Emerald - KGPEM40

Emerald has enthralled the elites of civilizations with its stunning beauty and symbolic power for over 6,000 years. The name comes from the old French “esmeralde” through Latin “smaragdus” through Greek “smargdos.” One of the world’s first emerald mines in Egypt was named “Cleopatra’s emerald mine” for her lifetime love affair with the stone. Emeralds from what is now Colombia were part of the plunder when 16th century Spanish explorers invaded the New World. The Spanish, who treasured gold and silver far more than gems, traded emeralds for precious metals. Their trades opened the eyes of European and Asian royalty to emerald’s majesty.

Zambia has a reputation for fine emeralds in the international trade. Some of the finest emeralds in the world comes from Zambia, where Gemfields runs the Kagem mine, the largest emerald mine in the world. Zambia Produces excellent emerald crystals in a beautiful, deep emerald green, with good transparency. Their color is mostly darker than that of Colombian emeralds and often has a fine, slightly bluish undertone.

Emerald is the designated gemstone for May, the day of Tuesday, the season of spring, as well as the 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries. In numerology emerald has been associated with the number four.

Emerald has been credited with improving one's memory and intelligence and transforming negativity into positive emotional energy. During middle ages, it was believed that emerald would keep a woman chaste - but surely what they meant was "happy."