Emerald

Description

Common Name: Panna. Persian: Zumurrud. Arabic: Zumurrud. Nature: It is among the fine stones and is found in gold mines. It has several varieties. Temperament: Cold in the second degree and dry in the third; its potency remains for a long duration. Color and Scent: Lustrous green, clear, transparent, and beautiful. Taste: Bland and tasteless, similar to crystal, etc. Harmful Effects: It is harmful to the bladder and for individuals with a cold temperament. Corrective (Antidote): Musk, rose water, and screw pine (Kewra) water, etc. Substitute: Peridot (Zabarjad) for brain toxins and Coral (Marjan) for diarrhea. Astrological Association: Associated with Jupiter. Specific Benefit: It strengthens the spirit, heart, brain, and innate heat (vital energy). Full Dose: One dang (a traditional unit) for removing poison and one qirat (carat) for hemorrhage. Deficient Dose: Half dang for removing toxins and half qirat for hemorrhage. Actions and Properties: It is an exhilarant and strengthens the innate heat, heart, brain, liver, and stomach. It relieves grief, anxiety, sadness, melancholy, palpitations, and epilepsy. It is beneficial for pleurisy, pneumonia, hemorrhage, and bloody diarrhea. It is useful against deadly poisons, insect venom, dropsy, jaundice, urinary retention, the expulsion of kidney and bladder stones, and leprosy. If someone has ingested poison, grinding emerald to the weight of eight barley grains and drinking it before the symptoms appear will render the poison ineffective. Used as a collyrium (surma), it strengthens eyesight and removes cataracts (sabal). Frequently looking at an emerald relieves eye fatigue. Wearing it in a ring is beneficial for epilepsy. It is said that a snake goes blind upon seeing it, but this is not correct, nor is the common belief regarding its auspiciousness. (Makhzan) No other gemstone possesses a fine green color like the emerald. It is a different type of gem from those mentioned above (whose base was alumina or carbon), as its base is Silica. Its deep green color is very pleasing to the eyes. The discovery of emerald jewelry in the ruins of Old Rome, Egypt, Pompeii (the ruins of an ancient city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius in Italy, destroyed in 79 AD), and Herculaneum proves that the ancients used it. Pliny writes in a book that "the ancients knew emerald well and valued it." He refers to this gem by the name Smaragdus and records various strange accounts about it. Several other evidences also clearly show that people in bygone eras were well-acquainted with emerald. In 240 AD, the Bishop of Seville (a major city in Spain situated on the Guadalquivir River) described it under the name Dodus, stating: "Among all green stones, emerald is the most superior; its color is extremely beneficial for the eyes of those engaged in its cutting and polishing." In the 11th century, Psellus wrote regarding the emerald: "This gem is of a fine green color, and some pieces also have golden-blue tints. If mixed with water, it can cure epilepsy and several other diseases." Pliny records the accounts of several others regarding its brilliance and properties. Some researchers describe two types: Emerald (Zumurrud) and Peridot (Zabarjad), but in reality, peridot differs from emerald in several respects. Therefore, it is described among second-grade gemstones. Types described by Arab and Persian Physicians: Zahabi: Those with a golden color. Some experts believe that flies cannot enter a place where this type is kept. Sa'idi: This comes from Upper Egypt (Sa'id). Looking into it reflects a person’s image, and the eyes appear closed. Rayhani: Green in color like the basil leaf (Rayhan). Fistaqi: (An Arabic word meaning pistachio; a yellowish-green color like a pistachio kernel). A blackish-green color, also known as "Old Emerald." Silqi: (An Arabic word meaning beetroot). Those with a color like Persian beetroot. Zinjari or Ratgari: Those with a color like verdigris (or pepper). Kirathi: (A type of plant called leek). Those with a color like a leek. Sabuni: (Soapy). Those with a color formed by a mixture of white and green. Among these, the best types are considered to be those that are hard, clear, green, and flawless. Modern Indian jewelers describe the following types of emerald: Purana (Old) Margaja Torika Pyalika Naya (New) Jahazi Each of these is further categorized into two varieties: Kahi and Dahani. Kahi refers to those with a blackish-green color, and Dahani refers to those with a yellowish-green color.