Ricardo Jimenez is a benchmark lapidary in Bogotá whose life’s work has been devoted to Colombian emeralds. For more than four decades, he has transformed rough from the country’s storied mountain mines into stones that hold crisp proportions, disciplined facets, and a clean, living light.
Colombian emerald cutting demands precise orientation, clarity management and respect for the stone’s life. In this interview, Ricardo Jiménez, a master lapidary specialized in Colombian emeralds, explains how he reads color, deals with jardin inclusions and decides when to maximize brilliance versus weight.
According to some sources, the exploitation of the Muzo emerald mines began in 1564, with the discovery of a stone in the street in La Trinidad de los Muzos, which led the Spanish to the veins of Itoco. Between 1580 and 1600, Muzo and Coscuez supplied expeditions to Europe and Asia,
in a context of forced labor, reprisals, labor shortages, and interference by the Crown, which pushed trade toward smuggling and shaped the history of Colombian emeralds.
Muzo Conquest followed the decision to look beyond Somondoco. From 1538, expeditions pushed into a steep, hostile region held by a warrior people who guarded an “emerald mountain.” Failed campaigns (1539, 1544, 1550, 1551) gave way to Lanchero’s return in 1558-1560, the founding of Santisima Trinidad de los Muzos, and a fragile colonial foothold.
Somondoco Emerald Mines show how colonial rule reshaped Muisca lands: encomiendas, forced labor and water-scarce workings produced modest yields, while Spaniards often looted graves or ransomed nobles for gold and emeralds. Output lagged, records thinned, and focus moved to richer western deposits at Muzo-leaving Somondoco to fade from use and memory.
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada expedition left Santa Marta with ~700 men, reached the highlands in 1537, and confronted Muisca chiefdoms. Battles at Funza, Sagipa’s contested rule, Hunza’s fall and the burning of Sugamuxi set Spain’s foothold-and pointed toward Somondoco, tying conquest routes to Colombian emeralds.
Spanish Conquest of Colombia began with coastal landings and reports of gold and emeralds. From 1499 voyages by Ojeda and Bastidas to cities at Santa Marta and Cartagena, expeditions moved up the Magdalena in search of El Dorado-opening routes to the interior and setting the stage for Quesada’s southward push.
El Dorado Myth begins not with a city of gold but a Muisca ritual at Lake Guatavita: a gilded chief casts gold dust and rough emeralds into the water. This ceremony linked faith, landscape and Colombian emeralds—and launched the legend that drew conquistadors and still defines the country’s green gem.
Muisca emeralds link Colombia’s earliest known emerald mining to religion and ritual. On the Andean highlands, the Muisca offered gold tunjos and emeralds at sacred lakes, worked deposits such as Somondoco (Chivor), and treated the gems as spiritual objects—not currency. Their practices form the first chapter of the Colombian emerald story.
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