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 cutting, the stone is studied at length to decide its shape. This is the step that sets the final color: the chosen orientation must draw the cleanest green from the crystal and keep the most visible inclusions out.

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.

Cutting takes several hours, sometimes several days, until the stone reaches the shape decided when the rough was studied.

Every stone is certified by a laboratory. Before the sale, you can have it re-certified by the laboratory of your choice.

Every emerald goes into secure storage and receives its identification number and its complete file: weights recorded at each stage, certificates, photographs. It is then put on sale on johya.com. That number lets you find its file again at any time.