Art Nouveau Emerald brooch on Portobello Market
The birthstone for May is the Emerald, all you lucky May-children! It is one of my absolute favourite gemstones, with colours that span all kinds of glorious shades of green. The emerald is thought to be a symbol of rebirth and it is also said to give its owner foresight, good fortune and youth. (1) The largest and highest quality emeralds today are mined in Columbia, but they can also be found in Brazil, Afghanistan, Norway, Austria, Australia, Madagascar and Zambia, and a few more places around the world.
Antique emerald and diamond earrings from Portobello Market
The adoration of emeralds date go far back in time, as tools dating back to 1300 B.C, have been found in emerald mines in Egypt. This was during the reign of Ramesses II, the third Egyptian pharaoh, who is often regarded as the greatest and most celebrated pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. (2) Given the beauty of the emerald, I wasn’t surprised to hear that a famous historical artefact was made of emeralds: the Crown of the Andes which was allegedly created by the last Inca king of Peru, Atahualpa. I would love to see this crown, which is set with ca. 450 emeralds with a total weight of 1523 carats – if you are having a hard time picturing how much this is, imagine that a regular diamond ring is often around 1 carat, so 1523 times that! (3)
Emeralds were rather popular among the royals in both Babylon and Egypt, and in the latter royals were buried wearing these precious gemstones. Queen Cleopatra’s emeralds are thought to have originated from mines in Southern Egypt, close to the Red Sea, and she loved them so much that she claimed the Egyptian emerald mines as her own (yup, if I had the power to do that I probably would have done it too!)
Antique Gold Leopard at Grays Antique Market in Mayfair
And over to my favourite part; the many myths surrounding the emerald. The emerald has been thought to prevent epilepsy, stop bleeding, cure fever and protect the wearer from panic. The ancient Romans dedicated emeralds to the goddess Venus, as the green gemstone symbolised the reproductive forces of nature. In the Middle Ages people believed that emeralds held the power to tell the future.
Antique Emerald and Sapphire rings on Portobello Market
Emeralds are so beautiful that I can completely understand the temptation to choose an emerald for your engagement ring! However, do keep in mind that they are relatively brittle stones and therefore easily damaged, so if you intend to wear your ring every day an emerald might be too soft a choice. I would therefore recommend that you choose a diamond for your engagement ring, which can withstand the hardships of everyday wear and tear and go for a glorious emerald cocktail ring that you can wear on special occasions and keep safely tucked away in the meantime!
Sources:
(3) Earthsky.org
Decades of Elegance 