When purchasing Emerald Rings, Emerald Earrings and Emerald Pendants, and all other Emerald Jewellery, there are several factors you need to consider – these are the Four C’s – Colour, Clarity, Carat Weight and Cut.
Emerald Colour
Emeralds occur in a variety of green shades. Some Emeralds have yellowish to bluish overtones. The stone loses colour when strongly heated.
The colour of emerald is the most important cause of value. The best colour is emerald green or “grass” green. There is nothing in the world like it that has enough of this colour. It is not too yellow and not too blue, not light or dark, intense and brilliant. Sound of quality, it will glow. Usually, the most beautiful emerald comes from Columbia.
Again, the most universally accepted and most documented system of grading is the GIA system but there are also many commercial systems available.
Emerald Clarity
Unlike most gemstones, clarity is not large enough to determine the value of the emerald. It’s definitely not as important as colour. This is because the inclusions are so common in natural emerald and it is thought not to interfere with its beauty.
Good clarity is recommended to the extent, that light may be able to play within a stone, and it is transparent. While not absolutely necessary for clarity to affect Emerald value, completely opaque emerald is not worth much: in fact, even the best emerald, if it is completely opaque, is not valuable. Clarity is the second most important 4 C’s, when it comes to quality.
The clarity of Emerald, as with all other gems, are officially classified as ranging from best VVS (very very slightly included) to VS (very slightly included), the SI-S2 (slightly included) down to I1 , I2, 13 (included).
Emerald Weight
Emeralds that are large (over 10 cts) and of good qualities are extremely rare. Most of them are in museums, crown jewels and the jewel collections of the elite and famous. Emeralds over 3 cts are still rare, accessible to those only with thousands of pounds. An emerald of good quality, of any size is valuable, even though the price will drop significantly when the stone is less than 0.5 carats.
Emerald cut
A well cut Emerald is an Emerald that sparkles and glows to its maximum ability. Perfect cut is not as important for Emerald as it is for most gemstones, because as mentioned previously, Emerald is valued for its depth of colour mostly, and is often too included to sparkle anyway. The shape “emerald cut” which is popular now for diamonds as well as other gemstones was in fact originally created for Emerald. This cut was used for cutting Emerald because it emphasises colour instead of sparkle. However, it is still important to know the difference between a nice and bad cut, so that when presented with a choice of Emeralds, you can choose a well-cut one. When judging the cut of an Emerald, you should look for:
“Fish Eye”: If the bottom is not emerald cut at right angles, you will be able to see through Emerald rather than seeing the light reflected back to you.
Uneven Facets: in particular they show up more in cuts types emerald, step, baguette and princess cuts, which are common in emeralds. These cuts have a long straight side rather than triangles and diamonds. A poorly emerald cut of this style is smaller at one end to the other end, giving an uneven length.
Polish: The emeralds can be difficult to polish due to the natural structure of the crystal, so spin the emerald around, to see that each facet reflects light like a mirror without dull or rough areas. Also, Emerald is subject to internal cracks and fissures which can also be applied to the surface. If you see fine lines on the facets of emerald surfaces, there is an error in the cut and you must avoid when you can make your vulnerable to cracking. In large emerald gem trade, emeralds are sold at a price per carat basis. Therefore, it makes sense that 3-carat emerald will cost more than a 1 carat emerald, when all else is equal. But an additional factor is that it is rare to find a 3 carat emerald to that of a 1 carat emerald. Therefore, not only is the total price higher, but the price per carat is higher because of the extra factor of scarcity.
Emerald Treatments
Almost all Emeralds in the market have been treated to improve their clarity. Because Emeralds are naturally full of cracks and crevices, making it more opaque and less attractive, it has become an industry standard for filling cracks in the Emerald to improve its clarity. Fillings are traditional natural oils such as cedar oil. After years, these oils fade or “sweat”. Although it is accepted and the emerald is not worth less, discussions on the permanence of the treatments are still going on. Gemstones that have been treated in these accepted ways must not be regarded as worth anything less if “permanent”. Other methods for filling cracks in the Emeralds are explored, such as wax, resin and even glass. A substance is considered well for filling cracks in the Emerald when it reflects light much like an emerald. This makes fillings less noticeable.
While sealing cracks that are acceptable to improve clarity, it is sometimes also used to improve the colour. For example, green coloured oil is used. This is generally regarded as misleading and it is best not to buy these “coloured” emeralds. This can be detected under a magnification of 10x.
Note: The emerald gem may lose its oils or fillers after many years of wear. This is normal. Emerald stones here are very fragile and are more susceptible to cracking and breaking. Most local jewellers are well prepared for the necessary treatment of emeralds, and you can use the services. The special care needs to be done by a professional jewellers and cannot be tried at home.
Emerald fakes and imitations
In recent years, synthetic emeralds have been recorded on the market. They come with labels such as “created”, “lab”, “synthetic”, “Chatham”(a major producer of synthetic emeralds). They are “real” Emeralds in the sense that they are the same mineral, the difference is that they were made in a laboratory rather than in the earth’s crust. Synthetic emeralds are generally much more transparent than natural emeralds with fewer inclusions. It is also possible to find very attractive colour synthetic emeralds. Emeralds are created about 1/10 the price of natural variations of emeralds.
Wearing Your Emerald Jewellery
Do not do heavy work whiles wearing emerald jewellery. Protect your jewellery from knocks and shocks. Also, do not put the Emerald near heated environments, this can damage the oils and fillers in treated emeralds. When you look after Emerald gemstone jewellery you need to keep in mind the improvements made to the gem.
Caring for your Emerald Jewellery
Emeralds should never be cleaned with very hot water, steam or any other solution that contains petroleum distillates or solvents. Jewellery cleaning solutions that are sold as such in the market is not compatible with the oil treatment of emeralds. All jewellery containing emeralds should not be placed in the ultrasonic cleaning equipment.
To clean an Emerald or Emerald Jewellery use a soft old toothbrush or a cloth piece dipped in luke warm water. Avoid soaking Emeralds in hot or warm or cold water. The water may seep into the treated fissures and dilute or dissolve the fillers. Exposing the Emeralds to heat may cause the fissures to expand and make your Emerald very fragile.
Remove your emerald jewellery when not needed and store it in a safe place, away from heat or moisture. The idea is to keep your emeralds in good condition, avoiding the need to clean the jewellery frequently.
My last words ..,
I have always recommended people should buy Emerald Rings for instance, carefully. Expect to pay more for larger examples, and remember at the end of the day, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. So, then select the stone you want, not what you are led to believe you want! Regardless of the emerald, the size or shape you choose, be sure to use and always enjoy Emerald Jewellery!