25 Interesting Facts About Emeralds

One of the most praised, valuable, and undoubtedly beautiful precious stones in the world is its green highness, the emerald. Not only is this green gem special for its unique color that has raised some scientific waves, but it also has a plethora of its own mythical stories that make this stone even more spectacular. Interested to learn more about this magical-like gem? Here are 25 facts to quench your curiosity.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 1500 BC is the first time emeralds were mined.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. High-quality emeralds are just right – not too dark and not too light, and also very transparent.
9. 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!
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Like any other stone, emeralds have imperfections and inclusions. The dealers, however, prefer to refer to them as Jardin (the French word for garden).
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. The birthstone for the month of May.
16. 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.
17. The origin of the name emeralds comes from the Greek ‘smaragdus’ which means, simply, green.
18. 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.
19. 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.”
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. These stones were also believed to prevent memory loss and enhancing intuition.
24. The Tabula Smaragdina, or The Emerald Tablet, was a tablet that presumably contained the secret to transmutation – the ultimate goal of the old alchemists.
25. 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.

It’s safe to say that more stories and facts about emeralds are only going to pop up as time passes by. If you too want to experience the magic and elegance of this precious stone, don’t hesitate to take a look at our jewelry offers at Santayana. Feel free to check out our website or visit us in our Miami jewelry store for a first-hand look at our innovative pieces.