GEM OF THE WEEK
A Brief History of the Emerald

One of my favorite gems is an emerald.  The emerald has a long and illustrious history.  The most famous of mines in ancient times is the "Cleopatra Mine," beacuase of her fondness for the gem, although emeralds were used in jewelry, carvings and crowns as far back as the Babylonians.  For the Egyptians, the stones were symbols of rebirth and fertility.  The ancient Romans believed the stone refreshed and restored vision, Nero even had a pair of glasses made of emeralds to watch the gladiators as his sight was poor.  There are many virtures associated with the emerald including, improving intelligence, memory and eloquence.  Aristole, a great fan, brought emeralds to the attention of the western world and believe the stone could increase importance in presence and speech to the wearer.  It was also believed emeralds could prevent epilepsy.  These are just a few of the attributes ascribed to the emerald in the ancient world, there are many more legends and admirers including Elizabeth Taylor famous for her collection.