the Mohs scale of hardness, emeralds stand between 7.5 to 8. On the scale, 0 stands for the softest and 10 for the hardest.
Emerald is the birthstone for May and is seen as the traditional gift for the 20th, 35th and 55th wedding anniversary in the US.
The second-largest producer of emeralds in the world is Zambia. It contributes 21% of the total emerald production in the world.
Cleopatra, the famous Egyptian queen, had a love for emeralds. Ancient Egyptians also believed that emeralds have healing powers.
An emerald's hardness is determined by the Mohs scale to be between 7.5 and 8. A diamond is 10 while turquoise is between 5 and 6.
Unlike diamonds which are priced more based on their flawlessness, emeralds are priced based on their original shape and roughness.
A one carat emerald will appear larger than a one carat diamond. This is because emeralds have a much lower density then diamonds do.
Typically, emeralds will be treated with an oil to help fill in any cracks and to help prevent any unintentional chipping or cracking.
Jaipur is the biggest emerald cutting center in the world. Columbia increased the production of emeralds up to 80% from 2001 to 2010.
While it’s the most common cut for emeralds, the rectangle is not the only shape for emeralds. They can be cut in a variety of shapes.

Unknown Facts About Emeralds

Emerald is one of the four members of the precious gemstone family. The other three from this circle are rubies, sapphire, and diamonds.
In order to help preserve an emerald and stop it from chipping or cracking they are often filled with a type of oil or with resin epoxy.
The deeper and richer the green, the more valuable the emerald. If the color is not lush enough, the stone is often classified as beryl.
The name emerald has its origin in the French word “Esmeralda.” The word goes back to the ancient Greek word “smaragdus,” which means green.
Emeralds without inclusions (imperfections) are rare and more difficult to find. These rare emeralds are also worth a lot more than diamonds.
Emeralds, like all colored gemstones, are graded using four basic parameters–the four Cs of connoisseurship: color, clarity, cut and carat weight.
In some cultures, the emerald is the traditional gift for the 55th wedding anniversary. It is also used as a 20th and 35th wedding anniversary stone.
Emeralds are made of beryl. This is also what makes the aquamarine gemstone, but emeralds get their color from small amounts of vanadium and chromium.
Like any other stone, emeralds have imperfections and inclusions. The dealers, however, prefer to refer to them as Jardin (the French word for garden).
It is one of only six types of precious gemstones found on planet earth, sharing prestigious company with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, opals, and pearls.
In the USA, emeralds were found in North and South Carolina, Nevada, Montana, and Connecticut. They were first discovered in 1997 in the Yukon Territory.
The Tabula Smaragdina, or The Emerald Tablet, was a tablet that presumably contained the secret to transmutation – the ultimate goal of the old alchemists.
Synthetic emeralds were created in 1935 by American chemist Carroll Chatham. This synthetic emerald stone is now up for display at the Smithsonian Institute.

Unique Facts About Emeralds for Kids

Emeralds are still used for relaxing and relieving eye strain. In ancient times emeralds were used to relax the eyes after an extended period of concentration.
The Spanish started trading emeralds across Asia and Europe for the exchange of other precious metals. This opened the emerald business for the rest of the world.
Elizabeth Taylor’s famous Bulgari emerald and diamond pendant necklace sold in auction for 6.5 million dollars in 2011. That equals out to about $280,000 per carat!
The word “emerald” is derived, from Vulgar Latin: esmaralda/esmaraldus, a variant of Latin smaragdus, which originated in Ancient Greek: σμάραγδος (smaragdos; “green gem”).
Today emerald, together with ruby and sapphire, form the “big three” of colored stones. The “big three” generate more economic activity than all other colored stones combined.
An emerald’s value is determined by four factors which are- its weight, cut, stone clarity, and color. Moreover, the cut given to an emerald determines the richness of the color.
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD), the Roman scholar, was the first to suggest emerald was a family member of beryl. It was not until the early 19th century that science proved him right.
The first known emerald mines were in Egypt, dating back as early as 330BC. Cleopatra was said to love emeralds so much that one of the most prominent mines in Egypt is named after her.
Whether a centerpiece of Russian crown jewels, part of a collection of the Iranian State Treasure, or a favorite of Indian Shahs, emeralds have long been associated with royalty and status.
Cleaning emeralds with an ultrasonic cleaner is a bad idea – what’s best is cleaning it by hand using warm water. You can also coat it with baby oil to prevent it from becoming too brittle.
Some of the most famous emeralds include the Chalk Emerald, Duke of Devonshire Emerald, Gachala Emerald, Mogul Mughal Emerald, Patricia Emerald, Bahia Emerald, and the Emerald of Saint Louis.
Synthetic emeralds were first created in 1935 by an American chemist by the name of Carroll Chatham. She successfully grew a one carat emerald that is now on display in the Smithsonian museum.
Duke of Devonshire Emerald is one of the largest emeralds in the world. This emerald weighs 227 grams which is about 1.383.93 carats. This will be the same as holding two oranges in your hands.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between a real emerald and a synthetic emerald, which makes it a commonly faked gemstone. They even put cracks in the fake ones to make them look real.

