The World’s Largest Emeralds
Emerald is notorious for growing extremely large. These examples are some of the world’s largest emeralds! If you know of something missing from the list, please contact us.
The Largest Named Emeralds
The Emerald Unguentarium
The “Emerald Unguentarium,” a 2,860-carat (20.18 oz) emerald vase carved in 1641, is on display in the Imperial Treasury, Vienna, Austria.
1492
Thomas Richard McPhee’s statue, “1492,” consists of a 1,550-carat carved emerald (10.94 oz) and 50 carats of diamond. It’s valued at $1.5 million and on display at The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburg, PA.
The Guinness Emerald Crystal
The “Guinness Emerald Crystal” is a 1,759-carat (12.4 oz) uncut emerald from the Cosquez mines in Colombia. It’s also part of the collection of the Bank of The Republic of Colombia.
The Duke of Devonshire
The “Duke of Devonshire,” a 1,383.93-carat (9.76 oz) uncut emerald from Muzo, Colombia, now resides in “The Vault” at the Natural History Museum, London, UK.
The Isabella Emerald
The “Isabella Emerald,” a 964-carat (6.80 oz) cut emerald, is owned by A.D. Adventures Inc., West Palm Beach, FL.
The Gachalá Emerald
The “Gachalá Emerald,” an 858-carat (6.05 oz) uncut emerald from Colombia, is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
The Empress Caroline
The “Empress Caroline,” an 858-carat (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-carat (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-carat (1.54 oz) carved emerald, was 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
The “Sacred Emerald Buddha,” a 2,620-carat (18.48 oz) emerald statue, was carved from a 3,600-carat (25.4 oz) African emerald crystal in 2006.
Unnamed Emeralds
- A 7,052-carat (3.1 lb.) uncut emerald crystal from Colombia is privately owned and considered priceless.
- A 1,965-carat (13.9 oz) uncut Russian emerald is on display at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.
- A 1,861.90-carat (13.13 oz) uncut and unnamed emerald from Hiddenite, NC, is privately owned. Discovered in 2003, this is currently the largest known emerald discovered in North America.
- Five unnamed large emerald crystals from Muzo, Colombia are stored in the vault of the Bank of The Republic of Colombia. They weigh from 220 carats (1.55 oz) to 1,796 carats (12.67 oz).
- Fred Leighton Jewelers sold a 430-carat (3.03 oz) carved Mughal emerald for several million dollars.
- The al-Sabah Collection from Kuwait features many beautiful emeralds, including a 398-carat (2.79 oz) emerald in hexagonal form and a 235-carat (1.66 oz) emerald bead.
- An emerald, gold and enamel 17th-century Mughal wine cup (7 cm) was sold at Christie’s for £1.79 million in 2003.
- A 161.20-carat (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 is an 840 lb. stone discovered in Bahia, Brazil, in 2001. This stone reportedly contains over 180,000 carats 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 carats, it currently ranks as the 2nd 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. It, too, was considered the largest North American emerald until the discovery of the LKA emerald. This stone was named after John A. D. Stephenson, a 19th century researcher of Hiddenite area gems. Both of these gems were displayed in the American Museum of Natural History in the 1990s and are currently for sale.
