May Birthstone: Emerald

If you are born in May, you have an incredibly beautiful birthstone which has long symbolized love and rebirth. The stone, Emerald, is green in colour. Another interesting fact about this stone is, as the gem of Venus, it was also considered to aid in fertility.

To dig a little bit deeper in history – Cleopatra, Egypt’s tempestuous female monarch was as famous for wearing Emeralds in her time as Liz Taylor is for wearing diamonds in our time. Ancient Egyptian mummies were often buried with an Emerald carved with the symbol of verdure – flourishing greenness – on their necks to symbolize eternal youth.

To determine the value of the Emerald, the deeper and more vivid the colour of green, the more valuable the stone. The most valuable and beautiful Emeralds exhibit an intense bluish hue in addition to their basic bold green colour. Emeralds, among the rarest of gems, are almost always found with birthmarks, known as inclusions. Some inclusions are expected and do not detract from the value of the stone as much as with other gemstones.

Although we don’t have a large variety of jewellery that features Emerald, due to it being a very expensive stone and usually being set in real gold – you will be able to find a few special items in store – long chains with multiple stones, some stud earrings as well as a few rings. So pop in store to see if there’s something that you fall in love with.