EMERALDS

The breathtaking emerald, is the birthstone for May and for commemorating the 20th and 35th Wedding Anniversaries. It is highly prized along with the other most popular gemstones, diamonds, sapphires and rubies. The emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl, colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes iron. By weight, it is the most valuable gemstone in the world. Emerald jewelry was favored by many of the Queens of ancient civilizations, including Cleopatra.

Emeralds are mined primarily in Colombia and Brazil, and other mines in Africa. The USA and Japan together, purchase more than 75% of the world’s emeralds. Man-made emeralds are also available and surprisingly, are expensive compared to cubic zirconias or other synthetic gemstones, like synthetic sapphires.

Emeralds can be cleaned with warm or room temperature soap and water. Avoid wearing emerald jewelry where it will get rough treatment.