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Beryl
The beryl is the family of crystal that creates emeralds and
aquamarines, when its color is green or blue-green, respectively. Red
beryl is bixbite or red emerald or scarlet emerald, pink beryl is
morganite, white beryl is goshenite, and a clear bright yellow beryl is
called golden beryl. Other shades such as yellow-green for heliodor and
honey yellow are common. It can also come in violet.
The earliest known source of emerald was near the Red Sea in Egypt, the
so-called Cleopatra\'s emerald mines. They were probably worked from
about 2000 B.C., apparently the location of them was lost in the middle
ages, and not rediscovered until 1818. Most emeralds used in ancient
jewelry are believed to have come from these mines. They are not worked
nowadays because of the low quality of crystals found.
Emeralds have been found in Austria since Roman times; these are no
longer commercially mined.
Columbia is generally recognized as the source of the world\'s finest
quality emeralds, both in the past and the present. The Columbian
Indians were using them before 1537, when Quesada conquered
Columbia. Russia has been another important source of
emeralds in the past. Emeralds were discovered in Australia in 1890 in
New South Wales. Emeralds were discovered between1927 and 1929 in South
Africa, followed by other sources. Another important source of superb
quality emeralds, usually only of small size, is in Zimbabwe formerly
Southern Rhodesia. These were discovered only in 1956. Emeralds were
known in India from antiquity, but their source is not certain. The
quality of Indian emeralds is very variable, but most are polished as
beads. Other sources of emerald include Norway, North Carolina,
Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, although none of these are very
important. But if you’re vacationing in any of those states, we best
you’ll keep your eyes peeled for any stray beryls!
