The Mogul Emerald; 271.80 carats
May’s birthstone is the vibrant Emerald, and it is an appropriate gem for this last month of spring. Its green color symbolizes life & recalls the colors of spring. Spring comes and goes each year, symbolizing rebirth and renewal. The intense color inspires harmony and illustrates love of nature. It is fresh & vivid – never monotonous.
The Vedas (the holy scriptures of the Indians) claim that emeralds are endowed with the promise of good luck and the power to enhance well-being – making them one of the Maharajahs’ favorite gems.
Emerald in the Rough
Emeralds are actually reasonably hard (7.5 – 8 on the MOHS scale), but hardness only relates to scratchability. Emerald’s reputation for being soft is actually due to its brittleness and its many fissures – which make cutting, setting, & cleaning rather difficult. The ‘Emerald Cut’ was developed to reduce the amount of pressure during cutting, as emeralds are sensitive to pressure due to their internal inclusions.
The Chalk Emerald Ring; 37.82 carats
Emeralds belong, like the light blue aquamarine, the tender pink morganite, the golden heliodor and the pale green beryl, to the large gemstone family of the beryls. Generally, the trace elements responsible for emerald’s color (vanadium & chromium) are concentrated in separate parts of the Earth’s crust from beryllium. Fortunately, intense tectonic processes allowed these contrasting elements to find each other and make this vibrant green gemstone. Due to emerald’s turbulent genesis, undisturbed large, flawless crystals are rare and more valuable than diamonds. Slight inclusions do not diminish value and the character they add actually make it more apparent that the stone is genuine. The fissures and inclusions found in emeralds are referred to as ‘jardin’ which is French for garden – as that is what they resemble – a tiny, private garden paradise.
The Crown of Cortez; 306 carats
Early gemstone merchants sought to purify the transparency of their emeralds by immersing them in clear oils or paraffin. They found that clear oils and waxes rendered surface fissures less visible to the eye. This method of enhancing emeralds continues today – which is why emeralds should never be cleaned in the ultrasonic! The chemicals in cleansers can strip away the oils and leave a dull appearance. Emeralds are also heat sensitive, and repairs to jewelry containing emeralds must be handled carefully by a professional who will either ‘heat sink’ the emerald (protect it by immersing it in water) or use a laser welder that can apply heat with pin-point precision.
Stop in today to see some unique examples of this beautiful gem!
