Emerald, the sacred stone of Venus, is also a symbol of spring and beauty. It has been prized for thousands of years for its intense and radiant hues of green. Emerald is considered as a stone of energy, health, unconditional love and compassion. It also represents growth and prosperity. The history of emeralds dates back to the early mines of Egypt in 2000 BC. Since then emerald has a wide account of its charm. It even has a special place in many cultures and religions. The sacred color of Islam is green and the 200 carats Mogul Emerald has holy text inscribed on it. It also holds a high prestige in Catholic Church as the most intrinsic of liturgical color stones.

This member of beryl family has always been praised by jewelry lovers and artisans. The color or the carat and even the clarity, this birthstone of May has some famous references in the history of gemstones. Let’s have a look at few of the legendary emeralds of the world.

Devonshire Emerald and Patricia Emerald are the most famous un-cut emeralds in history. Devonshire Emerald is a 1,385.95 carats stone named after the sixth Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish, who received it by Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil in 1831. This stone from Muzo mines presently resides in the vault of Natural History Museum. Patricia Emerald which was discovered in 1920 in the Colombian Andes’ Chivor Mine, is a 630 carats di-hexagonal stone, named after the mine owner’s daughter. This rare un-cut stone is presently resides in the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Another famous emerald is from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. It weighs 858 carats and is considered the finest quality in existence. There are five unnamed large emeralds in the vault of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia, weighs between 1,100 carats to 1,796 carats.

Emeralds also have a distinct position in the royal collection. The crown jewels of Iran hold the largest collection of emeralds with some stones between 1500-2000 carats. The Crown of Andes is probably the most famous single piece of emerald jewelry with 453 stones weighing 1,521 carats. It also includes the 45 carats Atahualpa Emerald which was named after one of the last Inca emperors. Made in 1593 for the Madonna statue in Popayan, Colombia, the crown is fashioned from a solid block of pure gold.