The Lore and Lure of Emeralds

Example of a raw emerald

The emerald is the traditional birthstone for May.    There are a lot of fun things to know about emeralds!  Since May heralds spring and lots of green stuff emerging, it is fitting that the stone commemorating births in this month is also green.


Another connection between emeralds, spring and new growth comes from the way emeralds form in the earth.  Within its depths are often tiny fractures or inclusions, which the french called “jardin”, which translates to “garden.”  The Egyptians engraved emeralds with foliage imagery to represent eternal youth, and buried them with their dead. 

Leaf carved into an emerald

Cleopatra is often associated with the emerald because it was her favorite stones.  Emeralds were found in Egypt up to 2000 years before Cleopatra's time.  She wore lavish emerald jewelry, and is said to bestow a gift of an emerald carved with her likeness to visiting dignitaries.

Cleopatra might have worn something spectacular like this.

On the technical side of things, emeralds belong to the beryl family of minerals, which have a particular chemical makeup that differs from other stones.  All beryl stones are relatively hard, which makes them more precious.  Pure beryl is clear.  The presence of various chemicals create colors.  For emerald, it is usually trace amounts of chromium that cause the beautiful green color.  Another popular beryl stone is aquamarine.  Others are less well-known.

A beautiful aquamarine

If you've got someone with a May birthday in your life, then please stop by Manya Vee Selects to check out our small but unusual selection of emerald jewelry.  We also have jewelry in the other categories for May including agate and sapphire, as well as options for each day of the week.