YVEL MAGAZINE VOLUME 2 Apr. 2014 | Page 52

50 Emerald Collection Em Emeralds are the gems of royalty, romance and intrigue. Be Because the intense green color of emerald is the color of spring, the ancient cultures prized it as the gemstone symbolizing love and rebirth. Emeralds are found all over the world in countries such as Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Brazil,Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Pakista n, Russia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Treasured for at least 4,000 years by different civilizations all around the world, emerald is said to quicken the intelligence as well as the heart. Legend gives its owner the gift of eloquence. Emerald was one of the first precious stones to be mined and fashioned by the ancient Egyptians, at what is generally accepted to be the world’s oldest source for this gem, an area now called Cleopatra’s Mines. In the Vedas, the ancient sacred writings of Hinduism, it is said that the emerald could give mental power and wisdom, and could make the wearer a very persuasive and charismatic speaker. It does not come as a surprise, then, that in ancient India, the treasure chests of Indian Maharajas and Maharanis contained the most wonderful emeralds.Colombia, since the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores, has been the “Mecca for emeralds”, and it continues to be the country where the most beautiful, most valuable and prized stones are found.