Playing with emeralds.

Yeah REAL EMERALDS!!.  I can't believe that this is something I was able to do and I loved every minute of it.

The history of emeralds is a long one with the earliest known mines dating back to 330 BC.  The stone has been used in some of the worlds most expensive and exquisite pieces of jewellery including items belonging to royalty.

Legends behind emeralds say that the stone can help the wearer foresee the future and was one of the four stones given to Solomon which were said to give him the power to control all of creation.  The stone is now used in crystal healing to bring a calming effect to the wearer, personally though I think it's just a pretty stone to set into jewellery, whether its in a collectors quality stone or a more raw state.

For me, gemstones don't always have to be the stereotypical stone that is selected for it's cut, colour and clarity. The 'least desirable' selection of stones can more often than not hold a HUGE amount of beauty in their own right.

So with that said, I'd like to show you all what I made with my emerald beads.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me ramble, feel free to leave any comments you have.  My next post will probably involve garnets, I think I love garnet more than I love emeralds.