The World’s Largest Emeralds

The Largest Named Emeralds

The Emerald Unguentarium

The Emerald Unguentarium, a 2,860-ct (20.18 oz) emerald vase carved in 1641, is on display in the Imperial Treasury, Vienna, Austria.

1492

Valued at $1.5 million, Thomas Richard McPhee's statue, "1492," consists of a 1,550-ct carved emerald (10.94 oz) and 50 cts of diamond. It's on display at The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburg, PA.

The Guinness Emerald Crystal

The Guinness Emerald Crystal, a 1,759-ct (12.4 oz) uncut emerald from the Cosquez mines in Colombia, resides in the collection of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia.

The Duke of Devonshire

A 1,383.93-ct (9.76 oz) uncut emerald from Muzo, Colombia, the Duke of Devonshire now resides in "The Vault" at the Natural History Museum, London, UK.

The Isabella Emerald

The Isabella Emerald, a 964-ct (6.80 oz) cut emerald, is owned by Archeological Discovery Ventures, LLC. You can learn more about the history behind this shipwrecked emerald in our article on famous emeralds.

The Gachalá Emerald

The Gachalá Emerald, an 858-ct (6.05 oz) uncut emerald from Colombia, resides in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

The Empress Caroline

The Empress Caroline, an 858-ct (6.05 oz) uncut emerald from Hiddenite, NC, is privately owned.

The Patricia Emerald

The Patricia Emerald, discovered in Colombia in 1920 and named after the mine owner's daughter, is a 632-ct (4.46 oz) uncut emerald. It resides in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The Mogul Mughal Emerald

The Mogul Mughal Emerald, a 217.80-ct (1.54 oz) carved emerald, sold at Christie's for $2.2 million in 2001. It now resides in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar.

The Sacred Emerald Buddha

Carved from a 3,600-ct (25.4 oz) African emerald in 2006, the Sacred Emerald Buddha statue weighs 2,620-ct (18.48 oz).

Unnamed Emeralds

• A 7,052-ct (3.1 lb) uncut emerald crystal from Colombia, privately owned and considered priceless.
• A 1,965-ct (13.9 oz) uncut Russian emerald, on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
• A 1,861.90-ct (13.13 oz) uncut and unnamed emerald from Hiddenite, NC, privately owned. Discovered in 2003, this is currently the largest known emerald discovered in North America.
• Five unnamed large emerald crystals from Muzo, Colombia, stored in the vault of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia, weigh from 220 cts (1.55 oz) to 1,796 cts (12.67 oz).
• Fred Leighton sold a 430-ct (3.03 oz) carved Mughal emerald for several million dollars.
• The al-Sabah Collection from Kuwait features many beautiful emeralds, including a 398-ct (2.79 oz) emerald in hexagonal form and a 235-ct (1.66 oz) emerald bead.
• An emerald, gold and enamel 17^th-century Mughal wine cup (7 cm) sold at Christie's for £1.79 million in 2003.
• A 161.20-ct (1.14 oz) carved Mughal emerald fetched $1.09 million at Christie's in 1999.

More of the World's Largest Emeralds

The Bahia Emerald

The Bahia Emerald, an 840 lb. stone discovered in Bahia, Brazil in 2001, reportedly contains over 180,000 cts of emeralds (approximately 79.38 lb), including the largest single shard of emerald ever found, described as "the size of a man's thigh." The events and personalities involved with this gemstone since its discovery have inspired much speculation, and its ownership is currently in dispute.

The LKA and Stephenson Emeralds

When the LKA Emerald was unearthed in 1984 in the Hiddenite area of North Carolina, it was considered the largest intact emerald found in North America. At 1,686.3 cts, it currently ranks as the 2^nd largest. The name "LKA" comes from the company that owned the mine at the time. The Stephenson Emerald, found in the same region in 1969, weighs 1,438 cts. This stone was named after John A. D. Stephenson, a 19^th century researcher of Hiddenite area gems. In the 1990s, the American Museum of Natural History displayed both these gems.

Jeffery Bergman, SSEF SGC

Jeffery Bergman was a contributor to the IGS long before Seth and Lisa were involved.  Aside from Don Clark, he is the longest-standing contributor to IGS.  In honor of his decade of friendship and support, Jeffery holds the honorary title of Vice President, Emeritus – International Gem Society.  He is, and always has been, a fully pro-bono contributor and maintains no financial interest in IGS.

With humble roots from a non-gem trade family, as a lapidary hobbyist, Jeffery cut and polished his first gemstone at the age of fourteen launching him on a lifelong career which has taken him to more than 70 countries, and every continent except Antarctica. With 5 decades of broad-based experience in natural gemstones, diamonds and fine jewelry, in 2020 Jeffery founded Eighth Dimension Gems (formerly Primagem) in Bangkok, Thailand, where he has lived for over 30 years.

Jeffery’s formal gemmological training was accomplished at the prestigious Swiss Gemmological Institute in Basel, Switzerland where he passed requisite exams for his SSEF Basic Gemmology (BGC) and SSEF Basic Diamonds (BDC) Diplomas. Additionally, he completed SSEF’s Advanced Pearls (ATC), Advanced Colored Stones (ATC), and Scientific Gemmology (SGC) courses.

Featured in many gem and jewelry periodicals, Jeffery has also appeared in interviews on the ABC, BBC, CCTV, CNA, CNN, NBC and GEO. He has been quoted in Time, USA Today, National Geographic, Discover, GIA’s Gems & Gemology, Gem-A’s Journal of Gemmology, ICA’s InColor, Rivista Italiana di Gemmologia/Italian Gemological Review and many other publications around the world. A guest speaker at seven GIA Gem Gatherings as well as many gemological conferences & universities, Jeffery is also an Honorary Professor for the AIGS – Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences in Bangkok, Thailand.

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