Largest Cut Emerald Going On Sale

By: Andy Hodges
01/19/2012 09:31 AM ET

The largest ‘cut’ emerald in the world will be going on sale at an auction later this month in Canada.

The emerald that is the size of a watermelon ways over 25 pounds and is about 57,000 carats. Called ‘Teodora’ which means ‘God’s Gift’ the emerald has been appraised at 1.15 million dollars, reports the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

The emerald was mined in Brazil and cut in India, the current owner lives in Calgary.

“It’s a very beautiful deep green. To me it’s just a thing of beauty,” Mike Odenbach, owner of Western Star Auctions in Kelowna, British Columbia, said. “It’s spectacular. It’s just nothing short of spectacular.”

Though appraised at 1.15 million the emerald could fetch much more then its actual worth at the auction.

“It’s not unusual for gemstones to sell a lot higher than their appraised value, just depending on who wants to possess the largest emerald in the world. Really the sky’s the limit,” said Odenbach.

Emerald is regarded as the traditional birthstone for May, as well as the traditional gemstone for the astrological signs of Taurus, Cancer and sometimes Gemini.

In comparison the worlds largest emerald shard ever found is the ‘Bahia’ emerald weighing in at 840 pounds or 1,900,000 carats and has been valued at over $400,000,000. In 2008 it was reportedly stolen from a vault in California and was later seen on an EBay ad for a ‘Buy it Now’ price of $75,000,000.