Beryl var: Emerald

Item Description

Emeralds are well-known even to most people with no experience in the gem/mineral world, but good quality specimens are rare from most localities, including the limited material from around Swat, Pakistan. Certainly, fine, well-formed crystals on matrix are quite difficult to find, as most of them can be somewhat crude and often don't show good faces. The Swat Valley has been producing Emeralds since the late 1950s (mindat.org), but specimens are still quite few and far between on the market. We only see a select few of them every year if we're lucky. This piece is a lovely miniature hosting a euhedral, hexagonal prism measuring 1.0 cm, aesthetically flaring off matrix. The crystal has rich green color, with a bit of translucency when backlit. No major damage.