Emerald

“ In the early Renaissance the watchmakers and the goldsmiths, their eyes bleary from long strain at their fine operations, would pause in their work and gaze upon an emerald. The emerald is the only stone that delights the eye without ever bringing fatigue.
Less worthy use was made of the emerald by those ambitious in love. In the Orient, the emerald was the token of love and was often used to adorn the statues of the god or the goddess of love. ”

“ The emerald, the ruby, and the topaz glitter in her garb, which is never soiled with the dirt of earth, for, leading an aërial life, it rarely touches the turf even for an instant. Always in the air, flying from flower to flower, it shares their freshness and their splendour, imbibes their nectar, and only inhabits those climes in which they are unceasingly renewed. ”

“ Take a huge emerald and cut it into the shape of a bird. Insert a pale blue turquoise at the throat, rubies for the eyes, and set these off with strips of darkest emery, let into the head a golden topaz, then breathe into this collection of gems the breath of life, and you will have produced a poor imitation of that gem of the feathered world—the little emerald merops. ”

“ The emerald is so highly esteemed in Europe, that it merits the best workmanship. It ought to be cut in planes or steps, larger or smaller, according to the intensity of its color, with a low bizel, and large table, and set on black. With this work it appears to the greatest advantage, especially if also surrounded by brilliants, the lustre of which contrasts agreeably with the softened hue of the gem. ”

“ The year is divided into four seasons or cycles,—spring, summer, fall, and winter,—and each season has its particular gem The emerald is the gem of the spring, the ruby the gem of summer, the sapphire the gem of autumn, and the diamond the gem of winter
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For spring, no precious stone is more appropriate than the emerald. Its beautiful color is that of Nature, for Nature clothes herself with green when she awakens from her long rest of winter. ”

“ Sometimes when the last-mentioned species was suspended over the water, its rapidly vibrating wings showing like a mere film, a speck shot down the valley, swift as an arrow, as white as a snowflake, and stopping suddenly over the pool, startled the emerald-throat, and frightened it up amongst the overhanging branches. ”

“ These beautiful stones exhibit the physical, characteristics of emeralds with the exception of the color, in which they differ very perceptibly. But to appreciate fully the difference in hue we must compare the two gems. Then the lively green of the beryl fades away before the overpowering hue of the emerald, whose rich prismatic green may be taken as the purest type of that color known to the chemist or the painter. ”

“ The old bony hand, with the gesture of one that takes rather than gives, put the emerald into a side pocket of the coat, where lay he knew not what—but in point of fact, a tobacco pouch, a pipe, a pencil, and a piece of chocolate—of all things in the world!—no longer clean. ”

“ About the most dangerous imitation of the emerald that is ever seen in the trade is the triplet that has a top and a back made of true but pale beryl (the same mineral as emerald, but not of the right color) and a thin slice of deep emerald green glass laid between. This slice of glass is usually placed behind the girdle so that a file will not find any point of attack. The specific gravity of the triplet is practically that of emerald, its color is often very good, and it is doubly refracting. It is thus a dangerous imitation. ”

“ It resembled an emerald of the largest, rarest and most beautiful kind, and yet it was not an emerald. No mere emerald, no natural chemical fluke, could possibly have the life—the almost living vitality—of this stone. ”

“ At night the ripples and foam of the Fundy shores seem transformed to molten silver and gold, and after each receding wave the emerald seaweed is left dripping with millions of sparkling lights, shining with a living lustre which would pale the brightest gem. Each of these countless sparks is a tiny animal, as perfect in its substance and as well adapted to its cycle of life as the highest created being. ”

“ Ptolemy offered a famous poet, who visited his court, an emerald set in gold, with his portrait engraved on it. Nero, who was near-sighted, looked at the combats of gladiators through an eyeglass of emerald. An emerald is rarely without a flaw, and its value depends on its color. A very perfect emerald of six carats has been sold for $5,000. The name of oriental emerald is often given to a very rare, beautiful and precious green sapphire. ”

