Description of JEWELRY By Birth Date

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Birthday Stones. Emerald

Emerald is the birthstone for May, emerald is also the traditional gift of choice for couples celebrating their 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries. Emerald has been prized for thousands of years for its lush green hues and rare beauty.

Throughout the ancient world, emerald symbolized eternal hope, rebirth and the arrival of spring - and some cultures believed the gem rewarded its owners with love, intelligence and eloquence as well.

Emeralds come in a variety of light and dark shades of green - and often with subtle background hues of other colors like yellow, blue, brown or gray. The purer and richer the green, the emerald is more valuable.

The ancients ascribed numerous magical and mystical properties to Emerald gemstone. In ancient Rome, for example, emeralds were believed to have a soothing effect on the soul. Modern scientists have since shown this myth to have some basis in fact: tests indicate that the human eye is more sensitive to green than any other color. Middle Age seers used emeralds to foretell the future, as well as to ward off evil spirits and cure ailments ranging from bad eyesight to infertility. The stone was also said to improve memory and bring great wealth to its wearer.