EMERALD

EMERALD ELEMENTS

Cleopatra was obsessed with emeralds
She frequently wore emerald, claimed ownership of the Egyptian Empires' emerald mines, and gifted engraved emeralds to foreign dignitaries.

Arguably the first example of gemstones being used to display political power, and gems being used to signify status.

Emeralds are more fragile than diamonds
Despite being relatively hard, emeralds are brittle. Ancient cutters shaped them to protect the stone — which is what formed the iconic emerald cut - now commonly used for a wide display of gemstones.

The conquistadors' quest

In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors discovered that the true wealth of South America was not just held in gold, but in vast deposits of high-quality emeralds. This sparked what's known as 'green fever' (fiebre verde) in 1537. Ultimately, a large part of why South America speaks Spanish is a result of the conquistadors' quest to own and control the emeralds.

RARITY

7/10 Emeralds are geologically rare. Fine, deep green colour, with good transparency is even less common, and often considered more difficult to find and comparitably more valuable than diamonds in larger, higher-clarity specimens.

VALUE

8/10 Top Colombian emeralds rival rubies and diamonds in price. Exceptional stones sell for hundreds of thousands per carat. The market strongly favours untreated, or less treated stones.

Most emeralds have some degree of oil applied to reduce the inclusions.

The commonly recognised rankings in value by country is:

1) Columbia

2) Zambia

3) Brazil

4) Afghanistan and Pakistan

5) Others, like Ethiopia and Russia

GEMSTONE FAMILY

Emeralds belong to the beryl family of minerals (Be3Al2(SiO3)6). They get their green colour from trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Other famous members of the beryl family include aquamarine, morganite, and red beryl.

Emerald formation is often referred to as a 'geological miracle', requiring superheated fluids to collide rare beryllium with deep-earth minerals chromium (and sometimes vanadium), which normally never meet.

EARLIEST USAGE

Emeralds' usage traces back to Ancient Egypt, a staggering 1500 BC, mined at Mons Smaragdus (Cleopatra’s Mines). They were used by Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans as symbols of fertility, rebirth and eternal youth.

SIGNIFICANT DEPOSITS

Colombia – The holy grail of emeralds. The Muzo Mine produces the most saturated, velvety, deep green emeralds in the world - reflected in their immense value. The Chivor Mine produces slightly cooler, bluish-green stones with exceptional transparency, as well as the Coscuez Mine, with immense historical significance, and intense colour.

Zambia – The Kagem Mine unearths darker, cooler-toned emeralds with exceptionally high clarity, yet they are less valuable than their Columbian counterparts due to higher supply.

Brazil – Minas Gerais, Bahia produces lighter-green coloured, often very

clean (inclusion-free) stones, but often lack that depth of colour associated with top-tier stones.

Afghanistan – The Panjshir Valley is home to some highly-prized and scarce emeralds, often with unique inclusions. These are politically difficult to source.

Ethiopia – The Shakiso deposit was accidentally discovered in August 2016, by two brothers searching for the metal tantalum, using only their hand tools, in Southern Ethiopia. This newer source has amazingly vivid colour, and is rapidly gaining prestige in the emerald rankings!

EMERALD

EMERALD ELEMENTS

SIGNIFICANT DEPOSITS

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