May's Birthstone (Emerald) Has Long Been Favored Among Powerful Women

If you were born in the month of May, you have the good fortune to call emerald your birthstone. With a history dating as far back as gemstone history extends, emeralds have long been favored among powerful women. In Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra was known to wear the stones in abundance, and though her famed mines now yield only low-grade stones, at one time Cleopatra's mines were an abundant source for valuable emeralds. Moving forward through the centuries, emeralds were chief among the Mughal Empresses. The powerful Mughal Empress Nur Jahan, considered to be one of the world's most influential women during the 17th century, wore exquisitely carved Mughal emeralds intermingled with rubies. These carved verdant beauties circulated throughout Europe, and by the early 19th century many had found their way into the hands of some of the world's most elite jewelry houses, predominantly Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Tiffany & Co. Reworked into masterful designs by these prestigious firms, emeralds became the jewel of choice for many of the most influential women of the mid-century and beyond. Paris' Duchess-in-exile, Wallis Simpson, wore several pieces by Cartier which were enhanced by carved emeralds, and one of the mid-century's wealthiest heiresses, Marjorie Merriweather Post, owned one of the most exquisite diamond and carved emerald shoulder brooch's ever made by Cartier. Another woman of marked influence, HRH Princess Faiza of Egypt, once owned a gorgeous emerald and diamond necklace made by Van Cleef & Arpels. In 2013, this jewel realized a sales price of $4.2 million at Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale. In addition to necklaces and brooches, several emerald engagement rings have been worn by influential women throughout the past several centuries. In 1837, Queen Victoria wore an emerald in her engagement ring. The ring, fashioned as a golden serpent biting its tail, featured a demure emerald atop its head. The ring was designed by her doting husband, Prince Albert, who endeavored to lace it thoroughly with Victorian sentiment. The serpent with its tail between its teeth was a popular Victorian symbol of eternal love, and the emerald, which happened to be the Queen's birthstone, represented hope and was believed to ensure that a woman would mature into a truly adoring wife. Fast forward a century, and we find John F. Kennedy gifting his fiance Jackie Bouvier an exquisite retro-style engagement ring fashioned by Van Cleef & Arpels. Her ring, purchased in 1952, featured a 2.84-carat square-cut emerald juxtaposed to a 2.88-carat square-cut diamond accented by a swirl of marquise-cut and baguette diamonds. The ring was chosen by Louis Van Cleef, whose wife advised him in the perfect style for the American debutante. More recently, in 2012, Halle Berry also chose a square-cut emerald center stone for her engagement ring, a beautiful jewel fashioned of chunky hammered gold with a bezel-set emerald flanked on either side by a bezel-set round brilliant white diamond. Halle Berry holds the honorable position as the only African-American woman to win an Oscar for a leading role and uses her platform as one of America's highest paid actors to lobby for the environment and for women's issues in the realm of health, education, and justice. As you can see, it seems that although the verdant green stone is not a frequent choice for today, it is a choice made by unique and influential women.