The lure of "green wealth" helped to open up the interior of this vast country. Some of this emerald is of fine quality, almost on a par with Colombian material. Though much exploration has been done, no deposits of emerald comparable to those of Colombia have been found elsewhere in South America.

The Colombian emerald mines at Muzo and Chivor have produced the finest emeralds known. Pizarro, after his conquest of Peru, sent back to Spain numerous emeralds of fantastic size and quality. It is said that the ancient Peruvians worshipped, among other things, a fine emerald the size of an ostrich egg. Today the Colombian government operates the emerald mines. Since 1934 all persons involved in the cutting and selling of Colombian emeralds have had to register with the govern¬ment, and exports are strictly controlled.Emeralds are known from Australia, South Africa, Rhodesia, Zam¬bia, Tanzania, Norway, and India, but these are far less important than the Colombian deposits. Fine emeralds have been recovered in North Carolina, and excellent quality stones in the 10-20 carat range have cut from such material.

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Emeralds have characteristic inclusions by which they can be identified ¬and distinguished from the many synthetic, or man-made, -As produced in recent years.
Aquamarine is, next to emerald, the most highly prized of the beryl's. The color of aquamarine may vary from pale blue to a rich and deep -green. A lovely blue color may also be produced by heating greenish-yellow beryl.