Emerald

Emerald is the green variety of beryl, a «sibling» of aquamarine and morganite. Its color comes from traces of chromium and vanadium.

For an emerald to form, two elements that almost never meet in nature — beryllium from the crust and chromium from deep within — must come together in the same place, under rare geological conditions, over hundreds of millions of years.

That’s why a clean emerald can be more expensive than a diamond of the same size.

Look closely and you’ll see tiny natural inclusions — jewelers poetically call them «jardin», garden. They aren’t flaws, but the unique signature of each stone, proof that it’s natural and formed in the rock.

The Egyptians mined it over 2,000 years ago from deposits now called the «Cleopatra Mines»; the queen adored it and adorned her palace with it.

Closer to our times, Richard Burton gifted Elizabeth Taylor a legendary Bvlgari emerald suite.

At the 2009 Oscars, Angelina Jolie wore Colombian emerald earrings totaling over 100 carats, sparking a global wave of demand. On the red carpet, emerald remains the stone that says «elegance without compromise».

The finest effect, a velvety green called «gota de aceite» (drop of oil), appears in roughly one stone in a thousand.

Its green ranges from light to deep, regal hues. The purest greens come from Colombia, from the Muzo and Chivor mines.

A symbol of hope, wisdom, and renewal, emerald is the birthstone of May.

With a hardness of 7,5–8 it’s durable, but its inclusions make it sensitive to knocks, and most emeralds are oil-treated — so it deserves to be worn with care.

Clean only gently, with no ultrasound and no chemicals. Its regal green comes to life best in yellow gold or 925 silver.