Entstehung des Namens
Der Name “Smaragd” kommt vom griechischen Wort „smaragdos“ = Smaragd im Sinne von grünem Stein, worunter wahrscheinlich der grüne Flussspat ebenso wie grünes Glas verstanden worden ist.
Smaragd ist mit Sanskrit marakatam verwandt; vermutlich ist das Wort jedoch auch semitischen Ursprungs, „glänzender Stein“, „glänzen“ und hebräisch „Smaragd“ =„blitzen“.
Der Smaragd gehört zur Beryllgruppe und ist der am höchsten bewertete Beryll.
Der Smaragd ist nicht nur einer der schönsten, sondern auch einer der wertvollsten Edelsteine.

Der „Mogul-Smaragd“ ist einer der grössten Smaragde der Welt. Er stammt aus dem Jahr 1695, wiegt 217,80 Karat und ist rund 10 cm hoch. Eine Seite ist mit Gebetstexten beschriftet, auf der anderen Seite sind prächtige Blumenornamente eingraviert. Der legendäre Smaragd wurde am 28. September 2001 durch Christie´s of London für 2,2 Millionen US $ an einen unbekannten Käufer versteigert.

Quelle: Naturalgems

The Mughal emerald is a magnificent historic carved emerald, belonging to the period of the last of the four great Mughal Emperors of India, Aurangzeb who reigned between 1658 and 1707. The table-cut emerald, with two rectangular flat faces, with dimensions of 5.2 cm by 4.0 cm, and a thickness of 1.2 cm, is a symbol of the greatest cultural, literary and artistic achievements attained by India, during one of the golden periods in its history, the Mughal period, which also gave us the architectural marvels such as the internationally renowned mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, and other architectural master pieces such as the giant fortress cum palace complex, the Lal Kila or the Red Fort of Delhi, and the Great Mosque of Delhi also known as the Jami Masjid. The art of engraving on emeralds and other precious stones seem to have been perfected to a high degree during this period. This is not surprising as the Mughal craftsmen had also learnt the much more difficult task of engraving on diamonds, which in modern days is done either by using a fullerite pen or by laser technology. The Mughal craftsman had used a material harder than diamond to achieve this rare feat, but modern-day researches have not been able to uncover the precise material used for this purpose. Some examples of diamonds engraved with Arabic inscriptions are the Shah Diamond, the Akbar-shah/Jehangir Shah diamond, and the Taj Mahal Diamond.

It must be emphasized that even though the origin of the emerald dates back to the period of Emperor Aurangzeb as revealed by the date inscribed on it - 1107 A.H. equivalent to 1695-96 A.D.- the Emperor’s name has not been mentioned anywhere on the inscribed text. Thus, the Mughal Emerald cannot be directly associated with Emperor Aurangzeb, as we ascribe the Shah Diamond or the Taj Mahal Diamond to Shah Jahān (1627-1658) and the Akbar Shah Diamond to Emperor Akbar the Great (1556-1605) or his son Emperor Jehangir Shah (1605-1627), whose names and dates are clearly inscribed on the diamonds.

The Mughal Emerald which undoubtedly is of Colombian origin is a dark green emerald weighing 217.80 carats. The emerald has been deliberately cut by the Indian cutters and polishers of the period, as a table-cut, rectangular shaped gemstone, with two parallel flat rectangular faces, enabling the master gem carvers to take over and convert it into a masterpiece in gem carving with intricate floral designs on one side and beautiful Arabic calligraphy in the Naksh script on the other. The dimensions of the emerald are 52 x 40 x 12 mm, and the mid-point of each of the four sides of the rectangle has been drilled for attachments, so that the gemstone could be mounted and worn as a talisman, with the Arabic inscriptions facing outwards.

The inscriptions in the Arabic Naksh script is a perfect example of ancient Arabic calligraphy laid out symmetrically in five rows, with the upper introductory row being a little wider than the remaining four rows of equal width. The edges of the rectangle are carved with cross pattern incisions and herringbone pattern decorations. The inscription represents an invocation of the Shia sect of Islam invoking the blessings of Almighty God, the most merciful and the most compassionate, on the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the twelve Imams that followed after him. The Mughal emerald is the largest of the inscribed emeralds known to exist in different collections.

Source: Internet Stones/Moghul emerald