gems, advanced testing, cathodoluminescence, CL

A sixteenth-century pendant on display at the Museum of the National Library of France in Paris has been linked to Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of France from 1547 to 1559, and François Dujardin, goldsmith to King Charles IX beginning in 1570. The pendant is adorned with two emeralds that one historian claimed were Colombian without documentation or scientific proof. This study aims to confirm the nature of these emeralds and determine their geographic origin. The microscopic, spectroscopic, and chemical data collected in this study indicate that these two emeralds are from Pakistan. The presence of emeralds from Pakistan in this sixteenth-century European pendant provides strong evidence of the existence of trade routes between Asia and Europe during this period of time, or even before, and suggests such emeralds might be present in other royal jewels.