For all those born in this lovely month of May, we bring to you the Emerald! So sit down and let’s learn about your awesome Precious Birthstone. Did you know, it wasn’t always called an Emerald? Emerald comes from an ancient Persian word, which then transitioned into the Greek, Smaragdus. Through the centuries it has gone from esmaurde, esmralde, and in the 16th century to esmeralde.
This beautiful gemstone is ancient, even mentioned in the world's oldest book, Papyrus Prisse. "But good words are more difficult to find than the Emerald, for it is by slaves that it is discovered among the rocks." Although this book is 4500 years old, this is from a passage of writing 1000 years earlier!
This illustration from the 1817 expedition report of Frederic Cailliaud shows the ancient emerald mining area near Wade Sikait in Egypt, which the Romans referred to as “Mons Smaragdus” (Emerald mountains).
The Emerald has been revered for thousands of years, however some of the oldest Emeralds in existence are estimated to be about 2.97 Billion years old, how cool is that?! Emerald mines were first found in Ancient Egypt in 330 B.C.
During Cleopatra's reign, she claimed ownership of all Emerald mines, due to her great love for the vibrant green Gemstone. She held such a high regard for this Gem, when visiting dignitaries left, she gifted them with her likeness carved into an Emerald! Unfortunately, it is not known what ever happened to her vast collection of Emeralds, it remains a mystery to this day.
On top of the Emeralds beauty, it has been thought to help heal the eyes. To this day, looking at the lovely green of the Gem soothes and calms people. This is truly an amazing and enigmatic Gemstone. Looking for some Emerald gift ideas? Browse our Emerald collection here.