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- 1. Emerald
- 2. The History and Meaning of Emerald
- 3. Physico-Chemical Properties of Emerald
- 4. Emerald Healing Properties
- 5. Emerald Metaphysical Properties
- 6. Emerald For Sale
Emerald
They say that green stones are able to hypnotize. If it’s true, emeralds possess the greatest power. These scintillating precious stones have long been exciting the minds of the poor and rich, rulers and their subjects, those who design jewelry and those who wear it. Today, emeralds are affordable to everybody – find out reasons to get one of these legendary gemstones for yourself.
The History and Meaning of Emerald
Emeralds have been known to mankind for thousands of years. Annals of history mention that the mineral, known as The Stone of Truth, was sold in the Babylonian markets in the 4th millennia BC.
In Ancient Egypt, emerald was considered a gift from the god of wisdom, Thoth, and was deemed a symbol of eternal life. Cleopatra rewarded her subjects with stones of velvety green color with her engraved image. In Phoenicia, "green ice" was associated with the goddess of love and fertility, and the ancient Incas worshiped it, believing that it was able to make warriors invulnerable.
According to legends, emerald fell from the crown of Lucifer when he was expelled from heaven. The Queen of Sheba picked the stone off the ground and gave it as a gift to King Solomon. The legendary Grail, which collected the drops of blood of crucified Christ, featured the green stone. In addition, the emerald is one of the 12 biblical stones embellished Aaron's vestment.
Emerald was the talisman of Aristotle, Charlemagne, and Alexander the Great. Prominent rulers and commanders decorated their clothes, armor, and crowns with emeralds, and their collections of jewelry were incomplete without the magnificent green stone. Speaking of the color, the very name of emerald, which is a derivative of Ancient Greek ‘smaragdos’, means a green gem.
Physico-Chemical Properties of Emerald
Emerald is one of the varieties of beryl. The fact that emerald consists of the same chemical compounds as beryl was proved by the outstanding French scientist Louis Vauquelin back in the 1790s. Despite this, emerald continued to be considered a separate type of stone until 1830.
The mineral has a rather complex chemical composition - Be3Al2Si6O18 - and impurities make it even more complex. Emerald owes its statement green color to chromium admixtures while vanadium brings bluish tints. When it comes to the most valuable colors of the gem, these include:
1. Dark Green,
2. Deep Green,
3. Vivid Green,
4. Strong Green,
5. Brilliant Green.
Emeralds of green-yellow or green-grayish hues are valued lower than vividly-colored counterparts. The same goes for dark green stones – they look magnificent in daylight but appear almost black in the evening.
Gem-quality emeralds are quite rare. It is common for natural stones to contain a large number of cracks and inclusions. Oftentimes, these inclusions (such as small particles of other minerals or gas bubbles) make the stones opaque or translucent. Opaque specimens, as a rule, are cut en cabochon. This type of cutting is especially beneficial to stones with shimmering inclusions – a polished surface allows exhibiting a cat’s eye effect. Still, transparent stones, even if they have defects visible to the naked eye, are valued much higher.
A unique variety of emerald is called trapiche, which is the name of a grinding wheel used to process sugar cane in South America. The key feature of these stones is a 12-beam pattern diverging from the center and alternating ‘rays’ of emerald with inclusions of graphite.
Being a gemstone, emerald boasts an excellent hardness of 7.5-8.0 on the Mohs scale. However, a large number of cracks make this stone quite fragile. To make these cracks less noticeable, emeralds are often treated - oiled or impregnated with polymer resins.
Emerald Healing Properties
Along with unprecedented aesthetic values, emerald is prized for its healing properties. The stone:
• Rejuvenates. Its powerful positive energy combats age-related changes. Emerald reinforces health, promotes longevity, as well as neutralizes harmful processes in the body. To restore your strength and vigor, you should place emerald crystals in each room of your house, especially in the rooms where you eat and sleep.
• Restores vision. A few minutes of gazing at an emerald stone removes eye strain. You can also prepare emerald water to soothe the eyes and treat inflammatory processes: leave the stone in cold pure water overnight and then use it to wash the eyes. Application of the gem to the eyelids within 15-20 minutes daily has its own benefits. In particular, it helps sharpen the vision.
• Improves sleep. Gazing at the green stone in the evening drives away insomnia. A crystal set in the bedroom is capable of improving the quality of sleep and helping you wake up full of energy.
• Normalizes mental state. Lithotherapists advise buying emerald stones if you seek the peace of mind, tranquility, and relaxation. The stone aids to find emotional balance, steadies the nerves, as well as relieves chronic fatigue.
Emerald Metaphysical Properties
Emerald is a talisman of mothers. There was a tradition among expectant mothers to wear emerald amulets to facilitate childbirth. When a baby was welcome to the world, mothers would put the stone in their cradle to protect them from evil.
The precious stone is a patron of the hearth and home. Its mission is to protect marital ties, keep peace and harmony in the family, promote fertility, as well as dissipate negative energy. There was a tradition to give newlyweds an emerald stone to bring peace and harmony to their lives. The groom was supposed to rinse the stone with red wine and the bride with white wine.
Emerald contributes to the accumulation of wealth. Along with that, it helps develop intuition and foresight. If its owner is a person of creative disposition, the stone will give inspiration and elation. Business people can benefit from its ability to bring good luck and success. If you’re engaged in science or research, emerald will help you make important discoveries.
Emerald For Sale
At KenKenGems, our mission is to deliver emeralds to those who don’t want to pay a pretty penny. Our affordable collection of natural gemstones includes opaque, translucent, and clear stones mounted in gold settings, loose stones (drilled and undrilled), as well as strands. We also supply one-of-a-kind emeralds of vibrant colors and high clarity if you want to learn the true power of precious stones. And those who appreciate the natural beauty of gemstones are bound to enjoy emerald rough nuggets.
