Esmeralda . Most precious stone belonging to the beryl group . The name emerald comes from the Greek smaragdos through the old French emerald , and means ‘green gem’.
The wonderful emerald green color is incomparable in the gem world. It is not surprising then that the emerald is classified as one of the four traditional gemstones along with the sapphire , the ruby and the diamond .
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 Etymology of the word
- 2 Location
- 3 Features
- 1 Appearance
- 4 Jewelry
- 1 Care
- 2 Famous emeralds
- 2.1 Esmeralda Gachalá
- 2.2 Fura Emerald
- 2.3 Esmeralda Tena
- 3 World fame
- 5 Myths and legends
- 6 See also
- 7 Sources
Etymology of the word
The Spanish word “esmeralda” comes from the old French emerald , which comes from the Latin smaragdus (‘precious stone, shiny’), which comes from the Greek σμάραγδος / smáragdos / (in 800 a. N. E. ), Which comes from * smaragáda or * smarakáta , an ancient Indo-European word (spoken in Ukraine around 2000 a. n. e.) than around 500 a. n. and. gave rise to the Sanskrit word marakáta .
Location
It is found in great quantity in Colombia (Muzo, Borbur, Otanche and Quípama) and Brazil , also to a lesser extent in Zambia , where the deposits are less voluminous but of higher quality. The largest producer of emeralds in the world is Colombia followed by Brazil .
In the deep eastern desert of Egypt , not far from the Red Sea , there are some mines that were possibly exploited around 1500 BC. n. and. Many years after the discovery of the emeralds, Cleopatra came to own these mines, as she had a special fascination for these stones.
The trapiche emerald, which is found in some mines in Colombia, deserves special mention for the strange star shape due to the growth of the crystal in various directions.
characteristics
Emerald is a mineral class silicate, categorized as a “Beryls” (Be3AI2 (SiO3) 6). They are clear in purity form, but often contain impurities which come from a mineral that varies in coloration. The beryls family includes light blue aquamarines, pink morganites, golden heliodors, red beryls, and light green beryls. Beryls are silicates which encompass the longest class of minerals, yet emeralds are only a small fraction of this class.
This is because the crystalline emeralds are formed from a metamorphic rock, while other beryls grow on pegmatites. Metamorphic transformation generally limits the size of the crystalline Emerald formation, making it even rarer in large sizes.
Emeralds deduce the hues of minute traces of chrome enclosed within the cyclo-silicate crystal stone – the same with the Midas element which gives rubies their fiery red. “With less than one percent chromium (or vanadium), a lattice of crystalline emeralds passes the green portion of white light while absorbing red and blue.”
Appearance
It is a medium or dark green to blue green beryl, in which the green color is derived from impurities of chromium, vanadium, or a combination of both. The most popular and valuable color is a light teal in a medium dark hue with strong to vivid saturation.
The term “Colombian” emerald has often been used to describe vivid, light teal stones of medium to medium-dark color, regardless of actual geographic origin. Lighter colored emeralds are sometimes called “Brazilian” emerald, even if they were mined in Africa .
Jewelry
Care
Emeralds are cleaned with warm soapy water, never use ultrasound for cleaning. If the emerald is to regain color or shine, natural fractures can be covered by an oil called Opticon.
The way to do this is to first clean the emerald with warm soapy water and then soak it in this warm Opticon solution for a minimum of 2 hours. There are jewelers who use common oil as a solution for 24 hours.
Famous emeralds
Esmeralda Gachalá
An 858-carat emerald. It was found in 1967 in the Vega de San Juan mine in the municipality of Gachalá in the department of Cundinamarca , Colombia .
Esmeralda Fura
It is 11,000 carats, or more than five pounds, it is the largest emerald in the world, it is owned by Carranza.
Esmeralda Tena
2,000 carats, it has that dark intensity, that green butterfly, which makes it more valuable, much more valuable than the emerald that belonged to the Russian empress Catherine the Great , and which was auctioned at Christie’s in New York for two million of dollars.
World Fame
- One of the largest in the world is the so-called “Emerald Mogul”. It dates from 1695 , weighs 217.8 carats, and is around 10 cm tall. One side of it is inscribed with prayer texts, and engraved on the other side are magnificent floral decorations. This legendary emerald was auctioned by Christie in London to an unidentified buyer for $ 2.2 million on September 28 , 2001 .
- The Museum of Natural History of New York, for example, has an exhibition in which a cup made of pure emerald, which belonged to Emperor Yajanguir , which is displayed next to “Patricia”, one of the most Colombian emerald crystals large, weighing 632 carats.
- The Banco de Bogotá collection includes five valuable emerald crystals with weights between 220 and 1796 carats.
- Splendid emeralds are part of the Iranian National Treasury, which adorn, for example, the diadem of Empress Farah.
