Emerald has a history that dates back thousands of years. Its name is derived from the Greek word smaragdos. The legendary Cleopatra’s mines of Egypt, whose existence was confirmed in 1818, are said to have produced translucent emeralds of a light green color. The significance of emerald changed in the late 16th century when Colombian […]
It is a fascinating natural phenomenon that the same gemstone’s characteristics will vary depending its source. Currently, Zambia ranks as the world’s most important source of emerald after Colombia. Emerald was discovered there in 1931, but commercial production did not begin until around 1967 at the Miku deposit. Peak production reached levels as high as […]
Able to maintain a beautiful yellowish green color even in small grains, Sandawana emerald is the king of melee-sized emeralds. In 1954, two South Africans began prospecting for beryl and Lithium in Zimbabwe, and came across the high-quality emerald producing Sandawana deposit two years later. At that time, mining was being carried out by the […]
A beauty that remains unchanged over the years is part of the appeal of untreated emeralds Untreated emeralds are made into gemstones by polishing only the high-quality portions of the rough material. The emerald as shown in the photograph on the next page is a 0.7-carat untreated Zambian emerald with a beautiful green color. A […]
