May gets the emerald, and it is one of the great gemstones: a rich, unmistakable green, one of the four precious stones alongside diamond, ruby and sapphire, and a colour so associated with luxury that few others come close. Cleopatra prized emeralds above almost everything, and they have signalled wealth and wisdom ever since.

Emerald is also the one precious stone that asks something of its owner. It is softer than ruby or sapphire and almost always contains natural markings, which changes how you should buy it and how you should wear it. This guide covers all of that honestly: how to wear a May birthstone, why those inclusions are a feature rather than a flaw, what oiling means, and how to care for a stone this special. For every month and stone, see our birthstones by month chart.

Three ways to wear a May birthstone

As a piece in its own right, worn thoughtfully. An emerald pendant or a pair of emerald earrings is the ideal way to enjoy the stone, because a neck and ears take far fewer knocks than a hand. The green is so rich that a modest stone looks generous, and one emerald on a fine gold chain reads as genuinely precious rather than merely pretty.

Set small into something personalised. A small emerald beside an initial, set into an engraved tag, or as a charm on a bracelet. A little emerald green carries a lot of presence, so even a modest stone gives a personalised piece a real sense of occasion, and a smaller, protected stone is the sensible way to own an emerald you can wear often. It is also the natural way to mark more than one person, a stone each for your children along a single bar.

In a protected setting, if you want a ring. Emerald rings are among the most beautiful pieces you can own, but the stone needs looking after: choose a setting that guards the corners, where emeralds are most vulnerable, which is exactly why the step-cornered emerald cut was invented in the first place. Take it off for anything rough, and it will reward you for a lifetime.

Styling emerald with your everyday gold

Yellow gold is emerald's natural and historic partner, and to our eye still the best. Warm gold flatters the green in a way nothing else quite matches, deepening and enriching it, which is why almost every famous antique emerald is set in yellow gold. If you wear yellow gold, an emerald will look as though it belongs.

White gold is the cooler, more contemporary choice and gives a crisper, more modern look, particularly with a bluish-green emerald. It is also the more usual setting when emerald is paired with diamonds, where you want the metals to match.

Rose gold is the unexpected one, and green against pink is a fresh, modern pairing that feels quite different from the traditional emerald look. It is worth considering if you want your May birthstone to feel current rather than heirloom.

Colour, oiling, and the one honest question

Colour is the whole game. With emerald, a rich, pure, slightly bluish green is everything, and it matters more than clarity or even size. A large pale emerald is far less desirable than a smaller vivid one. The most celebrated colour comes from Colombia, still the benchmark, with important stones also from Zambia (often a touch bluer) and Brazil.

Almost every emerald is oiled, and that is normal. Because emeralds have so many surface-reaching fractures, they are routinely treated with cedar oil or resin to fill those tiny gaps and improve clarity. This is an ancient, universally accepted practice, and a lightly oiled emerald is completely standard. What you want to know is the degree: "minor" or "insignificant" oiling is ideal, while heavily treated stones rely on the filling to look good and are worth much less.

That oiling is also why emeralds need care: the treatment can dry out or be stripped over time, so an emerald may benefit from being re-oiled by a jeweller after some years. It is not a fault, simply the nature of the stone, and worth knowing before you buy rather than after.

Renewal, love and wisdom

Emerald is a beryl, the same mineral family as aquamarine, coloured green rather than blue by traces of chromium and vanadium. It has been mined for at least 4,000 years, from Cleopatra's mines in Egypt to the Muzo and Chivor mines of Colombia, whose stones filled the treasuries of Europe after the Spanish conquest.

Its meaning has always followed its colour: renewal, rebirth and the green of spring, along with love and wisdom. It was believed to soothe the eyes and to reveal the truth of a lover's promises. It is also the twentieth and thirty-fifth wedding anniversary stone, which makes an emerald piece a natural milestone gift beyond May birthdays.

Agate and chrysoprase

May's older traditional stones are more down to earth and far more affordable. Agate is a banded chalcedony in endless natural patterns, worn for protection and grounding since antiquity and lovely when the banding is used as the whole design. Chrysoprase is an apple-green chalcedony, the fresh, opaque green that gives May a lighter, more spring-like alternative to emerald's depth. Both are harder-wearing than emerald and a gentler place to start if the precious stone feels like a lot.

Caring for emerald

Emerald needs the most careful hand of the precious stones. Never use an ultrasonic or steam cleaner, as the vibration and heat can worsen fractures and strip the oil. Clean it only with lukewarm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft cloth, and dry it gently. Keep it away from hot water, solvents and harsh chemicals, and take an emerald ring off before washing up, gardening or applying perfume. At 7.5 to 8 it resists scratching well, but its internal fractures make it more brittle than that number suggests, so it is the knock, not the scratch, to guard against. Store it separately and, every few years, have a jeweller check whether it would benefit from re-oiling.

May birthstone questions

What is the May birthstone?

May's birthstone is the emerald, a rich green precious stone associated with renewal, love and wisdom. May also has two older traditional alternatives, agate and chrysoprase, both green chalcedonies and far more affordable.

Why do emeralds have inclusions?

Almost all emeralds contain natural inclusions, known affectionately as the jardin, or garden. They are the fingerprint of a genuine stone rather than a flaw, and a completely clean emerald is so rare it usually costs more than a diamond or suggests the stone is synthetic. A lively jardin in a beautiful even green is exactly what to look for.

What does it mean that an emerald is oiled?

Emeralds are routinely treated with cedar oil or resin to fill tiny surface-reaching fractures and improve clarity. It is an ancient, standard and accepted practice. Light oiling is completely normal; heavily treated stones rely on the filling and are worth much less, so it is worth asking the degree.

Is emerald good for everyday jewellery?

With care. At 7.5 to 8 emerald resists scratching, but its internal fractures make it more brittle than harder stones, so it is best worn as a necklace or earrings, or in a ring with a protective setting removed for anything rough. It is not an everyday knock-about stone in the way sapphire or ruby is.

Can emerald be used in an engagement ring?

It can, and antique emerald engagement rings are much loved, but it needs the right setting to protect the stone's corners and a wearer willing to treat it with a little care. A sapphire or ruby is tougher for daily wear, but for the colour, few stones compare.

Is emerald related to aquamarine?

Yes. Both are beryl, the same mineral coloured differently by trace elements: chromium and vanadium make emerald green, while iron makes aquamarine blue. Aquamarine tends to be cleaner and more durable, while emerald is prized for its incomparable green.