Q 01/05

Emerald is a green variety of which mineral?

A) Corundum

B) Garnet

C) Beryl

D) Quartz

Answer · why

C) Beryl

Beryl gave its name to the element beryllium, which the French chemist Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin found in emerald and beryl in the 1790s.

Q 02/05

Trace amounts of which element are most often responsible for an emerald's green colour?

A) Iron

B) Copper

C) Chromium

D) Nickel

Answer · why

C) Chromium

Vanadium can also do the job, and iron shifts the hue toward blue or yellow.

Q 03/05

Emerald is the traditional birthstone for which month?

A) March

B) May

C) October

D) August

Answer · why

B) May

May: jewellers liken emerald's green to the fresh growth of spring.

Q 04/05

Which Roman writer declared that nothing is greener than emerald?

A) Marcus Aurelius

B) Seneca the Younger

C) Pliny the Elder

D) Julius Caesar

Answer · why

C) Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder also wrote that gem engravers rested their tired eyes by gazing at emerald's soft green.

Q 05/05

Which Roman emperor is said to have watched gladiator fights using an emerald?

A) Caligula

B) Nero

C) Commodus

D) Tiberius

Answer · why

B) Nero

Nero: the Roman account notes that flat emeralds reflect images like mirrors, so he may have watched the fights reflected in one.