Colombian EMERALD Mel Fisher ATOCHA TREASURE Grade 2A Beautiful 400 Year Old Emerald - PERIPHERAL COLOR!! Start Price USD 0.99 Current Price USD 601.00 Time Left - Bid Count 10 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, August 28, 2008 End Time Sunday, September 07, 2008 Location Big Pine Key, Florida See more about 'Colombian EMERALD Mel Fisher ATOCHA TREASURE Grade 2A' Description Beautiful Rare Emerald recovered from the shipwrecked Spanish Galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, By treasure salvors Inc. Comes complete with certificate of authenticity, signed by Mel Fisher. Lost in 1622 This was discovered in 1985 and has been in the owners hands ever since. he has now decided to let some of his Atocha treasures go. This is a nice Grade 2A piece, 0.91 Carat, Rare piece here with heavy peripheral color! I tried my best to capture it, but its hard to get very good close ups. Its a great looking Gem, with AMAZING Color as you can see. How beautiful this would look set in Gold for a ring or necklace! Plus the history behind it is amazing! 100% Guaranteed Original real emerald from the Atocha shipwreck! NOT A reproduction! Starting at $.99 cents with no reserve!!! Be sure to check out our other auctions in the coming days as we will be listing many Atocha Artifacts, Including Gold Coins, Emeralds, Silver coins and more!! The Emeralds recovered from the shipwreck: Nuestra Señora de Atocha, by Mel Fisher of Key West, Florida, recently played a critical role in determining the origins for many of the world's renowned jewels. French and Colombian geologists collaborated to scientifically discover the source of Emeralds.They determined that levels of oxygen isotopes within the crystals were accurate source-point indicators, often linking the gem to an individual mine. In bombarding the Emerald with an ion beam of cesium, they were able to collect and analyze the dislodged oxygen ions, assigning them unique and specific values. The researchers examined Emeralds from collections around the world, and re-evaluated their supposed origins. Utilizing an Atocha Emerald as the test subject, it was confirmed that the stone had a Colombian origin. The above described analysis changed a long accepted theory-that all gem quality Emeralds in the ancient world came from either Austria, or Egypt. It was discovered that some gems originated in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The big surprise was that most Emeralds believed "ancient", were actually mined in Colombia, and shipped to the Old World by the Spanish fleets during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Spanish discovered Colombian Emeralds in 1536, during their conquest of South America, and immediately, they became highly prized. The mines worked by the indigenous people quickly came under Spanish authority, adding to a wide variety of New World treasures controlled by Spain. Emeralds from this region of Colombia, have long been considered the finest in the world. Emeralds brought up from the Atocha give strong archaeological evidence supporting this early trade. So far, about 6,000 uncut, "raw" Colombian gems have been recovered from the Atocha. Had the fabulously rich cargo of the Atocha reached her destination, these Emeralds could have spread across Europe and Asia, and the true location of where they were mined would have remained in doubt? Place a Bid!