Emeralds

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The Egyptian emerald mines are generally recognized as the first known recorded source of emeralds. However the dates for when this mining began are not clear and their is a huge disparity in terms of beginning dates, with a beginning range of 300-2000 B.C. A big part of the problem with these dates is that there were a number of different terms for Emerald in ancient times. Further complicating the issue is that many times any green stone with a bright luster would be referred to as an emerald. It is widely recognized though, that the most extensive workings in these mines was during the period 330 B.C. until about the year 1237 A.D. Most historical evidence points to the fact that the quality of the rough material from these Egyptian mines was poor and small in size. Most of this material was best suited for beads and other non-faceted uses such as being crushed for use in "medicinal" procedures. Finally, many of the pieces of emerald jewelry when tested, turn out to contain green beryl or some other green mineral such as feldspar. It wasn't until the 16th century (with the conquest of South America by Spain) that the emerald deposits in Colombia became widely known. However it is believed that these mines had been worked for at least 500 years prior to the Spanish conquest by the indigenous population. In fact Sinkankas cites an article by Sydney Ball, in which he states, Colombian emerald was so common in Peru that for at least two centuries after the Conquest it was still known as Peruvian emerald.Thus, these emeralds had already travelled via trade from Colombia to Peru prior to the Spanish invasion because there are no emerald deposits in Peru. The Spanish conquistador's love for gold and precious stones is well known. Prior to the discovery of the Colombian emerald deposits, there was little fine quality emerald available in Europe and prices were justly quite steep. Fred Ward cites the same report by Sydney Ball in 1935 that basically says that Spaniards exported so much fine material from the

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