Good morning my lovelies, so as I sit here working on my second cup of that wondrous brew, that dark infusion of life, that precious exotic elixir of the gods. Coffee!
The thought of writing a series of posts on gems and gemstones popped into my head. With that being said, let us proceed down that particular glittering road and see where it leads us, shall we?
Let us travel back to the Paleolithic age.
As a species, we love to adorn ourselves with jewelry, makeup, hair accessories. We do it now to enhance our looks, to attract a mate and because it just makes us feel good about ourselves. Some forms of adornment are symbolic – like wedding rings. Or they’re used to make a statement about our lifestyle, like multiple piercings and earrings.
Have you ever wondered what the origins are of such self-decoration? Was there a meaning behind it? Or did we just start wearing beads, necklaces and earrings as our awareness of self increased and as we evolved?
We know that the earliest jewelry of bits of bones, shells and other personal adornments appeared in graves about 40,000 years ago. The idea that there was an afterlife, and the belief in spirits both good and bad, gave rise to the means to attract the good spirits and ward off the bad ones.
People protected themselves from evil spirits with adornments in the form of necklaces or bracelets, and pierced themselves with the same bones and shells to have these amulets on their persons at all times. At this time people also started painting their bodies with red ochre, which can be considered the earliest form of makeup. They also started lining their eyes with kohl to protect themselves against the force known as the “Evil Eye.”
Even today, much jewelry takes the form of amulets. People wear crosses around their necks, or the Star of David, or wear a claddagh ring – all to attract good fortune or ward off bad luck. There are even more throwbacks to this earliest form of magic, such as a lucky rabbit’s foot, or a lucky penny. Or we often have less well known, more personal amulets that have a meaning to us alone, but are still worn as good luck charms and amulets.
Enter the majestic gem the Emerald.
Emerald has one of the longest histories of all gemstones. The first known emerald mines were in southern Egypt and were operated from before 1000 BC into the 1700's. This is a testament to the high value people have placed on emeralds for many centuries as the work was hard and dangerous and the stones small and poor by today's standards. Treasured for at least 4,000 years by different cultures all around the world, emerald is said to quicken the intelligence as well as the heart. Legend gives its owner the gift of eloquence.
In contrast to other beryl gemstones, emerald is typically heavily flawed with cracks and inclusions of fluid and minerals. These inclusions are called "jardin" (or garden) as they typically resemble leaves and branches. These characteristics are not looked upon as negative aspects for emerald as they would be for other gemstones. Indeed, these inclusions are considered part of the character of the stone and are used to assure the purchaser that the stone is genuine. Because emeralds are so rare without inclusions, some inclusions are expected and do not detract from the value of the stone as much as with other gemstones. Most emeralds on the market today have been treated with various types of oil or resin to improve their appearance.
Emeralds are cut in Jaipur, India and Tel-Aviv, Israel as well as in the mining countries, such as Brazil and Colombia. Emerald is one of the most difficult gemstones to cut because of the high value of the rough stone and the many inclusions found in crystals. Small changes in orientation can make a large difference in the final appearance of the gem. Skilled craftsman who specialize in cutting emerald can be found in cities around the world for jewelers who insist on having stones perfected for the optimum brilliance and vibrancy.
A year or so ago a dear friend of mine and I took a “mining” vacation to north western North Carolina, where we dug up about twenty pounds of Emerald “rough”. It was a wondrous trip and enjoyable to the max. Being high in the mountains and the cool weather was invigorating to say the lease. We also got a lot of other “rough” such as Garnet, Ruby, Amethyst, and Quartz.
Since returning I have been busy cutting and polishing the “rough” that we collected on this trip. I mostly cut cabochons due to the fact that at present I do not have a faceting machine. But, that is okay because very little of the “rough” that we found would be considered faceting material. But that does not detract from the beauty of the jewelry that can be created with these gems. See the 15 carat example below.
Well I think that will pretty well cover it for today. It is time to brew another pot of life and attempt to raise my BP to a living level.
I pray that you all have a wonderful day.
May the Great Architect of the Universe guide and watch over you as you travel down the path of life and keep you safe.
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