Emerald is a magnificent green, much fashionable stone. Due to its dazzling beauty, emerald is used in all types of jewelry such as earrings, rings, necklaces, pendants and bracelets. Energy healers frequently call emerald a very healing stone for relationships, for the heart, and for health. It is a wonderful birthday gift with a special significance you can add to it. The source of the word "emerald" is said to be a Sanskrit word meaning "green".

Emerald gemstone is the green variety of the mineral beryl. Other gem color varieties that belong to beryl include aquamarine, morganite, and heliodor. Other colors of beryl are only referred to by their color, such as red beryl. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5 - 8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Emerald's precious green color is caused by little amounts of chromium and improved by traces of iron. Unlike other beryl, emeralds frequently hold inclusions and other defects. These defects are not looked on as negative aspects for emerald gemstone like they would be for other gemstones. Indeed, these defects are considered part of the character of the stone and are used to guarantee the purchaser of a natural stone.

Presently the best emeralds come from the Muzo mine in Colombia. Emeralds in ancient times were mined by the Egyptians and in Austria, as well as Swat in northern Pakistan. Colombian emeralds are normally the most prized due to their transparency and fire. Some of the rarest emeralds come from three main emerald mining areas in Colombia: Muzo, Coscuez, and Chivor. Excellent emeralds are also found in other countries, such as Zambia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Russia.

Emerald Gemstone