Birthstone May

MAY BIRTHSTONE-THE EMERALD

Green Emerald Gemstone

The May birthstone is the Green Emerald.  The Green Emerald is one of the most sought-after and beautiful gemstones in the world also called Smaragdos/Smaragdus from the ancient Greek/Latin word for “Green Gem”, or literally “Green”. In ancient Egypt there was a mine called Mount Smaragdus, “Green Mountain” where these precious gems were mined since about 1,500BC.

The Green Emerald is similar to Aquamarine in that it is also of the Beryl group of gemstones but is transparent light-green to and intense transparent dark-green, even with slight traces of blue within the green. The darker the green, the more valuable the Emerald becomes, with the rarest Emeralds appearing to be Dark-Green-Blue in colour.

Even though Green Emeralds and Green Beryl are of the same Beryl group of gemstones, there are differences in each.
Green Emerald gains it’s green colour from trace elements of chromium and vanadium while Green Beryl derives it’s green colour from trace elements of iron, making these two gemstone types uniquely different.

Emeralds are mined across the globe, but more especially in Colombia, Zambia, Brazil and Afghanistan. Because high-quality emeralds are rare, there are often treatments applied to raw Emeralds to improve clarity and thereby increase the price.

Green Emerald Colour

The Green Emerald is a very popular gemstone and varies in colour from transparent light-green to transparent deep-rich-green in colour. The Green Emerald found in nature has minute imperfections such as bubbles and crystals within its structure, whereas fake or man-made Emeralds are very clear without imperfections.

A skilled jeweller is able to bring out the best cut in an Emerald, similar to the Aquamarine; the cut is usually a square or rectangular shape and the gem can also be heat-treated to adjust the colour and clarity.

Green Emerald Powers:

The Green Emerald represents the birthstone for May, and is sometimes referred to as a symbol of rebirth, rejuvenation and youthfulness.

An extract of one of Pliny’s statements: ” …we have all the more pleasure in looking upon the emerald, there being no gem in existence more intense than this.”

You can find a chart with all the birthstones over here