On stand – Emerald #1

Emerald has been a popular gemstone for ages. It is a variety of Beryl, just like for example Aquamarine or Morganite. The stone is coloured by either Chromium or Vanadium, although the last one has not been accepted as true Emerald until the 1960s. Because of the great value of Emerald it is often faked or synthetised, but because of lack of inclusions and different reaction to UV-lighting these are easily distinguished from real ones. The name comes from the Greek ‘smaragdos’, through the Latin ‘Esmeralda’, which means ‘green gemstone’ The first place where Emerald was used as a gemstone was Ancient Egypt, where mining began as soon as 330 BC. The gem was loved with early Roman lapidarists to ease the eyes with the beautiful green colour after a long day of working stones.