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.

Birthstones for May – you mean there's more than one?

Yep, there's more than one. In fact, there are so many choices, you can really have some fun choosing which method to follow! But first, when did birthstones even get started, and why did they become popular?

Early references to the idea of 12 stones are from the Bible in Exodus 28:17-20, which talks about the 12 stones in Aaron's breastplate, the 12 months of the year and the 12 zodiac signs. And there's a more precise list in Revelation 21:19-20. But no one really thought about them much at that point.

According to George Frederick Kunz, the most often cited expert on gemstones, birthstones gained popularity in Poland in the 15^th century. The stones associated with each month were assigned at that time, giving us the “traditional” list of birthstones. May's “traditional” birthstone is the emerald.

According to Wikipedia, “a birthstone is a gift of a precious material that symbolizes the month of the birth in the Gregorian calendar.” There's even a poem to accompanies each birthstone! Here's the poem for May:

Who first beholds the light of day
In spring's sweet, flower month of May
And wears an emerald all her life
Shall be a loved and a loving wife.

However, a “modern” birthstone list was published by the American Jeweler's Association in 1912 in an effort to standardize things. Previously, it was a bit scattered and different jewelers had different lists, leading to a lot of confusion. For May, the modern birthstone is also an emerald.

But what if you're into the zodiac? Then you get other choices! If a person is a Taurus, the stone is a sapphire. But if you're a Gemini, then it's an agate.  The complete list is available on Wikipedia.

Or perhaps you want to celebrate the day of the week in which you were born (if you even know that!). Here's that list, also found in Wikipedia:

Monday: Pearl

Tuesday: Garnet

Wednesday: Emerald

Thursday: Topaz

Friday: Diamond

Saturday: Blue Sapphire

Sunday: Ruby

So have some fun with your options, and be sure that Manya Vee Selects has a great supply of gemstone jewelry that is much more fun and interesting than the traditional jewelry stores can offer. Check out some of our online options to whet your appetite! And stay tuned for a more in-depth look at emeralds in the near future.