May Birthstone – Emerald
Emerald – May Birthstone
the jewel of kings
Long considered the jewel of Kings, the beauty and rarity of an emerald is unlike any other gemstone. It was once used as a talisman which was believed to make one think more clearly, become more articulate and have sharp wits. Truly valuable gifts for a King!
Emeralds were thought to protect against demons and used for medicinal purposes against poisons and infection, they were even thought to cure dysentery. Such is the folklore of this captivating gemstone with its vibrant yet soothing rich verdant green color.
Emeralds were first discovered in Egypt, in Cleopatra’s Mines, approximately 1500 BC, then in India, then in Austria around the 14th century. Emeralds have been found in many countries from Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, and Zambia to name a few. But by far Colombia is best known for producing the most emeralds, at least 50 -75% of world production. The Muzo, Coscuez and Chivor are the three main emerald mines.
Determining Emerald Quality
It is often difficult to determine the quality of chunk emerald in the rough. Sometimes a gemstone cutter will have to cut away more than 50% of the rough stone to determine what the quality of the final gemstone is, which may end up weighing barely one carat and hopefully be one of fine quality.
But what determines fine quality? We go back to the “C’s” — color, clarity, cut and carat. With emerald it’s all about color. The finest emeralds will exhibit a rich, slightly bluish green color with good saturation throughout the gemstone and without inclusions that are visible to the naked eye. 99.99% of all emeralds are “oiled.” This is done to mask the natural inclusions that are inherent in emeralds. Many emeralds are cut in the “emerald” style cut which we associate with the emerald but also show the color of the gemstone to its advantage. And lastly is carat, naturally we’d like a larger emerald if we were to choose but the larger and more perfect the emerald, the rarer it is and the greater the price per carat.
A few of the more notable emeralds are the Chalk emerald ring containing a 37.82 carat emerald, the Mogul emerald weighs in at 217.80 carats, and the Duke of Devonshire emerald, one of the world’s largest uncut emeralds, weighs in at and an amazing 1,383.93 carats.
HOURS
GREAT NEWS -- we're going back to full time hours. Stay Tuned!
MAY HOURS
ALL Thursdays - 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
ALL Fridays - 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Wednesdays, May 10, 17 and 24 - Noon to 5:30 p.m.
Saturays, May 13, 20 - 9:30 - 1:30
We also offer hours by appointment -- recommended for custom design and appraisals.
As always, we remain committed to providing jewelry and watch repair services in a timely manner and MOST repairs can be completed in less than one week. MANY repairs can be completed in 1-2 days. We can replace watch batteries while you wait (if not too busy).
To schedule an appointment, please send your email request to: ViirInc@gmail.com -- we respond as quickly as possible to all emails. You may also leave a message at our store: 520-795-5496, and messages are checked on "store open" days.
Appointments
If you have an estate or multiple items for appraisal or if you would like to create a custom design, we ask that you schedule an appointment so that we can give you our unhurried attention.
To schedule an appointment, please call the store at 520-795-5496 and leave a message OR send us an email at ViirInc@gmail.com and we will get back to you more quickly. You can also send a contact request through this website.
Email: viirinc@gmail.com
Telephone: 520-795-5496
Address: 2464 N. Campbell Avenue (Parking is available behind the building)
Get in Touch
Viir Fine Jewelry & Art
520-795-5496
520-795-5496
viirinc@aol.com
2464 N. Campbell Avenue
(Parking available behind building)