Introduction
Emerald is a bright green gem of the beryl mineral family. For over 5000 years, the gem has been one of the most desirable and valuable colored stones.
Emerald measures between 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, making it slightly less hard than ruby and sapphire. This verdant stone is also known for its poor to good toughness, a result of its tendency to show inclusions, an internal clarity characteristic that occurs during crystal growth. Many reach the surface of stone, making it more susceptible to fracture than would normally be the case.
With this durability, is an emerald build viable with this gem, as depicted by the Emerald City in the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Let’s find out!
Durability of Emerald
Emeralds, being a variety of the beryl mineral family, have certain physical and chemical properties that affect their durability and potential use in construction:
- Hardness: They have a hardness of 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, which is relatively hard but less than diamonds, rubies, or sapphires.
- Toughness: Emeralds have a poor to good toughness rating, which indicates how well a gem can resist breaking or chipping. This is due to the presence of inclusions and internal stresses.
- Chemical Composition: Beryl, the mineral family that emeralds belong to, is composed of beryllium aluminum silicate. The green color of emeralds comes from trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium.
- Inclusions: Emeralds are known for their inclusions, which are internal characteristics that occur during crystal growth. While these can enhance the stone’s beauty, they also make it more prone to fracturing.
These properties suggest that while emeralds are durable enough for use in jewelry, their relative brittleness and the presence of inclusions make them unsuitable for construction purposes where materials must withstand significant wear and structural stress.
How Do Inclusions Affect the Durability of Emerald?
Inclusions in emeralds have a dual effect on their value and structural integrity.
Inclusions, often referred to as “jardin” (French for “garden”), are generally expected in emeralds and can even enhance their beauty, giving each stone a unique character. However, the value may decrease if the inclusions are too numerous or large, as they can detract from the clarity and overall appearance.
Inclusions can significantly affect an emerald’s durability. They can create weak points within the crystal structure, making it more prone to breaking or chipping.
This is particularly problematic for construction, where materials need to be strong and resilient to withstand environmental and mechanical stresses. The presence of inclusions would make emeralds unsuitable for such applications as they would compromise the structural integrity of any large-scale construct like a building.
Is Synthetic Emerald More Durable?
Synthetic emeralds could be considered as a hypothetical alternative for construction due to their identical chemical and physical properties to natural emeralds without the rarity and high cost. They can be manufactured without the inclusions that make natural emeralds fragile.
However, the hardness and toughness issues would remain, making them impractical for large-scale structural use. Moreover, the cost of producing large quantities of synthetic emeralds for construction would likely be prohibitive, and the material’s suitability for enduring the stresses of construction remains doubtful.
Therefore, while technically possible to create, synthetic emeralds are not a viable alternative for an actual emerald build.
Emerald Mining and Supply Chain
The current major mining locations for emeralds include:
- Zambia: Known for producing emeralds with a deep green color and good transparency.
- Colombia: Home to the famous Muzo mines, Colombian emeralds are renowned for their pure green color and fine quality.
- Ethiopia: A newer source, with deposits discovered in the 2000s, yielding emeralds with distinct color and clarity.
- Brazil: Supplies a significant portion of the market, with Brazilian emeralds typically being lighter and more yellowish-green.
- Zimbabwe: Mines here produce emeralds that are generally smaller in size but high in quality.
- Afghanistan: Another source of fine-quality emeralds.
The global supply chain for emeralds involves extraction, cutting, and polishing in source countries or exported to countries like India or Thailand for processing. Finished stones are then distributed worldwide to markets such as the United States, Europe, and Asia, where they are set into jewelry or sold as loose stones.
The chain is complex, involving miners, dealers, cutters, and retailers. Ethical sourcing and sustainability are growing concerns in the gemstone industry, affecting how emeralds are mined and traded.
Gemstone Used in Real Life Construction
Precious stones have been historically used in construction, but usually as decorative elements rather than structural components.
- Taj Mahal: The white marble mausoleum is inlaid with precious stones including jade, crystal, lapis lazuli, amethyst, and turquoise.
- Amber Room: This chamber in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg was adorned with amber panels, gold leaf, and mirrors.
- Churches and Mosques: Many religious buildings feature precious stones in their mosaics, icons, and other decorative details.
These instances highlight the use of gemstones for their aesthetic value and symbolism rather than for their structural properties, which are not suited to large-scale construction.
Is the Emerald City Really Made Out of Emerald?
The classic tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, has enchanted many for over a century. Both the film and the novel have a timeless appeal beloved by children and adults alike.
This story follows the adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog, Toto, as their Kansas house is swept away by a cyclone and they find themselves in a strange land called Oz.
Here she meets the Munchkins and joins the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion on an unforgettable journey to the Emerald City, where lives the all-powerful Wizard of Oz himself!
The Oz books describe the Emerald City as being built of green glass, emeralds, and other jewels. However, fans have noticed a couple of discrepancies over the years.
- In the first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the City of Emeralds is described as having walls that are green, but the town itself is not. Residents are made to wear green-tinted spectacles, to shield their eyes from the “brightness and glory” of the city. However, it simply makes everything appear green. The book tells us that the Emerald City is “no more green than any other city.”
- In the sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz, everyone wears the glasses at first. But later in the book, the spectacles disappear and they are not mentioned any further. However, the city is still described as green.
- Subsequent Oz books continue this tradition, and the green-tinted glasses aren’t mentioned at all. Also, gold is introduced to structures, and citizens of Oz begin wearing more colors in their dress.
How Much Would it Cost for an Emerald Build?
Estimating the cost of constructing a city out of emerald would involve numerous variables such as the price of emeralds per carat, the size of the buildings, and the amount of emerald required.
However, given that emeralds can cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars per carat and a city would require an astronomical amount of this gemstone, the cost would be exorbitant and clearly impractical.
Additionally, sourcing enough emeralds for such a project would be nearly impossible due to their rarity. Thus, while an exact figure cannot be provided without specific parameters, it’s safe to say the cost would be staggering!
The Verdict
The portrayal of the Emerald City in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is fantastical, describing a city constructed from emeralds and other jewels. In reality, modern architecture uses gemstones primarily for decoration rather than structural elements.
Precious stones might be used in modern building projects for surface adornment or interior details to convey luxury and elegance. They are incorporated into design elements such as mosaics, inlays, and countertops, or used in artistic installations within the building. The use of gemstones in contemporary architecture is symbolic and aesthetic, quite unlike the literal depiction of a city built from emeralds in L. Frank Baum’s imaginative work.
Considering the stone’s fragile nature, and how the city is mentioned in the book, it isn’t very likely that an entire city could be built from emerald. The stone is very rare, and most of the world supply comes from South America, though newer deposits from Africa look promising. Even if you have enough to build all 9654 buildings as depicted in the stories, the brittle structure of emerald crystals would make construction perilous!
Updated November 9, 2023.
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