“ Compared with most gems, the emerald is rather soft, its hardness (7.5) being but slightly above that of quartz. The specific gravity is low, varying slightly in stones from different localities, but being for the Muzo emerald about 2.67. The refractive and dispersive powers are not high, so that the cut stones display little brilliancy or “fire.” The emerald is dichroic, giving in the dichroscope a bluish-green and a yellowish-green image. The magnificent colour which gives extraordinary value to this gem, is probably due to chromium. ”

“ The emerald is said to be very soft when first withdrawn from the mine, but it hardens by exposure to the air.
A perfect emerald of fair size is a rarity, so that the saying “an emerald without a flaw” has passed into a proverb.
This stone is so light, compared to a diamond or sapphire, that a carat emerald will be very much larger than either of the above stones.
The emerald is composed of: [Pg 52]
The vivid green color of the emerald is supposed to come from the oxide of chrome, as the other beryls do not contain chrome. ”

“ The sun is shining, and under the lee of every stone and sunk log, some of the little creatures are rising to the surface, to enjoy the bright blaze, which enhances all their beauty. The golden hues of some parts of the body blend with the green of the emerald, while the coral tints of the lower parts and the red of its sparkling eye, render our little favourite a perfect gem of the waters. ”

“ King Loc dipped his hand in them, and they saw rolling in luminous confusion the violet amethyst and the maiden stone; the emerald of three natures, the one dark green, the other called the honeyed emerald because it is of the colour of honey, the third of a bluish-green called beryl, which bestows beautiful dreams; the eastern topaz; the ruby beautiful as the blood of brave men; the dark blue sapphire called the male sapphire, and the pale blue sapphire called the female sapphire ”

“ It consists of a mass of white quartz, thickly implanted with emeralds, more than an inch in diameter."
The note to the above exemplifies what I have just said. It is called emerald, he says, because it is green, from the Greek. I might make a query of this; but it is clearly a mistake of some half-learned or ill-understood informant. The name has nothing to do with green. Emerald, in Italian smeraldo, is, I dare say, from the Greek smaragdus. It is derived, according to the Oxford Lexicon, from μαιρω, to shine, whence μαρμαρυγη. ”

“ They said that the emerald brought mental tranquility, cured unnatural thirst, stomach troubles, jaundice, liver troubles, obstructions, gravel, stricture, bodily pains and epilepsy. Albertus Magnus also recommends it as a cure for epileptic attacks. Mystics have always regarded the emerald as of the highest worth. It is spoken of by Cardanus as an ideal gem for divinatory purposes—no doubt because of its pure spiritual import. Aristotle writes that an emerald hung from the neck or worn on the finger protects from the “falling sickness.” ”

“ He who looks long and deeply into the emerald may behold distant scenes and happenings at will. He who wears the ring can exert control over the winds and currents of the sea and over the sea's creatures, by describing certain signs in air with his finger. ”

“ In the center of the room lay the body of the old man, curiously shriveled and shrunken. Beside it, on a table, lay an emerald, an emerald such as the eyes of man had never beheld, a great jewel of monstrous size. ”

“ The ancients, who valued them, especially for engraving, are said to have procured them from Ethiopia and Egypt. The finest are now obtained from Colombia. The Oriental emerald is a variety of the ruby, of a green colour, and is an extremely rare gem.
Emerald Green, a vivid light-green pigment, an aceto-arsenite of copper, used both in oil and water-colour painting. It is extremely poisonous. Hydrated chromium sesquioxide is another mineral emerald green. ”

“ The emerald seems to appeal more to the Eastern imagination than any other precious stone. The white man had obtained it, I was told, partly by the exercise of his wonderful strength and partly by cunning, from the ruler of a distant country, whence he had fled instantly, arriving in Patusan in utmost distress, but frightening the people by his extreme ferocity, which nothing seemed able to subdue. ”

“ No "scientific" emeralds of marketable size have ever been produced as far as can be learned. Many attempts to reproduce emerald by melting beryl or emerald of inferior color have resulted only in the production of a beryl glass, which, while its color might be of desirable shade, was softer and lighter in weight than true emerald. It was also a true glass and hence singly refracting and without dichroism, whereas emerald is crystalline (not glassy or amorphous) , is doubly refracting, and shows dichroism. ”

