Colombian emeralds are the apex predator of emeralds and beryls... they just have a magical appeal perhaps due to the fact that everybody knows what emerald is, and recognizes it on a shelf. Despite being worked for 400 years (and more), the mines of Colombia are still going. However, truly great specimens are few and far between, and only a handful come out each year - a fact. There simply are not enough specimens of a level beyond "average" to satisfy the collector market. While most emerald crystals average 1-2 cm and tend to be rather slender, this specimen hosts a very large, undamaged and unrepaired emerald crystal measuring 3.4 cm tall, 1.7 cm width, and 1.4 cm to 1.8 cm thick (the top is slanted to the back, hence the narrowing). It has phenomenal impact, visually - the color is just the top juicy intense green that specimen collectors tend to favor for its "pop," over the slightly darker evergreen hue favored by gem merchants. Luster is ultra-glassy, and bright. The termination is also glassy and bright. Internally, the crystal has a vivid sparkle to it, with no dullness as sometimes is seen in large emeralds' murky interiors. The piece is translucent, but even inside it is bright, in other words. Most emerald specimens consist of crystals arranged haphazardly in matrix, and usually of slender crystals at that. Seldom do you see so robust a crystal, let alone freestanding and flanked by contrasting matrix of the best sort (white calcite that is also crystalline, and not just ugly rock or hackly calcite which is much more common). A small sidecar crystal juts out towards the viewer at the base and provides a little accent. It also is gemmy, bright, and glassy. Aesthetically, its hard to ask for more. Moreover, the combination of intense color saturation with the surface luster is not at all common in emeralds of such size. The piece overall is a full-on large miniature of competition caliber, and the size of the emerald in it warrants a level of significance beyond the actual size of the specimen itself, in my opinion. I believe there are very few finer emerald matrix specimens out there to be had - certainly only a few per year of any size make themselves known to the whole worldwide market. Mined around 2000, Joe Budd photos. Price on request for serious buyers.

360 Video available at https://vimeo.com/201583283