<P> One of the quainter anecdotes about emeralds was told by the 16th - century historian Brantôme, who referred to the many impressive emeralds the Spanish under Cortez had brought back to Europe from Latin America . On one of Cortez's most notable emeralds he had the text engraved, Inter Natos Mulierum non sur - rexit mayor ("Among those born of woman there hath not arisen a greater," Matthew 11: 11) which referred to John the Baptist . Brantôme considered engraving such a beautiful and simple product of nature sacrilegious and considered this act the cause for Cortez's loss of an extremely precious pearl (to which he dedicated a work, A beautiful and incomparable pearl), and even for the death of King Charles IX of France, who died soon afterward . </P> <P> The chief deity of one of India's most famous temple, the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, is the goddess Meenakshi, whose idol is traditionally thought to be made of emerald . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Emerald </Th> <Th> Origin </Th> <Th> Size </Th> <Th> Location </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Bahia Emerald </Td> <Td> Brazil, 2001 </Td> <Td> 180,000 carats, crystals in host rock </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Carolina Emperor </Td> <Td> United States, 2009 </Td> <Td> 310 carats uncut, 64.8 carats cut </Td> <Td> North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Chalk Emerald </Td> <Td> Colombia </Td> <Td> 38.40 carats cut, then recut to 37.82 carats </Td> <Td> National Museum of Natural History, Washington </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Duke of Devonshire Emerald </Td> <Td> Colombia, before 1831 </Td> <Td> 1,383.93 carats uncut </Td> <Td> Natural History Museum, London </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Emerald of Saint Louis </Td> <Td> Austria, probably Habachtal </Td> <Td> 51.60 carats cut </Td> <Td> National Museum of Natural History, Paris </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Gachalá Emerald </Td> <Td> Colombia, 1967 </Td> <Td> 858 carats uncut </Td> <Td> National Museum of Natural History, Washington </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Mogul Mughal Emerald </Td> <Td> Colombia, 1107 A.H. (1695 - 1696 AD) </Td> <Td> 217.80 carats cut </Td> <Td> Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Patricia Emerald </Td> <Td> Colombia, 1920 </Td> <Td> 632 carats uncut, dihexagonal (12 sided) </Td> <Td> American Museum of Natural History, New York </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Emerald </Th> <Th> Origin </Th> <Th> Size </Th> <Th> Location </Th> </Tr>

Where do the best quality emeralds come from