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Sec. III, Ch. 7: The Emerald

Sec. III, Ch. 7: The Emerald Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 7: The Emerald Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
The Emerald.
201
of Beryl, which are usually striated vertically. The colour varies from what is called emerald-green to grass-green, and greenish-white. Subjected to the dichroiscope, its colour is resolved into a yellowish-green and a bluish-green.
The variety of opinion as to the source of the beauti­ful colour of the Emerald is very interesting. According to most authorities it owes its beauty to the chromium which it contains. On the other hand, M. Lewy, who analysed with great care the Emeralds from the Muzo mines of Colombia, found that they contained organic matter in the form of some hydro-carbon, and that the intensity of the colour depended upon the amount of this organic matter contained in the Emerald. The green pigment of the Emerald was supposed by him to be similar to the colouring matter of leaves, called chloro­phyll The conclusions of M. Lewy have not, however, been verified by other chemists ; and the experiments of Mr. Greville Williams and others tend to shew that the colouring matter of the Emerald is, after all, an oxide of chromium.
The chavage of the Emerald is in four directions, but the only perfect cleavage is that parallel to the terminal plane. Its fracture is conchoidal and uneven, and its lustre vitreous.
The value of an Emerald depends greatly upon its colour, and freedom from flaws ; a very fine dark velvety coloured stone, free from flaw, is seldom procurable. Per­haps there is no stone which suffers more than the Emerald from inequality of structure, colour and transparency.
THE EMERALDS OF MUZO. The most famous Emerald mines of the world are those of Muzo, situated in 5° 39' 50" N. latitude, and
Sec. III, Ch. 7: The Emerald Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 7: The Emerald
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