EMERALD (OE. cnicraud. OF. cameraudc. Fr. t'mrrande, Sp., Port. esmeralda. It. smeraldo, Lat. smaragdus, from (7k. (radpa-yaos, NMOragdos, Adp,2-050s, maraados, emerald. Skt. marakala, emerald). A gem variety of the mineral beryl. It was known to the ancients, who valued it for its supposed °veldt properties and its power of healing all diseases of the eye, as well /19 for its beauty. Pliny tells of a life-size figure of a lion in Cyprus with large emerald eves that were so brilliant when the 91111 9110110 upon them that fish were frightened away by them. The Enuieror Nero had an eyegi:199 of emerald, through which he viewed the sports of the arena. t'orte;s brought from Peru five emeralds of remarkable beanly and enrions design. •hieh are described as marvels of the lapida•y's skill, one having Lien cut into a rose, an other n horn. a third a fish with golden eyes, a fourth a bell with a pearl for a (dapper. and a fifth II tiny •np. The emerald ring taken from Ow (nod, of charlemague, and used by him as a talisman. was worn by Napoleon On the batIle fields Of Austerlitz and \Vagrant and was given by him aft, rwards to Queen Hortense.
In COInpoSil jOn the (•1111 l'/1111 is gtheinniu •thoninhon silicate with small quanti ties !if I he oxide., of ealeinm, iron. :Intl ehromium,
the brilliant green color of the gem being at tributed to the Inst mined ron.1 it nen though to-enriling to some antloirs it is 11110 In traees of organic matter. The hardness of the emerald is 7.5 to 8, and its specific gravity is 2.5 to 2.7. Originally emeralds came from the Orient, and especially from Upper Egypt, where mines are again worked. They are also found near Toko voya in Siberia, where very large specimens have been obtained. Many of the gem varieties are from Muso in the United States of Colombia, although the mines there are now said to be ex hausted, and from Emmaville, New South \Vales. In the United States emeralds have been found in Alexander and Mitchell counties, N. C. Flaw specimens of emerald are exceedingly rare and command a price almost equal to that of the diamond, and the expression 'an emerald without a flaw' signifies unattainable perfection. Bra zilian emerald is a green variety of tourmaline. Litlim emerald is the emerald-green spodumene or hiddenite. Oriental emerald is the green va riety of sapphire or corundum. Uralian emerald is the green variety of andradite or demantoid.