May's Birthstone the Emerald

Emerald, birthstone for May, is the most precious gemstone in the world. It is associated with love and happiness. Emerald, the green variety of the mineral beryl, is the most valuable gemstone in the world. Its rare color was greatly admired by Cleopatra. With slave labor, the ancient Egyptians mined emeralds and thus carried on a profitable emerald trade for nearly 2000 years. They domination on this gem until Spanish explorers discovered emeralds in South America. The shiny green stones from Colombia soon found their way into the jewels collection of the ruling dynasties of Europe and the Middle East. Today, emeralds are found in Brazil, Pakistan, India, Africa, Madagascar, Afghanistan, and Russia. In the US, Hiddenite, North Carolina is the location of an emerald mine open to the public.

A fine emerald must be green, in the range from yellowish-green to bluish-green. Its tone should be medium to dark. Light green stones are not classified as emeralds but as green beryl. The tone of a good emerald is bright rather than dull. Inclusions are common in the stone and it has become standard practice to oil the stones to improve its clarity. Stones with too many fissures are often cut into cabochons rather than faceted.

Many large and famous emeralds are housed in the world’s museums. One of the most famous emerald artifacts is called the Crown of the Andes, created to honor the Virgin Mary. It was made from stones once owned by the Incas. The Mogul emerald is over 200 carats and sold for over two million dollars. The Gachala Emerald is one of the world’s largest uncut emeralds and is kept at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. It weighs 858 carats.

The birthstone for May, emeralds are also associated with love and contentment.