The journey of an emerald, from the Muzo mine to import into France

Our emeralds come from the mines of the Muzo region, in the department of Boyacá. This mining district, worked since pre-Columbian times, produces the crystals whose deep green serves as the reference worldwide. This is where every stone begins its journey, taken from the rock on the mountainside.

We buy directly on location. On the banks of the Itoco river from the guaqueros who search the mine tailings, or in the town of Muzo, where we are known and where miners come to show us their stones. Every purchase is weighed and documented on the spot. Between the person who took the stone out of the ground and us, there is no one.

Before any assessment, the stone is placed in a bath that dissolves any oils and resins. It then reveals its genuinely natural state, inclusions included. It is on that basis, and only on that basis, that we judge its quality and decide what happens next on its journey.

The stone is entrusted to Christian, our lapidary, who divides his time between his workshop in Muzo and the one in Bogotá. He studies the rough, chooses the orientation that will best serve the color, then cuts and polishes. The weight is recorded before and after his work: this documented weighing accompanies every emerald along the whole journey.

The cut stone then goes to an independent gemological laboratory in Bogotá for a full analysis: spectrometry, microscopy, treatment testing. This first Colombian certificate establishes the nature of the stone, its origin and its exact condition before it leaves its country.

The emerald is entrusted to an approved exporter who prepares the official file: declarations, mining taxes, export authorizations. Nothing leaves Colombia without being declared. This step is invisible to you, yet it is the backbone of our traceability.

The stone crosses the Atlantic in secure, insured transport, then is declared at customs on arrival in France. This is the import step itself, done with the full set of origin and export documents. It enters the country accompanied by all of its origin and export documents.

Once in France, every stone goes through a French laboratory for an independent counter-analysis. Two laboratories, two countries, two certificates that corroborate each other: that is our definition of a defensible origin.

The stones are photographed in macro in our Orléans studio, under calibrated light. The aim is simple: to show the stone as it is, inclusions included, so that what you see on screen matches what you receive.

Every emerald goes into secure storage, receives its identification number and its complete file: weights recorded at each stage, certificates, photographs. It is then put on sale on johya.com. Its journey does not stop there, it continues with you.