MINING FOR EMERALDS ELIZABETH KRAJNIK PowerKiDS Press New York GEMSTONES OF THE WORLD
ONE OF THE PRECIOUS FOUR Four gemstones make up the group known as the precious four or big four This group includes diamonds rubies sapphires and emeralds These gemstones are known as the precious four because of how rare or uncommon and popular they are The more rare the gemstone the more valuable it is Today emeralds are some of the most valuable gemstones They’re often more rare than the other gems in the big four However it’s now possible to make these precious gemstones in a laboratory 4
The word emerald comes from the old French word esmeralde which comes from the Greek word smaragdos which means green stone 5
