Emerald

Emerald is the green variety of beryl, a beryllium aluminium silicate, its colour coming from traces of chromium, sometimes vanadium, with iron also playing a part. Only stones of medium to dark tone are called emerald; paler ones go by the name green beryl. Most emeralds are full of inclusions and fine cracks, sometimes called the jardin, French for garden, after their mossy look, and its toughness is rated poor. It is counted among the four great precious gems with diamond, ruby and sapphire. Egypt was mining emeralds by about 1500 BC; today Colombia is the largest producer and Zambia the second. The word comes through French and Latin from a Greek name meaning green gem. Cunningham assigns emerald to Venus and to earth and links it with Isis, Venus and Ceres. He uses it for love, advising that a charged stone be worn hidden near the heart, and in business spells, and says it was worn for memory, for awareness of psychic faculties and for protection, once being tied to the left arm of travellers. Hall calls it a stone of inspiration and patience, the stone of successful love, and credits it with fostering friendship, psychic abilities, wisdom, a clear mind and a good memory.