Description
Emeralds are the green variety of the mineral Beryl. The biggest and the most beautiful Emeralds come from the Chivor and Muzo mines of Colombia. Another notable origin is Zambia with many other deposits found in mines of Zimbabwe and Tanzania, Brazil and Ethiopia.
The color of Zambian and Colombian emeralds are quite contrasting. While Colombian emeralds are highly saturated and display a kind of fluorescent green color, Zambian emeralds have a darker and deeper green with sometimes a blue overcast. Emeralds are very often associated with inclusions which represent moss-like structure also called as Jardin which is the French word for garden. Clean emeralds are rare and can be highly valuable. Colombian emeralds also have a rare variety called Trapiche Emeralds. These display a fixed black spoke-like structure in them.
It has a Mohs Hardness of 7.5 – 8 on a scale of 10.