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and really
just means 'green gemstone'. Innumerable fantastic
stories have grown up around this magnificent gem. The
Incas and Aztecs of South America, where the best
emeralds are still found today, regarded the emerald as
a holy gemstone. However, probably the oldest known
finds were once made near the Red Sea in Egypt. Having
said that, these gemstone mines, already exploited by
Egyptian pharaohs between 3000 and 1500 B.C. and later
referred to as 'Cleopatra's Mines', had already been
exhausted by the time they were rediscovered in the
early 19th century.
Emeralds
have been held in high esteem since ancient times. For
that reason, some of the most famous emeralds are to be
seen in museums and collections. The New York Museum of
Natural History, for example, has an exhibit in which a
cup made of pure emerald which belonged to the Emperor
Jehangir is shown next to the 'Patricia', one of the
largest Colombian emerald crystals, which weighs 632
carats. T each lavishly adorned with emeralds and other
gems. |