“ Emerald, a mineral differing in nothing but color from beryl. The emerald is highly esteemed as a gem. It owes its value mainly to its very beautiful velvety-green color. It is found in very few places. The finest have long been brought from Colombia, where they are got from veins in slate and granite. ”

“ Nowhere in North America do the true emeralds occur. Professor Cleaveland, who was one of the best authorities of his day, maintained nearly half a century ago that emeralds which exhibited a lively and beautiful green hue were found in blasting a canal through a ledge of graphic granite in the town of Topsham in Maine. Several of the crystals presented so pure, uniform and rich a green that he ventured to pronounce them precious emeralds. But to-day we are unable to verify the assertion, or point to a single specimen similar in hue to the emerald from the above-mentioned locality. ”

“ They are the least valuable Kind, and are not only inferior to the others in Hardness, Colour, and Transparency, but also in Size.
The true Oriental Emerald is of the same Hardness with the Sapphire: the American Emeralds are very different in this respect, and really are of different Kinds; some of them coming very near the Hardness of the Oriental, and others little exceeding that of common Crystal; the European in general are of this last Texture also, and, determinately speaking, are rather coloured Crystals than real Emeralds. ”

“ Green sapphire seldom even approaches emerald in fineness of color. When it remotely suggests emerald it is called "Oriental" emerald to denote that it is a corundum gem. Most green sapphires are of too blue a green to resemble emerald. Some are really "Oriental" aquamarines. In some cases the green of the green sapphire is due to the presence, within the cut stone, of both blue and yellow portions, the light from which, being blended by its reflection within the stone, emerges as green as seen by the unaided eye, which cannot analyze colors. ”

“ At the base it was of a full green, the colour of emerald without, of course, its gleam. It was not by any means dull, however, either in colour or substance, and was of infinite hardness and fineness of texture. ”

“ Its scales are of the deepest emerald, and its eyes, composed of different coloured circles, are as clear as crystal. It feeds upon shell-fish, which it crushes between its bony jaws, nature having armed it with such instruments in place of teeth. ”

“ Green tourmaline sometimes passes for the emerald, but it is somewhat softer and considerably heavier.
Olivines or chrysolites, if of a fine green color, sometimes resemble the emerald, but they are much heavier than the emerald and have a fatty lustre. Green spinels are heavier and harder than emeralds. ”

“ The brilliant purple of the ruby, the golden yellow of the topaz, the celestial blue of the sapphire, are all pleasing tints; but the green of the emerald is so lovely, that the eye, after glancing 39over all the others, finds delight in resting upon this. In value it is rated next to the ruby; and, when of good colour, is set without foil and upon a black ground, like a brilliant diamond. Emeralds of inferior lustre are generally set upon a green gold foil. ”

“ Emerald The emerald is especially commended for amulets to be suspended from the necks of children; it is believed to preserve them from epileptic convulsions and to prevent the falling sickness; but if the violence of the disease is such that it cannot be overcome by the stone, the latter breaks up. Bound to a woman’s thigh it is said to hasten parturition; hanging from the neck it drives off vain fears and evil spirits. It strengthens the memory, restores the sight, reveals adultery and gives a knowledge of the future, produces eloquence and increases wealth. ”

“ Sometimes the green prisms enclose others of blue and black. Specific gravity of these varieties from 3. to 3.1. The green and blue crystals in this locality are translucid or semi-transparent. The feldspar is generally white, rarely light blue. There are [351] some emeralds in the granite. Among some specimens which Mr. Weeks of New-York, who discovered this locality, was so good as to give me, I found a beautiful rose emerald in its matrix. It is a hexaedral prism, about one and a quarter inch in diameter, the summit a plane, one of the lateral edges has a truncature. ”

“ The beryl, whether emerald or aquamarine, is rather brittle. Emeralds are seldom found in river gravels. The material cannot persist in the mountain streams that bring down other and tougher minerals. The extreme beauty and [126] value of the emerald has led to its use in the finest jewels, and the temptation is strong to set it in rings, especially in rings for ladies. If such rings are worn with the care that valuable jewels should receive they will probably last a long time without any more serious damage than the dulling of the sharp edges of the facets around the table. ”