I want to have a comprehensive gem section on this site and I have decided to start with the emerald guide. I will be covering all of the birthstones and then moving onto other gemstones on the market today. I hope you find all of this emerald information as interesting as I do.

The first of my emerald facts is this stone is considered to be one of the four main precious gemstones, all four being diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. And in case you didn’t know this is also the birthstone of May.

Emeralds have been cherished since 3000 B.C. One of the world’s biggest and most famous emeralds is the Indian Mogul Emerald. This gem weighs a whopping 217 carats, and was inscribed with prayers and flowers many years ago. The date on it translates to approximately 1695 A.D.

Another of the interesting emerald facts I was able to find was that this gemstone was so highly sought after by European royalty that Spanish Conquistadors began a vicious campaign to find all the emeralds they could down in South America. It was in the year 1557 that they found the mines that are still being used today in Columbia—which by the way is the still the worlds largest resource of emeralds which is why I am including this handy fact in my emerald guide.

These middle toned green transparent Columbian stones were considered to be the best for many years and all others were held up against these. Sellers tried to turn the natural inclusions into selling points by calling them jardins which stands for garden in French. I guess they thought if they romanticized the flaws it would mean they could make more money.

They were out of luck though, once the 20th century rolled around Zambian emeralds were discovered and they were a lot clearer and more vibrant.

According to all my research for this [tag]emerald guide[/tag] the Zambian emeralds are a lot darker, richer and saturated with color not to mention that they have a lot less inclusions. You have probably seen advertisements for “Zambian emeralds” they are very popular still. Interesting little emerald facts so far, yes?

Cutting emeralds is never an easy thing to do, even skilled and experienced craftsmen often find it a challenge. The problem in cutting this gem is that the inclusions make them much more fragile than they would be otherwise. Experts actually have a special way of cutting these gems now, one that is most common, you’ve probably seen it, you know…the emerald cut? Cutting the stone this way means less chance of fracturing and it shows off the natural beauty really well, so win win. Don’t you just love emerald information, it’s a lot more interesting than you thought right?

Now onto one of the more fascinating [tag]emerald facts[/tag] in my emerald guide: Did you know that carat for carat, emeralds are in fact worth more than diamonds?

This emerald guide may not be the longest you have ever heard of but it certainly did tell you some pretty cool [tag]emerald information[/tag]. You can now use these emerald facts to make it sound like you know even more! Good on ya!

Related posts:

1. Watch Buying FAQs Part One
2. Watch Buying FAQs Part Five
3. Watch Buying FAQs Part Six
4. Complete birthstones list to help you jewelry shop
5. Watch Buying FAQs Part Four