Emerald, with its lush, exuberant shade of green, is the most recognisable member of the beryl family. Emerald takes its name from the ancient Greek word for green, "smaragdus". Colombia is the largest producer of emeralds, which have a great reputation for their stunning colour. 

A new source in recent years has been Zambia. These stones are very vibrant and tend to have less inclusions than Brazilian or Columbian emeralds. They have a slight bluish green colour.  

Emeralds were once associated with healing powers and legend has it that emeralds make their wearer more intelligent and witty. 

Sources: Colombia, Brazil, Russia, Zambia, Zimbabwe. 

Hardness: Emeralds range from 7.5-8 on Mohs scale. 

Toughness: Poor to good. 

Emerald is the birthstone for May.

Brereton's have a large selection of emerald jewellery in both our new and antique jewellery ranges.

To view our collection of Emerald jewellery please contact us at webenquiries@brereton.ie.