An Education on Gems

An Education: Emeralds-- The most coveted Gem

Emeralds have adorned wrists and necks of the beautiful and the famous for thousands of years, from Cleopatra to modern day royalty and stars of the big screen. Over the recent years their value has ballooned, many time surpassing their estimated values at auctions. The price for high-quality emeralds, true gems,

Continues to climb, especially with Colombian emeralds, as sourced material becomes increasing scares.

Why is this happening? The lofty prices are simply further proof of our enduring fascination with these alluring, mysteriously enigmatic stones. From Cleopatra to Catherine the Great to the Maharajahs of India, the world's most powerful men and women have always coveted them -- and inspired the masses to do the same.

The Value of the emerald has a direct effect on its scarcity and true availability. Emeralds are over 20 time rarer than diamonds, and due to most extraordinary conditions in which they are created: 500 million years to create the perfect beautiful green storm, of magma hydrothermal fluids--rich in aluminum, beryllium, silicon, and vanadium, with the perfect balance of heat and pressure,

Resulting in what is now considered the most “envied gem in the world.”

This coincidence of physics and human physiology explains why emeralds can appear so wonderfully, almost supernaturally vivid, as when you look at a field of lush green grass on a sunny day.

Historically jewelers have added to the emerald's luster by setting it in yellow gold, which was thought the purest form of metal — and the closest thing to Godliness. People are subconsciously drawn to this warmth. Owing to chromium in its chemical make-up, the emerald doesn't just reflect light, but also gives it off. It's no exaggeration to describe it as radiant.

Today most emeralds are mined in Colombia, Brazil and Zambia, and then sent to Jaipur, the emerald capital of the world, where artisans cut and polish them.

Emeralds have truly bewitched many throughout history for its color, brilliance, and enigmatic mysticism and superstition that many think the gem possesses.

Some people say that in years to come the Emerald will become a more coveted stone than a diamond… perhaps the new “forever stone?”