It may not look very pretty but the Bahia Emerald is one of the largest emerald specimens ever found. The famous emerald is also the star of a National Geographic Explorer episode,
The 400 Million Dollar Emerald. Here are some fun facts about this amazing specimen and emeralds in general from the National Geographic Explorer
website:
- The "Bahia Emerald" was unearthed in 2001 in Brazil. It weighs 840 pounds and contains roughly 180,000 carats of emerald crystals, making it one of the largest emerald specimens ever found.
- In 2005, the Bahia Emerald was stored in an underground vault in New Orleans so that a prospective buyer could view it. After Hurricane Katrina hit the city, the emerald spent months underwater.
- The Bahia has been appraised at $392 million. If at all accurate, this number represents its value as a unique specimen, and not a market valuation of its emerald crystals, which are not of a high grade.
- The Bahia Emerald was once listed on eBay with a "buy it now" price of $75 million.
- The finest emeralds are worth much more than diamonds; this is due primarily to their relative rarity.
- Emeralds are less dense than diamonds. This means that a one-carat emerald is larger a one-carat diamond.
- Emeralds have been mined since the time of the Egyptians, dating back to at least 330 BC. Cleopatra had a passion for emeralds and wore them in her royal adornments.
- Legends claimed that emeralds had power to cure diseases such as cholera and malaria and to make the wearer quick-witted and intelligent.
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