EMERALD
Emerald is the birthstone of May. It is a variety of beryl and colored green by significant amounts of chromium.
It ranks between 7.5-8 on the Mohs hardness scale . Columbia continues to be at the top list of where most emeralds are sourced. While emeralds have a good hardness to them, it can be very brittle causing difficulty for even the most skilled gem cutter. The various inclusions also make emeralds harder to set into jewelry.
Top quality emeralds can be worth more than diamonds because it is very rare to find an emerald without any imperfections. Emeralds were thought to enhance clairvoyance if put under the tongue or worn on the left side.
The Chaldeans believed that emerald contained Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. One of the largest emerald specimens event found was the “Bahia Emerald “. It weighs 840 lbs. and is valued at $400 million.