Here's 10 incredible facts about this month's birthstone Emerald!
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Emerald is from the Beryl family of stones. Aquamarine is also a Beryl but they are quite different! Aquamarine is found and cut into large internally clean stones while Emerald is the opposite and usually found and cut into smaller stones with inclusions.
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The oldest emeralds are about 2.97 billion years old.
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Top-quality emeralds can be worth more than diamonds on a per-carat basis.
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A 1-carat emerald appears larger than a 1-carat diamond because of its lower density.
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The first known emeralds were mined in Egypt around 1500 BC.
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The majority of emeralds are found in Columbia, where more than 50% of the world's emerald supply is mined. However emeralds can be found in about 30 countries including the United States, China, and Switzerland.
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Emeralds are found all over the world but Colombia is by far the world’s largest producer, constituting 50–95% of the world production, with the number depending on the year, source and grade. Zambia the world’s second biggest producer and Brazil third.
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The world's largest uncut emerald — the so-called Bahia emerald — was unearthed in Brazil in 2001. It weighs nearly 800 pounds (360 kg), has been stolen multiple times and was once listed for sale on eBay at $75 million.
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Emerald gets its green colouring from trace amounts of chromium and/or vanadium.
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The colour we see in jewellery also depends on the cut. A skilled gemologist can give a paler stone a darker appearance with a deep cut and fewer facets (flat surfaces on the stone). Or a darker stone can be made to appear lighter with a shallow cut and more facets. Given all that, it is not so surprising that this gem has a specific cut named after it, “the emerald cut.” Many fine emeralds are cut in this iconic style.