The world's largest emerald: The Emilia
There are many emeralds in the world that steal all eyes, the Emerald Gachalá or Emerald La Emilia, one of the most valuable and famous emeralds in the world due to its large size and quality, is one of them.
Founded in 1967, she was named after the Guaquera or mining woman who found her in the Vega de San Juan mine in Gachalá, Cundinamarca, Colombia.
Read on and learn about some of the wonders that this beautiful Colombian gem hides.
Features of La Emilia
Emilia is an emerald in prism with hexagonal cuts, something normal in emeralds, which has a height of 5 cm and a diameter of almost the same length.
The hexagonal shape of the emerald is more evident at the top end, but it is not a regular hexagon, as it has two opposite sides of the hexagon shorter than the other four sides.
The six sides of the emerald can be identified, although it looks more cubic than hexagonal. The colour is pure intense green, and appears to be opaque.
Emilia weighing a little over 3 pounds is certainly inside the five biggest emeralds found so far. This wonderful gem of size and beauty is unique in the world and has the following features:
- State: raw, unstarted.
- Color: intense green.
- Quilates: 858 carats.
- Weight: 172 grams.
- Size: 5 centimeters.
- Year of Extraction: 1967.
The Emilia today
Currently, this emerald is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, United States, after being donated in 1969 by American jeweler Harry Winston; it is listed as number 122078.
Paula A. Bonilla
Social communicator and journalist from Sergio Arboleda University in Colombia. She is also a jeweler and is passionate about constantly learning about precious gems and national high jewelry.
Currently, she is working for one of Bogotá's most important jewelry stores, Emerald by Love. This jewelry store has over 40 years of experience and has 2 physical branches in the capital city of Colombia, located in the city center.
