On September 4, 1622 the Tierra Firme flota of twenty-eight ships left Havana bound for Spain. With it was carried the wealth of an empire; Silver from Peru and Mexico, gold and emeralds from Colombia, pearls from Venezuela. Each ship carried its crew, soldiers, passengers, and all the necessary materials and provisions for a successful […]
Tag Archives: GIA
The World’s “Largest” Emerald Is a Fake
The story begins with much excitement. The gem, named Teodora, was found in Brazil and cut in India, before being sold to rare gems dealer Reagan Reaney in Calgary – but there are doubts over whether it is in fact a true emerald. ‘I’m positive it contains emerald but I’m not sure how much of […]
About Emerald – History and Introduction
Emerald is the most precious stone in the beryl group. The name comes from the old French word ‘esmeralde’, which was derived from the Greek word ‘smaragdos’ meaning ‘green stone’. By definition, emerald is any medium to dark green beryl colored by chromium. Green beryl colored only by vanadium is not considered to be true […]
The History of One of the World’s Rarest Diamonds
How the DeYoung Red was acquired as part of an estate jewelry collection in which it was wrongly identified as a garnet, but subsequently identified to be a rare red diamond? The DeYoung Red diamond was in the possession of Sidney DeYoung, a jeweler from Boston for quite a long time. The stone had been […]