▪︎ Precious gemstones are formed deep within the Earth’s crust, under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. Their creation takes millions of years. Because of their natural rarity and the fact that global reserves are constantly diminishing, the value of natural gemstones continues to rise.

▪︎ All over the world, the mining of precious stones is done exclusively by hand, which makes the process both labor-intensive and delicate.

▪︎ The weight of gemstones is measured in carats, with one carat (ct) equal to 0.2 grams. The science dedicated to studying the physical and optical properties of these stones is called gemology.

▪︎ Extracting just one carat of a gemstone can require the processing of massive amounts of earth. For instance, in Colombia, approximately 20 tons of soil must be sifted and processed to obtain a single carat of emerald.

▪︎ Interestingly, a genuine emerald is often more expensive than a diamond of the same weight, size, and quality. However, around 95% of all mined emeralds contain fractures or inclusions, which is completely natural and expected.

▪︎ One of the largest emeralds ever discovered was found in Brazil in 1974, weighing an astonishing 28 kilograms – that’s 5600 carats.

▪︎ Among the rarest varieties of gemstones is the so-called “red emerald.” In fact, it is a rare form of the mineral beryl known as bixbite, and it is found only in Utah, USA.

▪︎ Throughout history, emeralds have also been associated with mystical beliefs. Many cultures consider emeralds set in gold jewelry to have protective powers, especially against the evil eye.