May is bursting with greens when spring arrives and the foliage awakes from it’s winter sleep. Appropriately, the May birthstone Emerald, comes in an array of greens.  Affinity & Co. Jewelers carries a large selection of stunning Emerald jewelry. Treat your May birthday love to a custom jewelry piece with their beautiful birthstone or find that special sparkling Mother’s Day gift for your mom.  Discover fun facts about this gorgeous precious gem below.

• Emeralds are one of the four most recognized precious gemstones, the others being diamond, ruby and sapphire.

• Emeralds are beryl just like the gems Aquamarine. The deep green color defines the classification of Emerald. The best color is vivid green or blueish green.

• Used as a healing crystal Emerald brings loyalty and provides for domestic bliss. It enhances unconditional love, unity and promotes friendship. Keeps partnerships in balance and can signal unfaithfulness if it changes color. Emerald stimulates the heart chakra, having a healing effect on the emotions as well as the physical heart.

• It is extremely rare to find an Emerald without flaws. Some top quality Emeralds can be more expensive than diamonds.

• An emerald pendant necklace owned by Elizabeth Taylor sold for $6.5 million in 2011, breaking down to about $280,000 paid per carat.

• 50% of Emeralds world wide come from Columbia. Other countries that mine Emeralds are Russia, Brazil, Madagascar and Zambia

GIA has more interesting Emerald facts here:  http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/may-birthstone-emerald/

Pictures: GIA.edu