May Birthstone Spotlight: Emerald

If you watched this year’s New York Fashion Week, you’ll know that blues and greens were the favored colors on the runway and the red carpet. As we settle into spring, this trend shows no sign of slowing down, which ties in perfectly with May’s birthstone, the emerald. This vibrant green gemstone has a long history of being a favorite gemstones among the world’s most powerful people, including the sultans of Topkapi, the Aztecs of South America, and Cleopatra of Egypt.

The most prized emeralds have a strong green color, have excellent clarity, and very few inclusions. However, emeralds of this quality are notoriously rare and thus the emerald remains one of the most expensive gemstones carat for carat. Emeralds of lesser quality are often cut into cabochons to make the inclusions less obvious. It’s no wonder then that this lovely gemstone has become representative of the goddess Venus, has been worn in the crown of Alexander the Great, and coveted by Cortez the conquistador.

Emeralds also come in a variety of green hues, partly depending on the region they were mined from. Colombia is considered by far the most desirable source for emeralds because its mines produce emeralds with a rich green color and occasionally the rare Trapiche emerald, which has six rays that originate from the center of the stone.

Emeralds from Zambia are often a very dark green, darker than Colombian emeralds on average, and they sometimes have a bluish cast.

Zimbabwe emeralds are smaller in size, but have a strong, bright green color with maybe an yellowish undercurrent.

Brazil also produces high-quality emerald, but the color is not as intense or as preferable as Colombian emeralds.

Outside of the runway, many celebrities have been spotted wearing May’s birthstone as well in dangling earrings or large necklaces. This goes to show that when blues and greens are no longer the trend, you’ll always be in style sporting a classic piece of emerald jewelry.

Amy Adams

Annette Bening

 

Celine Dion

Blake Lively

 

Reese Witherspoon

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