Mind-Blowing Facts About Emeralds

Columbia yields some of the finest emeralds in the world and is responsible for mining over 50% of all emerald production worldwide! The other two top countries they come from are Brazil and Zambia.
The color (hue) of Emeralds ranges from yellowish green to bluish green, with most Emeralds having a very slightly bluish green color. This color is very distinct and recognizable as “emerald green”.
Among the four gemstones- ruby, diamond, and sapphire, and emeralds, emeralds are the softest. They can break easily when pressure is applied, which is why keeping emeralds is more expensive than buying one.
The oldest emerald mines were discovered in 1818 in Egypt while the oldest emeralds in the world are thought to be around 2.97 billion years old. Carroll Chatham was the first to make a synthetic emerald in 1935.
The Bahia emerald is the biggest emerald in the world. It weighs about 341kg. It is actually a collection of shredded emeralds compiled together in a stone. The Bahia emerald is estimated to be over $400 million.
During the Medieval period, Christians attributed emeralds to Lucifer. It was said it was one of the precious stones in his crown. What’s more, stories about Holy Grail mention emeralds as a part of its décor, too.
Emeralds are quite expensive to set into jewelry. The reason behind this is that they are very susceptible to chipping. Emeralds are set at around a 7.5 to an 8 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, where as a diamond is graded at a 10.
Most emeralds will have some type of internal inclusion, usually quite visible to the naked eye. Naturally internally flawless emeralds are incredibly rare and can be worth quite a bit of money, sometimes even more then a diamond!
Emeralds were called stones of earth by the Aztecs of South America. Emeralds, because of their green shade, are also associated with fertility. Ancient Romans, too, believed that emeralds could cure infertility and birth complications.
The largest emerald in matrix was unearthed in Madagascar and measures 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) long, 78 cm (2 ft 6 in) wide, 55 cm (1 ft 8 in) high, and weighs 536 kg (1,181 lbs). It is currently displayed at BaoQu Tang Modern Art Gallery in Hong Kong.
The ancient Egyptians appear to have obtained emeralds from Upper Egypt, where it is said to have been worked as early as 2000 BC. Greek miners were working the mines in the time of Alexander the Great, and later the mines yielded their gems to Cleopatra.
Emeralds are found all over the world but Colombia is by far the world’s largest producer, constituting 50–95% of the world production, with the number depending on the year, source and grade. Zambia is the world’s second biggest producer and Brazil third.
One of rather interesting facts about emeralds is that they’re also commonly recognized as the gemstones of not one, but two (and sometimes three) wedding anniversaries and commonly gifted as a 20th, 35th, and even 55th wedding anniversary present in the USA.
Emeralds are mined all over the world, but the most famous mines are located in Columbia (more than 50% of the global amount). Where are emeralds found you may ask? Just follow the trail of quartz! They’re typically abundant in the vicinity of quartz deposits.
It’s recorded that Emperor Nero watched gladiators in ancient Rome with the help of a stone called ‘smaragdus’ – presumably, this was an emerald. Pliny, an ancient Roman naturalist, described the emerald in his Natural History with the words “nothing greens greener.”
Emeralds are said to help with truth-seeking – one story says that whoever puts it under their tongue will speak only the truth. As you can see, this stone has many mystic powers associated with it, but the most magical one definitely involves the belief that this gemstone helps the user foretell the future.
Ancients Romans often associated green stones to Venus, the goddess of love – emeralds included. Archeologists found some gorgeous emerald jewelry pieces in the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. It’s also known that Cleopatra loved emeralds so much that her passion for this lovely green stone was even documented.
Unlike diamonds, whose clarity is graded with the help of a magnifying glass, emeralds’ clarity is often assessed with the naked eye. When it comes to the rarity of emeralds vs. diamonds, emeralds are actually more than 20 times rarer than diamonds! Even though they’re rather rare, around 6 tons of emeralds get produced annually!
The most important factor that determines an emeralds value is its color. The most desirable color of emerald is a vivid green, or a blueish green with even saturation throughout and no color zoning. A very high-quality emerald is quite clear and isn’t too dark or too light. If an emerald is too light of a shade of green, some gemologists might not even consider it to be an emerald!
