Emerald

Emerald is the green variety of beryl and owes its distinctive colour to traces of chromium or vanadium. No other gemstone combines green with the same vividness and warmth, and none is so inseparably tied to craft and legend — from the mines of Cleopatra to the Colombian veins of Muzo and Chivor.

Unlike sapphire and ruby, emerald almost always contains internal features affectionately known in French as jardin: a natural garden of inclusions that makes each stone unique. Clarity is therefore judged more leniently than in other gemstones — quality lies in the colour: its saturation, velvety quality and purity of hue.

The principal sources are Colombia (the classical reference), Zambia (more blue-green, often cleaner) and Brazil. Our selection focuses on stones whose colour tells the story, with a transparency that allows the green to breathe.