weighs
8 9/10 ounces, or 1350 carats; in colour, transparency, and structure
it is almost without a fault. This fine stone was found in the emerald
mines at Muzo in Colombia, South America. Another large crystal known
belongs to the Czar of Russia; its measurements are reported to be
twenty-five centimetres (nearly ten inches) in length and twelve
centimetres in diameter.
The
character of each piece of the rough beryl placed in the hands of the
lapidary decides what cut shall be applied to an emerald. Small stones
are usually cut as brilliants or rosettes, while the large ones are
sometimes cut as a simple table stone, or more generally step-cut with
brilliant facets on the upper portion. Cut gems of good colour and
transparency are mounted in an open setting; paler stones were
formerly, in Europe, reinforced with a green foil beneath them, while
fissured or faulty stones were mounted in an encased setting with the
bottom blackened. As natural crystals of beryl are large the gems are
often extracted from the mass by expert and skilful artisans who saw
the crystals into the desirable sizes.
The emerald beryl might be truly said to be a precious stone of strong individuality, for,
