Emeralds
The emerald is beryl coloured green, the birthstone of May, and one of the most loved coloured gemstones in jewellery. Its green has intrigued people for as long as people have dug for stones, from the Pharaohs to the Emerald City.
A stone that asks for care
Emeralds measure 7.5 on the Mohs scale, softer than rubies, sapphires and diamonds, and they almost always carry natural inclusions. Most emeralds are treated by “oiling”: the stone is infused with resin in a vacuum chamber, then gently finished so the surface reads clean and polished. It’s standard, accepted practice, and it’s also why emeralds should never go in an ultrasonic cleaner. Bring them to us instead.
From Cleopatra’s mines to Colombia
The name comes through the French esmaralde, “green gemstone”. The oldest known emerald mines were worked by the Egyptians near the Red Sea from as early as 3,000 BC, claimed by the Pharaohs and remembered as Cleopatra’s Mines. To the Aztecs and Incas the emerald was a holy stone.
Today Colombia leads the world, with the Muzo and Chivor mines producing the finest stones, ahead of sources in Africa, Brazil and beyond. Some of the world’s famous emeralds, the Chalk, the Duke of Devonshire, the Gachalá, came from Colombian ground.
Choosing an emerald
Colour rules: a pure, vivid green matters far more than clarity, because inclusions are part of an emerald’s character (jewellers call them the jardin, the garden). Set thoughtfully and worn with a little care, an emerald rewards you with a colour nothing else in the case can match.