Gemstones - Background and Lore - Emerald

The emerald's lush green has soothed souls and excited imaginations for a long time. It's name comes from the Greek word for green, "smaragdus". It was said to be good for the eyes as it is so soothing to look at. The first emeralds were mined in Egypt dating back to 330 B.C. Cleopatra was known to have a passion for emeralds and used them in her royal adornments. Emeralds from what is now Colombia were part of the plunder when sixteen-century Spanish explorers invaded the New World. Emerald is often mined and sold under peril - the natural resource Colombians cherish is also coveted by underworld drug traders. The availability of fine-quality emerald is limited, and emerald was plagued in the late 1990's by negative publicity about treatments used to improve its clarity. Emerald is the most famous member of the beryl family. Legend gave it the power to make its wearer more intelligent and quick-witted. It was once also believed to cure diseases like cholera and malaria. Its color reflects new spring growth, which makes it the perfect choice of a birthstone for the month of May. It's also the gemstone for the 20th and 35th wedding anniversary. It can be found in Colombia, Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is rated as a 7.5-8 on the Moh's Scale of hardness and the toughness is poor to good. Heat may cause the stone to fracture. Fracture fillings may dry out or alter under intense light. They may also be affected by any type of chemical. Emerald itself is resistant to all acids except hydrofluoric. Some emeralds are commonly fracture filled. This improves clarity, but it is not permanent. Some emeralds are dyed to improve color. This is rarely done and is not permanent. And sometimes a light colored beryl is coated with green plastic to appear to be an emerald. This is rare and is fraudulent if being represented as a true emerald. Emeralds should never be steam cleaned or ultrasonically cleaned. Warm soap and water is the best method, but you should avoid vigorous scrubbing. Some said emeralds would heal if simply worn, others said gaining help required gazing deeply into the green for a while. In every language, there were reports of the emerald helping eyesight. The Sumerians said that if an emerald was worn in a ring on the little finger of the left hand, it would cure inflammation of the eyes. During the time of Hippocrates, emeralds were crushed into a fine powder and made into an eye lotion. Some alternatives for an emerald include alexandrite, demantoid garnet, diopside, jadeite, peridot, sapphire, tourmaline, tsavorite garnet, and zircon.