The delicate and timeless emerald

General consensus is that emerald is an insider stone, a collector’s piece. A fascinating gem, the birthstone of May since the beginning of time, it was only as of the 20th century that the jewellery market really learned how to bring out all of its subtle virtues, making it the perfect match for women with a well-defined style and a strong personality. Let’s zoom in on this mythical, universal stone and its subtle yet graceful comeback.

Even though the extremely renowned emerald – with its superb, intense green colour – is one of the most beloved stones within the jewellery sector, it is also a particularly delicate gem, whose toughness is hardly comparable to that of its peers, such as diamonds, sapphires and rubies. Slightly dichroic, its shade varies from green-yellow to blueish green, a colour that is very stable to light. The transparent to translucid emerald often presents crystal inclusions, while liquid or gas can leave the stone slightly dull. This nebulous aspect is generally referred to as ‘frost’.

When talking about all of the particularities of an emerald together, the French word ‘jardin’ is often preferred, as if to describe the ‘greenery’ of each individual stone. 99,9% of emeralds have this kind of inclusions. Beautiful emeralds come with a very discreet ‘jardin’ but an intense colour, the most sought-after shade being a kind of ‘bottle green’ that is often found in Colombian stones. But make no mistake: instead of having a negative impact on their beauty, these particular signs underline the authenticity of the stone!

A reversible method to blur these imperfections has, however, existed ever since Antiquity. ‘Oiling’ is used the close up these notorious fractures, which sometimes reach up to the surface, in order to leave the stone more homogenous and luminous. This process is carried out using hot cedar oil, a naturally colourless substance with a similar refractive index, and should be repeated regularly for the emerald to maintain its lustrous appearance.

Within the industry, emeralds are considered strategic stones as they easily blend in with other stones and provide them with exceptional luminosity, thanks to their unique capacity of making any piece of jewellery truly come alive.

They are mostly given their signature ‘emerald cut’, a rectangular cut with facets around the top edge, or cabochon cut for the less beautiful ones. In this regard, provenance is an extremely important criterion.

The majority of the current mines – 62, most of which are in Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Africa (Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe) – were created in the 20th century. Even though Zambia as well as Madagascar have been producing very promising stones for over ten years, the most sought-after gems still come from the Muzo mine in Colombia, which has been exploited since the end of the 16th century. The exceptional quality of these Colombian stones led to their international distribution and allowed them to enter into the royal courts of Europe, but also in those of the Middle East, Persia and India.

The arrival of the maharajas in Paris in the twenties, their suitcases overflowing with these precious stones, marked the beginning of one of the most successful years of the emerald in Europe. The famous houses of the Place Vendôme acquired some of their stones and used their distant continent as inspiration to enrich their style.

The emerald then became one of the most popular stones during the Art Deco movement, especially as a way to highlight geometrical compositions. Today, Colombia remains the world’s most important producer of emeralds (60%) – not just in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality, as Colombian emeralds are generally the purest and therefore the only ones worthy of adorning the most beautiful pieces of jewellery.

A spiritual gem

The word emerald is derived from the Sanskrit word açmagarbha and the Persian term zamarut, both of which mean ‘heart of stone’. The Greek word derived from the former, smaragdos – meaning ‘green gem’ – led to the term smaragdus in Latin, of which also the French form is derived. The French adjectives ‘smaragdin’ and ‘smaragdine’ refer to the shade of emerald green.

Whereas in Antiquity, the emerald was considered the stone of love and wisdom – and therefore often associated with the goddesses Venus and Vesta – and spiritual life, the specific kind of green is also said to have been the favourite colour of the Prophet of Islam, who is believed to have worn a green coat and turban, and whose writings are full of references to the colour.

For the Bedouins of the desert, green is indeed the symbol of nature and life. Consequently, the shade often appears in Muslim history, with emerald being the stone it naturally gets associated with. Other great admirers of the emerald were the Mughal emperors, who believed in their apotropaic powers. These rulers used to engrave their emeralds and wear them directly on the skin as a talisman.

In Western cosmogony, on the other hand, the emerald is first and foremost known as the stone that shone on Lucifer’s forehead but that he lost during his battle against the archangel Michael. Having fallen into the sea, it is said to have been fished up again and made into a cup comprised of 144 facets: the Holy Grail. The chalice was given to Salomon by the Queen of Sheba, only to then resurface during the Last Supper and the Crucifixion where, in the hands of Joseph of Arimathea, it was used to collect the blood of Jesus. Having been taken to England, it is believed that this is the object the Knights of the Round Table had gone looking for...

Beautiful legends, all of which attest to the rarity of the emerald which, up until the Renaissance and the discovery of the precious mines in Colombia, would remain an absolute favourite among both Eastern and Western sovereigns. And an ongoing success story ever since.

Text: Christophe Dosogne (Editor-in-Chief COLLECT Arts Antiques Auctions)

Interview: Moïse Mann (Founder of Manalys)