The Mogul Emerald is more than a simple stone, is an example of art and history, witness the opulence and religious beliefs of the era in which it was carved. In this article extracted from www.joyaestilo.es we know its origin.

The emerald has a size of 5.2 x 4.00 inches and a thickness of 1.2 cm. Throughout the period of the Mughal Empire was perfected the art of engraving on emeralds. Even the Mongols could make inscriptions in diamonds, and these had to have a material harder than diamond; today we don't know what was the material (currently the inscriptions  on diamonds are performed by laser). Diamonds that are proof of this mughal technical skill are diamonds Shah, Akbar Shah-shah, Jehangir and the Taj Mahal diamond.

The date of inscription of the Mogul Emerald is 1695-1696, equivalent to the Muslim year 1107. The origin, unequivocally, is Colombian. It weighs 217.80 carats and was cut in India in a rectangular shape with two flat sides in order to make the recordings. No doubt that is a masterpiece in every sense, both in section (cutting) as in the recording of Arabic calligraphy and floral motifs later. Originally it was conceived as a religious amulet, and it is inscribed like the Mughal emerald largest known and seems to have been a pattern to follow for other emeralds engraved and carved in India.

It is believed that the stone could have gotten there through the Spanish market, because the Mogul Empire exercised as a powerful source of demand for emeralds and on the other hand, Spain had found a vein in the mines of Colombia. Most likely is that the Mogul Emerald came to India in the late seventeenth century. We believe that his first owner was a Muslim, Shiite and senior officer of Aurangzeb, since he, like other Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, was Sunni, and yet the verses sent to inscribe in the stone are of Shiite cleric origin. Later, it could have been passed to his emperor, but these are guesses.