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5,000-carat emerald found in Russia

A state-owned miner in Russia has claimed to have unearthed a unique emerald weighing 5,000 carats at a deposit in the Urals.

“It is an extremely beautiful rock chip sample of emerald,” said Kaliningrad Amber Factory spokesperson Svetlana Kalinina said.

Urals emeralds are in high demand as they are deemed to possess an almost perfect hue quality.

The market value of the dark green, semi-transparent gemstone, which weighs one kilo (2.2 pounds), is yet to be determined by experts from the State Precious Metals and Gems Repository.

It is the second large emerald extracted at the Malyshevskoye deposit. A 3,187-carat Yubileiny emerald was found there last year.

The Kaliningrad Amber Factory held its first emerald auction this year and sold 50 kg of rough gemstones for about $1 million.

According to industry experts, the value of emeralds grows by about 10 percent every year. Rock chip emeralds in particular are much sought after by many collectors in Europe, China and the United States.

Colombia is by far the world’s largest producer of emeralds, accounting for 50 to 95 percent of the world output.