National Museum of Natural Science

The emerald occupies a very important position in the gemstone world. The ancient Greeks referred to it as the "shining gemstone". The bright green color is due to trace amounts of trivalent chromium or vanadium ions. From ancient times, it has been called the "king of the green gemstones". As there are not many crystals that can be cut, to preserve the maximum quality and quantity of gemstones, emerald cascade faceting method is used. In this display is a rough emerald from Columbia with green hexagonal columnar crystals within dark lime-breccia. The crystal length is about 1.5 centimeters. Another two specimens are brightly colored emerald cascade faceted stones of 2.56 carats.

Emerald