Most people can recognize an emerald based on its signature “emerald” cut and the deep, green color of this gemstone. However, apart from these two facts, there might be a few other things you don’t know about emerald jewelry.
For example:
1. Emeralds are one of the four precious globally recognized stones. The other three are rubies, diamonds, and sapphires.
2. You can find the emerald all over the world. A few of the 30 countries where you can find the emerald include the U.S., Brazil, Afghanistan, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Cambodia, and China. Although you can find emeralds virtually anywhere, Colombia is the world’s largest producer of this gem. This country accounts for more than half of the gemstone’s production.
3. If you’ve ever seen a piece of emerald jewelry, it was probably cut into a rectangular shape. Although this is the most common cut for the emerald, it can be cut into almost any other shape for emerald jewelry.
4. Emeralds have been found in five states in the U.S.: Montana, Connecticut, Nevada, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
5. The name emerald comes from the Greek ‘smaragdos’ via the Old French ‘esmeralde’, and means ‘green gemstone’.
6. Emeralds aren’t usually found by themselves. In many locations, you can also find emeralds near large deposits of quartz.
