Emeralds the Stone for May

Emerald is the Modern and Traditional birthstone for May. It is also the birthstone for the Zodiac sign of Gemini. Emerald is the only stone, besides Topaz, that is listed as in all of the ancient birthstone tables. This gem is suggested as an anniversary gift for the 20th and 35th anniversaries and as an alternate stone for the 55th wedding anniversary.

Emerald is the name given to the green variety of beryl and ranges between 7.5 and 8 on the Mohs scale. The name Emerald is derived from the French ‘esmeraude” and the Greek root ‘smaragdos” which means ‘green gemstone’. Top quality emeralds are a deep grass green with a slightly bluish cast, but many lesser quality stones are lighter shades of green and can have a more yellowish tone.

Although Columbia and Brazil are the major producers of Emeralds and Columbia is recognized as the source for the finest stones. They can also be found in Pakistan, Russia, Australia, South Africa, India, Norway, and the USA.

Care must be taken when wearing and cleaning your emerald jewellery as whilst its good hardness protects the emerald to a large extent from scratches, due to the high amount of inclusions you can get within an emerald their toughness (resistance to breakage) is very low.

As emeralds tend to contain many cracks, fissures, and inclusions, the majority of these stones are ‘oiled’. This means that they are immersed in oil which reduces the visibility of the inclusions, and also improves the clarity. Oiling is pretty much universal.

Folklore suggests that these stones will improve memory, intelligence, and enhance clairvoyance thus helping to predict future events. They are also worn to enhance love and contentment. Cleopatra prized emeralds above all other gems.