The Mystical World Of Emeralds

, , Leave a comment

Colombian_Emeralds.jpeg

Ancient, mystical stories have attached various attributes to emeralds, for example, Egyptians depicted these precious gems as a symbol of eternal life, while other ancient cultures described emeralds as possessing great healing powers. Today, emeralds are highly sought after jewels.

Here are 25 interesting facts that will show why emeralds might just be a girl’s best friend!

Fact 1: Emeralds are precious gemstones, they are the most valuable type of beryl that has been cut and polished.

Fact 2: They are colored by three components, the hue which gives the first impression of the color, the tone which refers to the lightness or darkness of the color and the saturation which relates to the color’s intensity.

Fact 3: Emeralds have an intense and radiant green color.

Fact 4: The name emerald stems from the Greek „smaragdos“ and means „green gemstone“.

Fact 5: Ancient societies believed emeralds to be symbols of love, rebirth and eternal youth. This gem has been treasured by people across the world for the past 4,000 years.

Fact 6: The first emerald mines are the „Cleopatra mines” discovered in 1818 in Northern Egypt.

Fact 7: Emeralds are the Taurus birthstone and are traditional gifts for the 20th, 35th and 55th Wedding Anniversary.

Fact 8: Emeralds are graded according to their clarity, shape and color, with each grade representing a range of qualities. The grades are referred to as Commercial, Good, Fine and Extra Fine.

Fact 9: Emeralds from Zimbabwe are among the oldest gemstones in the world.

Fact 10: The oldest emerald comes from South Africa and is almost 3 billion years old!

Fact 11: Emeralds are associated with loyalty, friendship and faithfulness.

Fact 12: Emeralds are believed to help with health problems related to the eyes, fertility, the spine, headaches and are believed to enhance mental capabilities.

Fact 13: A Roman author and natural philosopher Pliny, wrote “No stone has a color that is more delightful to the eye, for, whereas the sight fixes itself with avidity upon the green grass and the foliage of the trees, we have all the more pleasure in looking upon the emerald, there being no gem in existence more intense than this.”

Fact 14: Roman Emperor, Nero, wore emerald-encrusted sunglasses while watching gladiator fights.

Fact 15: An emerald named „Bahia Emerald“, unearthed in 2001 in Brazil, is one of the largest emeralds ever found, it weighs 840 pounds and contains about 180,00 carats of emerald crystals! In 2005 it was moved to New Orleans and after Hurricane Katrina hit, the emerald spent months underwater.

Fact 16: Indian Moguls inscribed emeralds with sacred texts and wore them as talismans.

Fact 17: Apart from Colombia, quality emeralds are produced in Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Russia.

Fact 18: Fifty percent of the world’s emeralds are produced in Colombia! The best known mines are Muzo and Chivor. The Incas also mined these areas.

Fact 19: In the United States, emeralds have been discovered in North and South Carolina, Nevada, Montana and Connecticut.

Fact 20: People who smuggle emeralds are called „quaqueros“.

Fact 21: North Carolina designated the emerald as the official state precious gem in 1973.

Fact 22: The largest emerald found in North America weighs 1869 carats and was found in 2003 near Statesville, North Carolina.

Fact 23: Emeralds are less dense than diamonds, meaning that a one-carat emerald is larger than a diamond with the same carat.

Fact 24: Emeralds are pretty tough gems, registering 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale of hardness. They can, however, easily chip and scratch.

Fact 25: Many emeralds have imperfections and it is extremely rare to find a natural emerald without any flaws. The most valuable are pure and vivid green with a pure hue which doesn’t include shades of brown or yellow.

Tea Time Quiz

[forminator_poll id="23176"]
 

Leave a Reply