May Birthstone: Emerald

She brings the courage it takes to love and be loved.

Like the pull of the moon, she ebbs and flows.

A magnetic strength, she draws you into her dance.

A rebirth, a spring of new hope.

Just like emeralds, you grow in the most unlikely places, a dandelion sprouting through the cracks. You show them how life always finds a way.

This is the kind of survival skill emerald is so famous for.

A stone for manifesting abundance, emerald gives you strength when handling nasty gossip, feeling misunderstood, and dealing with the painful process of beautiful growth. She convinces you there’s no way to circumvent problems. No shortcut. No ‘achieve success in 30 days’.

namesake

First known as marakata in Sanskrit, meaning ‘the green of growing things’, then translated into Persian, then translated into Greek as smaragdus, then into Old French as esmeraulde. Even the history of its name is abundant.

Made in the warm belly of Mother Earth, emerald is born out of struggle. Why is that?

You see, the same element which gives emerald its green color also gives her inclusions and fractures. In fact, the greener the stone, the more included it is. In other words, there’s no other stone which celebrates scars the same way emeralds do!

So think about all those times you were drowning and drunk in love, swept away to the shore of insanity. Or when your passion is so intense, your to-do list swells like a gluten belly. Or when you find yourself living out your darkest demons.

Emerald has the courage to stand up and say: that’s enough, my friend.

Just like a dense forest, emerald attracts life in all its forms. And she orchestrates everything with a motherly expertise, letting your most challenging ideas travel earthside.

So if you ever wonder how to turn meltdowns into creative musings, think about how emerald - even with its deeply buried scars - remains the most potent stone to ground you for even more abundance.

EMERALD’S VIBES

Birthstone for: May

Emerald zodiac sign: Taurus (20 April-20 May)

Emerald chakra:

The first chakra - the Root or Muladhara chakra. Located at the base of your pelvic floor, the root chakra helps you stay grounded when the world is turning against you. Use an emerald whenever you need to regain confidence, heal a wounded heart, and get yourself back on your feet.
The third chakra - the Heart or the Anahata chakra. Emerald brings goodness to the heart. A stone to manifest growth and abundance, emerald helps you reconnect with your own love so you gain more for others. Basically, it’s the stone to keep your heart overflowing with love.

How emerald fits into your life:

Darlings born in May
Spring flings
Cancerians
Your spouse on your 55th anniversary

Vibes:

Abundance and growth.
Wisdom and focus
Consciousness
Confidence and self-esteem
Equilibrium

Use for:

Decorating your work space, office or studio
When your body feels too big for your soul
Winning a court case
Sending love vibes to the one that got away
When you’re feeling claustrophobic (literally or figuratively)

feel emerald riches

EMERALD’S ORIGINS

Our emeralds are responsibly sourced from:

Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria, USA, Zambia

EMERALD’S DURABILITY

Tough Love level:

7.5-8 Mohs scale of hardness - yes, emerald is good at keeping scratches at bay, but it tends to be highly included, which means it’s not as strong when it comes to breakage and chipping. Use a bezel setting or v-prong setting to hold the stone firmly and protect its edges. Find out more about hardness vs toughness here.

Common emerald treatments:

Oil/resin infusion - virtually all emeralds are oiled. This is because emerald is heavily included. Oil or resin penetrates the cracks, making the stone looks better than it actually is. This treatment isn’t permanent, so over time you’ll find your emerald looks more included. Since this treatment is so common, we assume all emeralds we stock are treated. Find more about common gemstone treatments here.

Cleaning, care, and cauton:

Emerald should be treated with extra care. Avoid ultrasonic or steam cleaner since the ultrasonic wave and heat can damage the gemstone. Chemicals can also bring the oil, which is to keep the fractures filled, to the surface and causing its appearance to change. The safest way to clean emerald is by using warm, soapy water, preferably made from natural ingredients, like our lerak jewelry wash.

EMERALD TYPES AND SHADES

EMERALD typeS

Cat’s eye emerald means the stone presents chatoyancy. This is a fancy word taken from the French, meaning "shining like a cat's eye". It refers to the effect when a bright light hits a rounded surface of a gemstone and reflects back in a shiny narrow line. This line moves along with the light or your eyes, just like a cat's pupil does under bright light. To bounce the cat's eye effect off its rounded surface, emeralds must be cut as a cabochon. Cat’s eye emerald is usually found in paler green emeralds.
Star emerald is one-of-a-kind stone with asterism. Star emeralds are super duper rare specimens. To date, only 11 star emeralds have been documented worldwide. Most of these were found in either Brazil or Madagascar.
Trapiche emerald shows a six-rayed star caused by black impurities. Unlike the star emerald, this star stays visible at any angle. Since emerald has a hexagonal crystal structure, the impurities can fill the crystal junctions. This causes a radiant pattern that looks like a six pointed star. Trapiche emeralds are most commonly found in Colombia.

EMERALD shadeS

Green emeralds are found in Zambia, Ethiopia and Colombia. With high saturation of color, they’re highly included. Colombia is also the largest emerald producer in the world.
Blue-green emeralds are mined in Zambia and Nigeria. These are cooler toned green emerald with a hint of blue. Sometimes called green beryl as the color is less vivid and deep.
Light green emeralds are lighthearted and joyful. They often have a bright blue overtone and are a perfect summer ring. These emeralds generally come from Brazil.