EMERALD

EMERALD Emerald crystal (35 x 40 mm), Fazenda dos Pombos, Anagé, Bahia. Collection of Julio Landmann. Photograph taken by Jeff Scovil. Emeralds are rarely perfectly pure, presenting inclusions called “gardens” that many people believe add to their charm. Their name is derived from the Greek smaragdos, which means “green stone”, in an allusion to their intense and characteristic color owing to the presence of chromium and/or vanadium.

DIAMOND

DIAMOND A beautiful limpid diamond crystal, with 4.60 carats from Rio Velho, Minas Gerais, on display at the Museu Amsterdam Sauer, in Rio de Janeiro. Photograph taken by Marcelo Lerner. The diamond has a cubic crystalline structure, and its most common habit is the octahedron. Its high refractive index confers intense shine and make it the most appreciated gemstone when lapidated.

TOURMALINES

TOURMALINES Green tourmaline in quartz and lepidolite matrix (120 x 100 mm), Lavra da Pederneira, São José da Safira, Minas Gerais. Collection of Marco and Livio Tironi. Photograph taken by Roberto Appiani.

AQUAMARINE

	AQUAMARINE Aquamarine crystal (219 x 57 mm), Marambaia, Minas Gerais. Collection of the Museu Amsterdam Sauer, Rio de Janeiro. Photograph taken by Marcelo Lerner

KUNZITE

KUNZITE Kunzite crystal from the bamburro of 1998 at the Lavra do Urucum, in Galileia, Minas Gerais. Property of Dilermando Rodrigues de Melo, Geometa Ltda. Photograph taken by Carlos Cornejo.