May's birthstone - Emerald

Author - Clare Blatherwick
Emerald Birthstone 1

As it happens I have just been playing with ideas for this lovely pair of pear-cut emeralds and given emerald is traditionally celebrated as the birthstone for May I thought it might be fun to give you a few facts about these incredible green gemstones…

Did you know that emerald is the only gemstone with a cut named after it? The emerald-cut was designed to maximise the colour of the stone whilst also protecting the corners of the emerald against damage.

Emerald is part of the beryl family which also counts aquamarine and morganite amongst its members.

The ancient Egyptians believed emeralds to be symbolic of life and fertility.

Emeralds are found in several countries including Columbia, Zambia, Brazil and Zimbabwe.

The natural features commonly found in emerald is referred to as the ‘jardin’.

It is quite a brittle stone and should be worn with care – no rock climbing in an emerald ring!

Some famous emeralds include the Hooker emerald which weighs in at 75.47cts and the 34.40cts Stotesbury emerald which was once part of the collection of Evalyn Walsh McLean who also owned the Hope Diamond. Other emeralds of note are those set in the Topkapi Palace dagger and those set by Cartier in jewels owned by Marjorie Merriwether Post now on display at The Smithsonian Insitution in Washington D.C.

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