Emerald

Emerald is a highly sought-after green gemstone variety of the mineral beryl. Emeralds are actually a quite hard gemstones with a relative hardness of 7.5–8 on the Mohs scale, but are still considered very delicate, fine gems that require extreme care and expertise when setting due to their structure.

Emeralds are also some of the historically most popular gemstones. Pliny the Elder wrote in “Naturalis Historia” (AD 79) that there was “no stone, the colour of which is more delightful to the eye; […] there being no green in existence of a more intense colour than this” and that “of all the precious stones, this is the only one that feeds the sight without satiating it”.

Cleopatra is also said to have had a special love for Emeralds as Egyptians associated the gemstone with spring and rebirth and assigned it the belief it could ward off evil influences.

Besides being admired for their beautiful green lustre, Emerald has historically been believed to have many spiritual and medicinal properties. Petrus Hispanus, who later became pope John XXI, wrote in “Thesaurus Pauperum” that touching an Emerald on the eye could heal eye-disease. One of the known names for Emerald in Sanskrit – “garalari” – literally translates into “enemy of poison” and accordingly it was believed in early Indian culture that Emerald could fight poison.

Wearing a pendant with emerald was believed to drive off vain fears and evil spirits. Emerald has also been believed to be used to reveal the truth and give knowledge of the future. Especially, pale green emerald was supposed to enable the wearer to predict the future.

According to Marbode, the Bishop of Rennes, emerald could help if one wanted to strengthen one’s memory or to become eloquent, and due to emerald’s strong association with prosperity, it was believed to increase wealth, and as such has been suggested to wear during negotiations and business transactions. And equally, Horace Thomson writes in “Legends of Gems” that a single Emerald would endow the owner of good memory and quick with if worn on the index finger.

Emerald’s association with spring – its beautiful green colour no better represented in the colours of sprouting trees and plants – and appropriately so it is the birthstone of May. Emerald is also the gem of the 55th wedding anniversary and it has also been the zodiacal birthstone of Cancer and Taurus.

Historically worn for: prosperity, intelligence, wit.