Sterling silver brooch with a special accent - an emerald

Sterling silver, emerald
 Size: 45x24mm
 Weight: 10.51g
 Flower size: 24x24mm
 Stone size: 2.5mm
 
 
 Emerald is a bright green form of the mineral beryl. It is one of the most valuable gemstones along with diamond, ruby and sapphire and is often more expensive than the other three. Most emerald crystals found have inclusions that reduce their value. The color of emerald is determined by impurities of chromium and iron (including vanadium). Emerald has a hardness of 7.5, but inclusions can lower it. Emerald comes in all shades of green and teal. A higher quality emerald is clear, but stones that are not completely clear are also valuable. The absolute majority of emerald crystals have so many inclusions that they are not even transparent. Colombia, the country where the highest quality emerald is found, is also home to a rare type of emerald, the star emerald. It has a characteristic hexagonal reflection, which is created by inclusions of carbon hairs oriented in a certain way. To enhance the emerald's appearance, it is kept in vegetable oil, which slowly fills the stone's microcracks. The world's largest emerald weighs 16,300 carats and is located in Istanbul.