Surely more than any other coloured gemstone, the emerald stirs passion, conjures dreams and ignites desires, generating a powerful response, both emotional and physical. Bound up with the intense, intoxicating beauty of the emerald is the idea of treasure, massive chests lled to over owing with emerald crystals carried back from the New World by the galleons of the Spanish treasure eet, to mesmerise the courts and wunderkammer-connoisseurs of Renaissance Europe. Enveloped in myth and legend, the mysterious "green stones" that
bedecked Aztec Emperors were hunted down obsessively by the conquistadors, through the jungles of present-day Colombia, and just as ercely protected by the warlike Muzo tribe for whom the secret source of these magical gems was sacred.

The emerald has long been the prerogative of royalty and rulers, princes and potentates: from Cleopatra whose likeness was carved into emeralds from the ancient Egyptian mines, through the jewelled splendour of the Spanish court, the magni cence of Mughal Emperors for whom emerald represented the colour of paradise, and the opulence of Persian Shahs and Ottoman Sultans, to the gem-laden grandeur of Imperial Russia, with its immense treasury of minerals, and of course, the British royal jewels, amongst which nestle the Cambridge emeralds, worn by Queen Mary with resplendent majesty for the Delhi Durbar in 1911.

Much of the emerald's allure comes from its compelling mix of seduction and spirituality, mystery and glamour; from its darkly dangerous beauty with an intriguing "inner life", the so-called "garden" of inclusions that so often add character and charisma to the gems. These qualities, along with their aura of power and privilege, enticed the great 20th century women of style and substance, such as Barbara Hutton, Daisy Fellowes, Duchess of Windsor, Marjorie Merriweather Post, as well as Hollywood "royalty" including Merle Oberon, Marlene Dietrich and Elizabeth Taylor. The emerald became the ultimate possession, the essence of powerful, modern femininity.

Today, once again, the emerald has captured our imagination, enjoying a huge resurgence of popularity, fuelled by the availability of Zambian emeralds and the revitalisation of the legendary Muzo mine in Colombia, although, in a climate of intense connoisseurship, it is the great heritage emeralds, from the early deposits in Colombia, that are true objects of desire.

This choice cluster of exceptional jewels brings together such heritage emeralds of superlative quality and hypnotic beauty with striking, evocative period style and impeccable craftsmanship. They showcase the emerald's powerful, theatrical femininity, timeless modernity and, perhaps most of all, its remarkable versatility, another attribute that, to my mind, sets the emerald apart from other precious coloured stones.

These jewels were made in the late 1920s or around 1930, a time when, as now, the emerald was madly sought-after and highly prized, when its rich vibrant colour and exoticism were the perfect expressions of orientalism, made fashionable by the Ballets Russes. A time too when the Indian maharajahs brought treasuries of gems and jewels to master jewellers in London and Paris to be re-set in modernist style. This sparked a deep fascination with India and its age-old cultural connection to jewels, exerting a powerful in uence on design, as seen in the bracelet, by Cartier, c 1930 ( g.1). The luscious, perfectly matched emerald beads are spaced with diamond elements, designed as stylised fountains, an Art Deco motif that reinforces the rolling uidity of the beads. Cartier had particularly strong connections to India, to the Maharajahs, while Jacques Cartier travelled there frequently, searching for stones, and Cartier's agent in India, Schwaiger, purchased antique emeralds, beads and carved stones, to be transformed into the Maison's famous Indian-inspired jewels.

The emerald and diamond necklace that separates to form two bracelets ( g.2) o ers central emeralds of astonishing colour and clarity, worked with great re nement into a design of elegant classicism enlivened with Art Deco geometric vigour. The two jewels made by Hennell, the historic London silversmith and jeweller, founded in 1736, tell how the company came to be renowned in the 1920s and 30s for the fashionable Art Deco style perfected by its designer, Charles Bruno. Renowned too for an illustrious clientele of royalty, aristocracy and celebrity, from Queen Mary to the Astors and Rockefellers. These two jewels belonged to Michael Stephens of the Stephens ink family, and his wife Louise. Hennell also enjoyed close associations with the British Raj and wealthy Indian clients, and it seems likely that the poetic crescent-shaped cabochon emerald in the pendant ( g.3) was an early Indian stone. With its lingering, ladylike Belle Epoque re nement, the design is perfectly balanced, the impressive diamonds of di erent cuts emphasising the curve of the crescent emerald. Lastly, and by no means least, the stunning sugar loaf cabochon emerald of the Hennell dress ring ( g.4), sits high on the nger, encapsulating the stone's power, presence and hauteur, celebrating, as all these jewels do so well, the majestic, magnetic, mercurial beauty of the enduringly modern emerald.

VIVIENNE BECKER is an award-winning jewellery writer, historian, journalist, broadcaster and author of many books on the history of jewellery design. As a Contributing Editor to the Financial Times' How to Spend It magazine, she is renowned for her expertise, specialist knowledge of both antique
and contemporary jewellery, for her distinctive writing style and contagious enthusiasm for the story of jewels and gems.