In the book The Lord of the Rings, the elf lord Glorfindel leaves a green beryl jewel as a token that the heroes, fleeing before the Nazgul and fearing ambush, can cross a bridge safely. It is described as, "a single pale-green jewel...a beryl, an elf-stone." That got me to thinking about what I knew about green beryl and what I did not.
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| Marco Molinaro at www.osterjewelers.com, 16.27 carat green beryl in 18 kt white gold with .75 ctw diamonds |
I knew green beryl was of the same family as emerald, aquamarine, morganite (pink beryl), and heliodor (yellow beryl). I knew it was available in large stones and the standard for gemstone quality green beryl is depth of color and clarity (like aquamarines). But I wasn't sure about the difference in color between emeralds and green beryls and green beryls and natural, unheated aquamarines.
But the answer is in Tolkien- a pale-green stone. It lacks an emerald's intensity and an aquamarine's bluish color. Most jewelry pieces favor larger stones, perhaps to increase the color.
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| Available at Lang's antiques, www.langantiques.com, 16.75 carat green beryl with .60 carats diamonds and yellow and white 18 kt gold |
I couldn't find any jewelry that looked elvish, but this stone is amazing. Perhaps this is what Strider found on the bridge...
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| Fantasy cut by Dalan Hargrave, a 125 carat green beryl that was Best In Show at the 2004 AGTA Spectrum Competition |
2 comments:
Hi there!
We are actually at langantiques.com (rather than langsantiques). We really like your blog but we'd like credit for the cameo picture as well in the top of The Philosopher's Stone?
Thanks,
Lisa from Lang's!
Lisa,
Sure...sigh. That means someone might know she's for sale and get to her before I do...snif snif. But if she goes to a good home, I guess I'll have to deal with it. She's the most beautiful cameo I've ever seen.
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