GIA Museum To Debut 472-Carat Emerald --- It's a brilliant green four-inch hexagonal crystal

According to Rapaport, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) plans to debut a recently discovered 472-carat emerald crystal from the Muzo region mines in Colombia. The emerald, the El Itoco crystal, was named after Muzo Indian lore, according to Ron Ringsrud, the emerald dealer who loaned it to the GIA Museum on behalf of its owner, Hernando Sanchez, who is the emerald mine shareholder and Colombian emerald exporter. "This is the first time any of the Colombian mine owners have displayed such a significant emerald at any museum worldwide," Ringsrud said. "This is by far the largest gem-quality crystal to have come out of this historical mining area in a long time."
GIA spokespersons stated that a gem-quality emerald crystal of this size is extremely rare. The four-inch hexagonal crystal possesses a color equivalent to the finest emeralds, according to Terri Ottaway, GIA Museum curator. "To have the El Itoco in our museum for our students and the public to view is an extraordinary honor. Pieces of this size and quality are the stuff of legends. It generates what Colombian miners call 'green fever' in the imagination," she said.
Ottaway stated that the GIA was chosen to display this coveted piece from among some of the nation's most renowned museums. The El Itoco is displayed in a case that includes three other emerald crystals and an emerald and diamond necklace and earrings suite designed by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co., circa 1960. The El Itoco emerald crystal will be exhibited in the GIA Museum until early fall 2009