- The Turkish sultan also loved emeralds. At Topkapi Palace in Istanbul there are exhibits with jewelery, writing instruments and daggers, each one magnificently adorned with emeralds and other gems.
- The Vendéan treasure contains a vase, 4.5 inches (12 cm) high, weighing 2205 carats, which is cut from a single emerald crystal.
- Queen Elizabeth II has so much jewelry that she has a special room to store it, said to be about the size of an ice rink, and located 40 feet below Buckingham Palace . This does not include the British Crown jewels, which are kept in the Tower of London. The Queen’s personal jewelry is preserved for $ 57 million and most of it was received as gifts. The fabulous jewels in the collection include the “Cambridge and New Delhi Parure Dunbar”, a fantastic emerald jewelry set, including an emerald headband.
- Elizabeth Taylor had a well-known jewelry collection. As an engagement present, Richard Burton gave her the emerald and diamond brooch, which she wears with an emerald necklace that he gave her as a wedding gift. Earrings, a bracelet and a ring followed.
Myths and legends
Countless fantastic stories have grown up around this magnificent gem. The Incas and Aztecs of South America , where the best emeralds are still found today, regarded the emerald as a gemstone saint.
In the Rig-veda (the oldest text in India , composed in Pakistan in the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE ) no mention is made of the emerald (possibly none had yet been discovered). He only mentions a superstition that states that “jewels [1] promise good luck” and “a jewel improves well-being”. Therefore, it is not surprising that the treasure chests of majarases and majaranis in India contained wonderful emeralds.
It can be deduced that the Indians discovered the first emeralds shortly before the 3rd century BC. n. and. because they are not mentioned in the first Upanishad (written after the 7th century B.C.E. ) and because the first mentions of this strange green stone (called Marakata in Sanskrit) [2] is found in the Ramaiana (3rd century B.C.E. ), the Pañcha- tantra (1st century BC), and the texts of the Hindu astrologer Varaja Mijira (505-587).
According to European traditions, the emerald is the precious stone that is given as a gift in commemoration of the 20th (twentieth) and the 35th (thirty-fifth) wedding anniversary.
In European superstitions of the Middle Ages, the emerald is the birthstone for those who were born in the month of May.
In the superstitions that are spread in the United States through the internet, various medicinal qualities and bad omens are attributed to this stone (such as lack of concentration, difficulty in communication, slowness, speech impediments, problems with hearing, lack of vitality) . However, there is not a single piece of evidence to support these fantasies.
Esmeralda . Most precious stone belonging to the beryl group . The name emerald comes from the Greek smaragdos through the old French emerald , and means ‘green gem’.
The wonderful emerald green color is incomparable in the gem world. It is not surprising then that the emerald is classified as one of the four traditional gemstones along with the sapphire , the ruby and the diamond .
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 Etymology of the word
- 2 Location
- 3 Features
- 1 Appearance
- 4 Jewelry
- 1 Care
- 2 Famous emeralds
- 2.1 Esmeralda Gachalá
- 2.2 Fura Emerald
- 2.3 Esmeralda Tena
- 3 World fame
- 5 Myths and legends
- 6 See also
- 7 Sources
Etymology of the word
The Spanish word “esmeralda” comes from the old French emerald , which comes from the Latin smaragdus (‘precious stone, shiny’), which comes from the Greek σμάραγδος / smáragdos / (in 800 a. N. E. ), Which comes from * smaragáda or * smarakáta , an ancient Indo-European word (spoken in Ukraine around 2000 a. n. e.) than around 500 a. n. and. gave rise to the Sanskrit word marakáta .
Location
It is found in great quantity in Colombia (Muzo, Borbur, Otanche and Quípama) and Brazil , also to a lesser extent in Zambia , where the deposits are less voluminous but of higher quality. The largest producer of emeralds in the world is Colombia followed by Brazil .
In the deep eastern desert of Egypt , not far from the Red Sea , there are some mines that were possibly exploited around 1500 BC. n. and. Many years after the discovery of the emeralds, Cleopatra came to own these mines, as she had a special fascination for these stones.
The trapiche emerald, which is found in some mines in Colombia, deserves special mention for the strange star shape due to the growth of the crystal in various directions.
characteristics
Emerald is a mineral class silicate, categorized as a “Beryls” (Be3AI2 (SiO3) 6). They are clear in purity form, but often contain impurities which come from a mineral that varies in coloration. The beryls family includes light blue aquamarines, pink morganites, golden heliodors, red beryls, and light green beryls. Beryls are silicates which encompass the longest class of minerals, yet emeralds are only a small fraction of this class.
This is because the crystalline emeralds are formed from a metamorphic rock, while other beryls grow on pegmatites. Metamorphic transformation generally limits the size of the crystalline Emerald formation, making it even rarer in large sizes.
