Emerald History & Lore – Emerald Birthstone Gemstone
The birthstone for May is the emerald gemstone, a green beauty that unfolds throughout the springtime. May would be considered the month when grass grows, flowers blossom, and everything is anew again. The emerald is a stunning gemstone and is available in a wide range shades and colors: yellow-green, blue-green and the classic deep green.
Yet, for all its unique appeal, emerald stones are basically a green variety of the mineral beryl. Aquamarine, a different version of colored beryl, stands out as the sister stone to May’s gemstone birthstone. Unlike aquamarine, emeralds are notorious for their inclusions and are classified as poor when it comes to resistance to breakage.
Beaded jewelry often encompasses bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. Many jewelry artists include precious gemstones in their jewelry designs, like; emerald, sapphire, ruby and diamond beads. High end beaded jewelry continues to be popular to this day. Emerald birthstone jewelry is a gift of precious value and often treasured for years.
Despite the fact that the emerald is rated at a decent 7.5 by the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, its common inclusions and flaws make it less durable than other birthstones; emeralds tend to be more vulnerable to breaking and cracking than comparable stones of equivalent size. To disguise the inclusions as well as improve the appearance to the stone, many emeralds are chemically treated these days with colorless oils and resins. Regrettably, which means they are unable to be cleaned in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaners and you must be very careful even while doing daily tasks, such as washing your hands, any time you’re wearing an emerald birthstone gemstone.
May’s birthstone has interesting history and lore that is told around the globe. Emerald once upon a time symbolized power as well as rule in early Egypt and Babylonia. Cleopatra legendary mining in Egypt, and royalty from Persia to India and afar rushed to acquire them. The ancient Roman novelist Pliny in the past famously observed of emerald to facilitate “Nothing greens greener.”
Nevertheless emerald’s history is not only partial towards the cradle of civilization. The discovery of the brand new world made aware that emeralds were being valued within the Americas as well. In 1532, Conquistidor Pizzaro captured the Inca King of Peru who named among his treasures an emerald crown. Cortez also loaded boats with emeralds to bring back to Europe.
In combination with their historical significance, emeralds even have religious significant importance. The bible names emerald as one of several birthstones contained in the breastplate of Aaron, representing the tribe of Judah. Emerald has important meaning to Christianity also. Italy boasts of the Holy Grail chalice crafted from emeralds which was captured throughout the crusades and that is certainly believed to have been used by Christ in the Last Supper.
The Koran too describes heaven’s garden being blanketed with emeralds, along with the famous ‘Mogul Emerald’ has prayers imprinted in it. The Hindus admire emeralds for their believed healing properties plus its name in Indian conveys “the green of growing things.”
Through the ancient world to modern times, emerald’s rich religious along with cultural history made it a prized stone in centuries past, but our love affair with May’s birthstone still lingers on. The truth is, premium emeralds are valued greater than diamonds by carat weight. Maybe it’s the immeasurable depth of emerald green that calls to us, or even, for the reason that ancients alleged, the stone is just soothing on the eye. Whatever accounts for our attraction, emerald is like spring captured inside a stone and that makes it an ideal birthstone for May.
