Emerald has the privilege of being one of those gemstones everyone knows about, even if they know nothing about gemstones and jewelry. 

For starters, everyone knows it’s green—the precious gem is practically synonymous with the word. You have the Emerald City of Oz, a luminous green scene depicted in the Wizard of Oz. The Emerald Isle is an island of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (notably, a very green country). And there’s the song Emerald Eyes from the 1973 album Mystery to Me by Fleetwood Mac, and if you don’t know the song, well, you at least know the color of the person’s eyes they’re referring to.

Because emerald, though it varies in shades, is reliably vivid green. If you’re looking for an emerald pendant, you know you’re in the market for one that’s green gemstone (unlike other gemstones, which may come in all colors of the rainbow or at least a few other hues).

Emerald jewelry has a history as rich as the jewelry its featured in, and just as compelling, too. You could spend days or longer reading up on all of the stories—fact and folklore—surrounding emerald jewelry. 

Cleopatra was famously fanatical for emerald jewelry, the Egyptian ruler laying claim to one of the earliest locations for emerald mining (and also one for peridot, which is quite possibly why much of her emerald collection was later found to be peridot). 

Elizabeth Taylor, who famously played Cleopatra on the big screen in 1963, had a love for emeralds all her own, and hers were just as—if not more—infamous. Her famous Bulgari suite—an emerald brooch), emerald earrings, emerald ring, an emerald necklace, emerald pendant (which could also be worn as a brooch, or worn dangling from the aforementioned emerald necklace), an emerald bracelet, and an emerald ring—was gifted to her by lover and often even husband Richard Burton, and much of it purchased back by Bulgari for its permanent Heritage collection in 2011, when the emerald and diamond jewelry, among other fine jewelry pieces, was sold at auction by Christie’s New York. 

Emerald has made voyeurs green with envy in recent years, too—Angelina Jolie’s Lorraine Schwartz emerald earrings from the 2009 Oscars are particularly memorable, as is the Cartier emerald and diamond suite worn by Amy Adams at the 2011 Academy Awards, featuring a whopper of an emerald necklace, and emerald bracelet that concealed a timepiece. As recently as the 2020 Oscars, actress Zazie Beetz wore a pair of emerald stud earrings, a pair of necklaces (one featuring an emerald), and complementing rings, all designed by Bulgari. Director Greta Gerwig also stunned in Bulgari, with a necklace comprising more then 96 carats of emeralds and diamonds.

If you’re looking for a pair of emerald stud earrings or an emerald pendant to ring in that May birthday, we have a number of supremely fine jewelry choices (you can also score an emerald bracelet, dangling hoop or emerald huggie earrings, and more). We are specialized in rose cut emerald gemstone jewelry. Rose cut gemstone allows the gemstone to have more depth and sometimes those natural inclusions are what made them unique. 

Emerald stud earrings for your loved one on Mother’s Day? A perfect gift for wedded bliss. A self gift of emerald beads to wrap around your neck or wrist? Just the pick-me-up that was needed.

So, what will it be? Beautiful Emerald earrings, emerald ring, emerald necklace? What sort of emerald gift would you most like to be treated to?