Beryl v. Emerald

From the F. John Barlow collection, comes a remarkably fine gemmy Russian emerald.

Featured on plate 133 of the Barlow Collection book, he states-

“Fine-quality Russian emeralds have rarely been preserved as specimens, as emerald of almost any quality can be fashioned into jewelry. Russian emeralds of deep color and faceting grade are almost unknown in the West, but, as Plate #5-10 shows, at least one fine specimen escaped the gem cutter’s wheel. The main crystal group measures 5.0×2.5×2.5cm and consists of terminated hexagonal prisms in parallel contact with irregularly terminated emeralds interrupted by biotite schist. The emerald is a relatively uniform deep color with numerous multicarat facetable areas. Some large patches of emerald with biotite inclusions are also evident. The crystal group is offset by 3mm; biotite schist fills the separation.
Minute brassy sulfides spot the walls of the impression of another emerald crystal.”

PLEASE NOTE this specimen has been repaired 1x.

Photo by IFM.