Emerald is a bright to dull green gemstone that is formed from the mineral beryl. Unlike diamond, emerald has a hardness of 7.5 to 8, and therefore is a softer gemstone. The luster of emerald vitreous, although high quality emeralds have almost a velvety appearance. The color distribution is how the gems are evaluated(Chesterman 562). Columbia is the world's top producer of emeralds, in both quality and amount. Emerald is the birthstone for May.

This image is taken from: http://www.emeraldsofcolombia.com/ emeralds/rings/index.html

For more information on emerald, visit these sites! This site provides information about a private craftsman. For good buys of emeralds try these emerald auctions. For information on processing emeralds click here. This site is a supplier of loose Colombian emeralds.

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