Emeralds deduce the hues of minute traces of chrome enclosed within the cyclo-silicate crystal stone – the same with the Midas element which gives rubies their fiery red. “With less than one percent chromium (or vanadium), a lattice of crystalline emeralds passes the green portion of white light while absorbing red and blue.”
Appearance
It is a medium or dark green to blue green beryl, in which the green color is derived from impurities of chromium, vanadium, or a combination of both. The most popular and valuable color is a light teal in a medium dark hue with strong to vivid saturation.
The term “Colombian” emerald has often been used to describe vivid, light teal stones of medium to medium-dark color, regardless of actual geographic origin. Lighter colored emeralds are sometimes called “Brazilian” emerald, even if they were mined in Africa .
Jewelry
Care
Emeralds are cleaned with warm soapy water, never use ultrasound for cleaning. If the emerald is to regain color or shine, natural fractures can be covered by an oil called Opticon.
The way to do this is to first clean the emerald with warm soapy water and then soak it in this warm Opticon solution for a minimum of 2 hours. There are jewelers who use common oil as a solution for 24 hours.
Famous emeralds
Esmeralda Gachalá
An 858-carat emerald. It was found in 1967 in the Vega de San Juan mine in the municipality of Gachalá in the department of Cundinamarca , Colombia .
Esmeralda Fura
It is 11,000 carats, or more than five pounds, it is the largest emerald in the world, it is owned by Carranza.
Esmeralda Tena
2,000 carats, it has that dark intensity, that green butterfly, which makes it more valuable, much more valuable than the emerald that belonged to the Russian empress Catherine the Great , and which was auctioned at Christie’s in New York for two million of dollars.
World Fame
- One of the largest in the world is the so-called “Emerald Mogul”. It dates from 1695 , weighs 217.8 carats, and is around 10 cm tall. One side of it is inscribed with prayer texts, and engraved on the other side are magnificent floral decorations. This legendary emerald was auctioned by Christie in London to an unidentified buyer for $ 2.2 million on September 28 , 2001 .
- The Museum of Natural History of New York, for example, has an exhibition in which a cup made of pure emerald, which belonged to Emperor Yajanguir , which is displayed next to “Patricia”, one of the most Colombian emerald crystals large, weighing 632 carats.
- The Banco de Bogotá collection includes five valuable emerald crystals with weights between 220 and 1796 carats.
- Splendid emeralds are part of the Iranian National Treasury, which adorn, for example, the diadem of Empress Farah.
- The Turkish sultan also loved emeralds. At Topkapi Palace in Istanbul there are exhibits with jewelery, writing instruments and daggers, each one magnificently adorned with emeralds and other gems.
- The Vendéan treasure contains a vase, 4.5 inches (12 cm) high, weighing 2205 carats, which is cut from a single emerald crystal.
- Queen Elizabeth II has so much jewelry that she has a special room to store it, said to be about the size of an ice rink, and located 40 feet below Buckingham Palace . This does not include the British Crown jewels, which are kept in the Tower of London. The Queen’s personal jewelry is preserved for $ 57 million and most of it was received as gifts. The fabulous jewels in the collection include the “Cambridge and New Delhi Parure Dunbar”, a fantastic emerald jewelry set, including an emerald headband.
- Elizabeth Taylor had a well-known jewelry collection. As an engagement present, Richard Burton gave her the emerald and diamond brooch, which she wears with an emerald necklace that he gave her as a wedding gift. Earrings, a bracelet and a ring followed.
Myths and legends
Countless fantastic stories have grown up around this magnificent gem. The Incas and Aztecs of South America , where the best emeralds are still found today, regarded the emerald as a gemstone saint.
In the Rig-veda (the oldest text in India , composed in Pakistan in the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE ) no mention is made of the emerald (possibly none had yet been discovered). He only mentions a superstition that states that “jewels [1] promise good luck” and “a jewel improves well-being”. Therefore, it is not surprising that the treasure chests of majarases and majaranis in India contained wonderful emeralds.
It can be deduced that the Indians discovered the first emeralds shortly before the 3rd century BC. n. and. because they are not mentioned in the first Upanishad (written after the 7th century B.C.E. ) and because the first mentions of this strange green stone (called Marakata in Sanskrit) [2] is found in the Ramaiana (3rd century B.C.E. ), the Pañcha- tantra (1st century BC), and the texts of the Hindu astrologer Varaja Mijira (505-587).
According to European traditions, the emerald is the precious stone that is given as a gift in commemoration of the 20th (twentieth) and the 35th (thirty-fifth) wedding anniversary.
In European superstitions of the Middle Ages, the emerald is the birthstone for those who were born in the month of May.
In the superstitions that are spread in the United States through the internet, various medicinal qualities and bad omens are attributed to this stone (such as lack of concentration, difficulty in communication, slowness, speech impediments, problems with hearing, lack of vitality) . However, there is not a single piece of evidence to support these fantasies.
