Inca legacy: which country in the world produces the most emeralds

High-quality emeralds are superior in value even to diamonds, these gems are so beautiful. They are known to mankind since ancient times and were used in the manufacture of jewelry in ancient Egypt and Rome. Crowns, tiaras, rings, earrings, necklaces and scepters of famous rulers and noble persons - in the world of jewelry art you can find many examples of the use of this amazing stone.

By its chemical composition, emerald is beryllium aluminosilicate, and the presence of chromium oxide or vanadium impurity gives it a deep green color. The more saturated and brighter the green color of the emerald, the more valuable the stone.

Most of the emerald deposits on our planet have been exploited for more than a dozen or even hundreds of years. Despite this, there are regular reports of the discovery of large emeralds, the weight of which, like diamonds, is measured in carats.

Today, Colombia is the world leader in the extraction of these precious stones. In this region, emeralds in large quantities were still mined by ancient Indian civilizations. In Central and South America, an emerald, like gold, was considered a sacred stone. The Indians carried small stones with them as talismans, placed them in temples and decorated them with jewelry. Unfortunately, the Spanish colonialists exported from America a colossal amount of emeralds, taken or fraudulently obtained from the Indians. The richest emerald deposits in Colombia are still exploited. In this country, over the years, from 50 to 90% of all emeralds mined on the planet are extracted. The main deposits where quality stones are found are Muso and Tunha.

Emeralds of the highest quality are also mined in Zambia. In this African country, the main place for the extraction of precious stones is the so-called Kagem Mine.

In addition to these countries, Brazil, Egypt, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the USA and, of course, Russia can also boast of emeralds.

In our country, the Ural Mountains are a traditional place for emerald mining. In the Sverdlovsk region there are several gem deposits, where, along with emeralds, other precious and semi-precious stones are mined. The largest of them is the Malyshevskoye field.

One of the most famous emeralds in the world is the Mogul, weighing 217.8 carats. The stone was found in Colombia in the 17th century and became the most expensive emerald in the world: in 2001, it was sold at a London Christie's auction for $ 2.2 million. It is noteworthy in that it has an unusual cut: on the one hand, the stone is decorated with floral ornaments, and on the other, with prayer text.

Emeralds have traditionally been used in jewelry. But today their application has expanded somewhat. In addition to the extraction of natural emeralds, mankind produces synthetic analogues that are in no way inferior to the originals. Artificial emeralds are used in quantum electronics and in the creation of lasers.