History of the Emerald

Some evidence and tales tell us about the exploitation of emeralds thousands of years ago, their use in religious rituals and as a token of hierarchy by the natives of the territories that today constitute the mining regions of Colombia, but the most supported historical remains of exploitation of emeralds lead us to Upper Egypt, dating to the B.C. Period to the Sikair-Zubara mines, near the port city of Berenice (Medinet el-Haras). The mines were known as ”Mons Smaragdus” (emerald mountains).
It is believed that the exploitation of these mines dated back to 1800 B.C. But its production was already in danger of exhaustion by the time of Cleopatra, who had a particular fondness for emeralds. This queen encouraged the exploitation of these sites that eventually were called “The Mines of Cleopatra”. After the deaths of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the year 30 B.C., the exploitation of these mines was abandoned, which were rediscovered in 1816 by the French mineralogist, Frederic Cailiaud, along with the site of Gebel Zubara, and later in 1818, the Wadi Gimal and Wadi Sikait mines.

They have been used in religious rituals and as a pledge of hierarchy by the natives of the territories that today constitute the mining regions of Colombia

In ancient times, they were often confused with several types of green gems that would also then be called emeralds. Pliny the Elder who lived in the first century A.D. and can perhaps be considered as the first gemologist of humankind wrote in Chapter XVI of his work:

“The best emeralds were coming from Tartary (Northern & central Asia), named as Scithya as to their place of origin. Then emeralds called Bactriana were deemed, found in the crevices of rocks and reportedly collected in the days when the Etesian winds roared, because they shone when rising between the sands that wrapped them around the site”.

In this paragraph of Pliny, the Spanish Gemological Institute in the journal “Gems and other precious materials” in its edition dedicated to the 1968 emerald, argues that it is possible that in ancient times the name of Scithya was given to the Indian green sapphires and that the Bactrianas, were in fact, natural emeralds of the Urals.

History Of Colombian Emeralds And The Discovery Of America

The history of the Colombian emerald with the discovery of America in 1492 marks an important turning point in the history of the emerald in the world. When in the sixteenth century the Spanish expedition reached Peru and they found the Incas wearing their gold ornaments and large emeralds of very good quality, this attracted the attention of the Spaniards who subjected the Incas to severe punishment and torture into revealing the location of the emerald mines. The Incas were unable to indicate the location since in their territories there were no deposits and the emeralds were obtained by trade with the tribes that inhabited the Colombian territory at that time. In 1537 Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada received the first clear indication of the source of the emeralds when he reached the Colombian town of Guachetá.

Fragment of painting. Luis Alberto Acuna Idealization

Lenguazaque, Cucunubá Suesca Nemocón, Zipaquirá and Tausa, are the Colombian towns where they found large amounts of gold and emeralds. Jimenez de Quesada and his men coordinated explorations from the Sabana de Bogotá, in search of the mines of Muzo. The Muzos were encountered during the campaign of Luis Boatmen in the year 1539, who was the first conqueror who attempted to subdue them. Diego Martinez was the second, who also failed in the year 1544. Melchor de Valdez was the third, who failed in 1550. Subsequently, Pedro de Ursua, a skilled and determined man, attempted to subdue them through persecution, but his plans failed again in 1551. Finally, in the year 1559, Luis Lancheros, with the help of Juan de Ribera defeated the Muzos, resulting in the near destruction of their population.

The Muzos, a warrior people, fought for 20 years against the military advantage of the Spaniards and did not reveal the location of the mines, even at the risk of their extermination. The deposits were found by chance by the Spaniards, who attempted to establish the first mining work in 1558 without success because of the constant attacks of the Indians. Around 1600, the Spaniards were able to discover the sites of the current mines of Muzo and achieved a major production for 15 years. This production nevertheless failed, partly because of harsh working conditions, and by the mid-seventeenth century, the Spanish Crown reorganized the industry under the leadership of the Royal Treasury, without obtaining major results due to the increase in mortality during mining operations, dishonesty among officials and decreased production. This inefficient mining exploitation continued until the XVIII century, when the works were carried out intermittently.

The Exploitation Of Colombian Emeralds During The Independence Period

The 19th century was significant in the history of Colombia and changed the course of the exploitation of the emeralds that was coming under the control of the liberating army and the new government. On July 20, 1810, the first independence uprisings began that ended nine years later, with the Battle of Boyaca, on August 7, 1819. The country then experienced a period of profound change and conflict because of the building of the new homeland. Colombian emeralds also lived their own history and their mines were unexploited until 1824, when the Ministry of Finance, with the Colombian government retaining a 10% share, granted the exploitation of the mines of Muzo to Charles Stuart, Mariano Rivera, and Jose Paris, General of the Republic and a fellow soldier of Bolivar, in the war of independence. In 1828 José Paris obtained the exploitation of the mines and an agreement of government ownership of 5%, and this agreement was extended until 1848. The mineral Parisite-(Ce), owes its name to Mr. Paris when its discovery was reported in the mines under his exploitation in the 40’s. In 1849 the government reached an agreement with Francisco Martin and Patrick Wilson for the exploitation of the mines for 8 years, later extended to 12, with a lease of 14.200 pesos, plus a 5% of profits. The civil war frightened investors interested in exploiting the mines of Muzo and Coscuez, leaving the sites without proper administration from 1861 to 1864. Frenchman Gustavo Lehmann took over exploitation of the mines from 1865 until 1875 in exchange for 14.700 pesos per year.

In the year 1886 the Constitution was written, in which state reservation and ownership of the emerald mines to the Colombian state were included

The national government enacted Law Nº 31 in 1870, in which the state claimed as state property any deposit that was discovered from that date on, along with the properties containing them, with the exception of the mines from Muzo that had an existing contract until 1875. Bill 31 created the special reserve of Muzo in the Colombian region of Boyacá which comprised deposits in Muzo, Peñas Blancas, and Coscuez.

Colombians Juan Sordo and Antonio Samper alternated in managing the exploitation of the mines in exchange for 20.606 pesos annually from 1875 to 1886, when control of the mines returned to the national government in 1886.