Birthstone May: Emeralds Herald the Onset of New Life

After the long, hot dusty summer of January, February and March in Africa, it is with a sign of relief that many of us living in the southern hemisphere welcome the month of May.

May is the month that gets a lot of rainfall once the long awaited cold season starts. Pasture lands and city walkways that had turned brown and dusty begin to slowly return to light green and eventually to the dark green carpets we all know so well. Acres upon acres stretching across the coastlines, highlands and savannahs of our beautiful continent Africa all breath again with new life.

For many people who are living in the northern hemisphere, May means spring just before hot, long summer days. As water melts away from icy hectares, trees that had lost their lustre, flowers and leaves begin to show that there is still life in them after-all. May, a month of new life, a month for new beginnings.

It comes as no surprise that Emerald is the stone chosen for the month of May. Emeralds herald the onset of spring, rebirth and renewal. This stone got its name from the Greek word "smaragdos" which means "green" in the English language. Emeralds are one of the traditional four gems including diamonds, rubies and sapphires.

Colours of this beryl range from light, yellow green to deep dark, rich greens; the rarest and most expensive being green-blue in colour. Emeralds as a variety of the mineral beryl have traces of chromium and vanadium.

As a matter of fact, Colombian emeralds are the standard by which all other emeralds mined in other parts of the world are measured. Afghanistan, Brazil, Zambia, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Russia, Somali, South Africa, Spain, Zimbabwe and the United States of America are those other countries.

On the Moh scale, Emeralds are rated with a 7.5 - 8 rate of hardness. When purchasing jewellry with this gemstone, consider its colour, clarity, cut and carat weight. As Emeralds are green, their colour is used to grade their quality as a first criterion. A top emerald is said to have a pure verdant green hue with a high degree of transparency. They are formed by a system of crystallization. As such, they tend to have many inclusions/fissures. Many emeralds thus need to be filled or oiled to improve clarity and stability.

Take care of the stones and do not wear your jewellery when performing household chores. Wash rings with warm to cool water using a soft brush. Also, store them in a soft padded jewellery case and avoid banging them on hard surfaces.