May birthstone

Created by: www.birthstonebrilliance.com

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The birthstone for May is the Emerald.
The gem received its name from either the
Greek word ‘smaragdos’ or from the Old
French ‘esmaralde’ and possibly from the
Indian Sanskrit language. Regardless of what
the word origins are, each of the words
translate to simply ‘green gemstone.’


This beryl gemstone has been mined since
1500 BC in:

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Egypt
India
And from the 14th century in Austria.
Beryl has a hardness that reaches the upper part
of the 10-point Mohs scale of mineral hardness
and is usually anywhere between 7.5 and 8. As
most emeralds are highly included, that is to say
has tiny flaws called inclusions; their resistance to
breakage is usually in the poor classification.


Beryl contains:

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Beryllium
Aluminum
Silicon
Oxygen
Six-sided symmetrical crystal


The beryl family of minerals includes:

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Aquamarine
Heliodor
Morganite


About Emerald

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The colour green is usually associated
with emeralds although they can vary in
colour from light to dark, deep green.
It can also lose its colour when heated
strongly.


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Producers of Emerald
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The world’s largest producer of
emeralds is Columbia, which supplies 50
to 95% of the entire inventory of the
stone.
Zambia is a close second which has
been producing 20% of the world’s gem
quality stones.


Locations of Emerald

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Emeralds are also found in Afghanistan,
Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia,
Canada, Italy, Kazakhstan, Madagascar,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway,
Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, South Africa,
Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Untied
States and Zimbabwe.


Folklore Points to the Emerald

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Emeralds were believed to be able to heal all
ailments. Boiling or crushing them into a paste
and then applying to affected areas was supposed
to heal cuts and a variety of other skin conditions.
Emeralds were supposed to correct included ear
problems, digestive issues, heart disease,
gallstones, hypertension, insomnia, miscarriages,
paralysis and mental illness.
They were also believed to grant foresight,
insight, hindsight, good fortune and youth.


Symbols of Emerald

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Ancient Romans dedicated emeralds to
the Goddess Venus as the green colour
symbolized the reproductive forces of
nature.
Christians saw the gem as a symbol of
Christ’s resurrection and in the Middle
Ages emeralds were held in high esteem
due to the belief that they could foretell
future events.


Emeralds have been used in a number
of historic artifacts including:

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The Crown of the Andes.
It was worn by the last Inca (King) of
Peru, Atahualpa and was set with 450
emeralds, which weighed ten ounces.


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Emeralds are graded using the four
Cs:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Colour (usually the most important)
Cut
Clarity
Crystal (when it comes to emeralds
crystal is considered a very close second)


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3 Components of Colour
1.

Hue
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2.
3.

Hues found in emeralds range from yellowgreen to blue-green with green being the
primary hue. Gems ranging from medium to
dark in tone are considered emerald with
green beryl the name used for gems that are
light toned.

Saturation
Tone


The finest of the emeralds on a scale
where:

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0% is colourless
100% is opaque black
A stone with 75%


May birthstone

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