Entry № 135
Emerald
Chromium/Vanadium Beryl
The green beryl of vows and rain-fed patience.
Chakra
Heart
Element
Earth · Water
Zodiac
Taurus · Cancer
I. The Metaphysical Reading
How the stone has been held.
Emerald is worked with as a stone of promised endurance, kept nearby during marriages, mentorships and any relationship that expects to be watered for a long time. Practitioners hold it as a reminder that a green stone earns its colour by staying.
- Chakra
- Heart
- Element
- Earth · Water
- Zodiac
- Taurus · Cancer
- Keynote
- The green beryl of vows and rain-fed patience.
II. The Scientific Reading
What the lattice actually does.
Emerald is the green gem variety of beryl, coloured by trace chromium or vanadium. The finest material is the bluish-green Colombian emerald from Muzo and Chivor, formed in hydrothermal veins cutting black shales; Zambian and Brazilian mines produce the majority of the modern supply. Nearly all emeralds contain inclusions ('jardin') and are commonly treated with oils or resins to fill surface-reaching fissures.
- Formula
- Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈ with Cr / V
- System
- Hexagonal
- Hardness
- 7.5 – 8 (Mohs)
- Provenance
- Colombia (Muzo, Chivor), Zambia (Kagem), Brazil, Ethiopia, Russia (Urals)
References & Sources
Independent mineralogical references used to verify the scientific details above.
Mineral Profile
Fact Sheet
- Chemical Formula
- Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈ with Cr / V
- Crystal System
- Hexagonal
- Mohs Hardness
- 7.5 – 8 (Mohs)
- Density
- 2.67 – 2.78 g/cm³
- Refractive Index
- 1.576 – 1.582
- Provenance
- Colombia (Muzo, Chivor), Zambia (Kagem), Brazil, Ethiopia, Russia (Urals)
- Color Origin
- Vivid green to bluish-green transparent hexagonal beryl
Related Crystals
Stones that share this lattice
Next in the Atlas
Enhydro Quartz
A quartz that kept a drop of its parent water.