The largest uncut emerald weighs in at 1383.93 carats and is called The Duke of Devonshire Emerald. The largest emerald cluster that has ever been found is known as the Bahia Emerald. It weighs 752 pounds with an estimated price of incredible $400 million! The biggest amount someone paid for emerald was the necklace that belonged to Elizabeth Taylor with an emerald pendant that actually sold for $6.5 million in 2011.
Along with rubies, sapphires, and diamond, emerald is one of the four recognized precious stones. Emeralds have a lower density, which means that a 1-carat emerald will be more sizable than a 1-carat diamond. On the Mohs Scale of Hardness, emeralds fall around 7.5-8 mark. This means that they are durable but they’re still not chipping-prone. Actually, precisely because of their tendency to chip when being added to jewelry pieces, emeralds are some of the most expensive gemstones.
Some famous emeralds today include one of the most important and rather unique Indian artifacts known as the Moghul Emerald, which is a 217.80-carat gem of square shape with carvings on both of its sides. It dates back to 1695. There’s also Queen Elizabeth II’s Vladimir Tiara with striking emerald drops, which is reportedly her favorite and it’s rumored to have belonged to the Queen’s great-great-grandmother, Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, who supposedly won the gemstones in a charity lottery.
The green in the emerald comes from trace amounts of vanadium or chromium. The intensity of emerald’s green color has always been associated with nature and landscapes. This led to some interesting nicknames. For instance, Ireland is also called the Emerald Isle, Seattle is known as an Emerald City, and we even have the Emerald City in the popular fiction movie The Wizard of Oz. The Irish poet William Drennan first coined the term Emerald Isle as a nickname for Ireland in his poem When Erin First Rose.
Because of emerald’s high value, attempts were long made to manufacture it synthetically. These efforts finally met with success between 1934 and 1937, when a German patent was issued to cover its synthesis. Synthetic emeralds are currently manufactured in the United States by either a molten-flux process or a hydrothermal method; in the latter technique, aquamarine crystals are placed in a water solution at elevated temperature and pressure and used as a seed to produce emeralds. The crystals thus grown appear very similar to natural crystals and rival them in colour and beauty.
The symbolic meanings of emeralds today are inner wisdom, tranquility, insight to one’s self, attracting harmony, abundance and love, opening the heart chakra, connection with nature, growth, regeneration. Emeralds are also associated with creativity and inspiration, which is precisely why this has been a favorite gemstone for many an artistic soul. It’s said that if you and your partner plan to share your faithful I do’s soon enough, you might want to consider getting each other an emerald ring – the legend says that two lovers gifting an emerald to one another will enjoy everlasting love.
The Bahia Emerald is one of the largest emeralds and contains the largest single shard ever found. The stone, weighing approximately 341 kg (752 lb) (approximately 1,700,000 carats) originated from Bahia, Brazil and is emerald crystals embedded in host rock. It narrowly escaped flooding during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 during a period of storage in a warehouse in New Orleans. It was subsequently reported stolen in September 2008 from a secured vault in South El Monte in Los Angeles County, California. The stone has been valued at some $400 million, but the true value is unclear. At one point, the emerald was listed for sale on eBay for a “Buy It Now” price of $75 million.
There are many myths and stories associated with the emerald across the world. Aztecs had their own emerald meaning around 1200-1500 A.C. as they believed it to be the Stone of the Earth that improves fertility. South American lore doesn’t end there as ancient Incas also had an emerald-related legend, telling a story about giant emerald that was the size of a man’s head and greatly worshipped. The Mystic Johannes van Ruusbroec who lived more than 600 years ago though the emerald stone to represent Christ’s holy spirit, bringing hope, love, and faith to whoever might be wearing it. In Indian astrology, emerald was thought to have a strong connection to Mercury, which made it a lucky charm to the wearer. You might be surprised to hear about the existence of medical astrology, but in this particular field, emerald is considered to be an effective treatment for nervous disorders, skin issues, and speech impairments.

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