Emeralds
insert an emerald jewelry pic
What is an Emerald?
Emerald is a precious gemstone, one of the four considered to be in the category, and is a subclass of the parent mineral beryl that is green in color due to the presence of chromium and/or vanadium in some places. Although beryl comes in a wide array of colors, they are only recognized as emeralds if their main shade is green. However, if the saturation is "too light", the gem would be classified as the more inexpensive green beryl variety. There is still ongoing debates going on with experts to differentiate them, but gemology laboratories have helped with drawing the line between the two.
Called 'smaragdus' or "green stone" in ancient Greek, emerald has been the standard for green in gemstones going back thousands of years.
Where are Emeralds from?
Natural emeralds are mined from deposits located in Austria, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, the United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to name a few. Every emerald mine delivers emeralds with a large variance in quality, and source is not a guarantee of quality. For instance, being the world's biggest producer of emeralds accounting for more than half the supply worldwide, Colombia, particularly the Muzo mine, is famous for its gem-quality emeralds. However, the term "Muzo Emerald" or "Colombian Emerald" might refer to only a small yet highly desirable percentage of stones coming from that origin. On the other hand, Zambia, the second largest producer of gem-quality emeralds, is said to produce better clarity emeralds compared to its Colombian counterparts. In reality, these qualities overlap between the mines.
insert an emerald mine picture
different hue rubies
Two rubies with the same hue but different tones
Emerald Color Components
Emerald is well known for its eye-catching, even green color. At Golden Eiffel, we inspect every one of our emeralds to make sure that they have an even color with sufficient tone and saturation of color. In our inspections, we primarily observe their hue, tone, and saturation.
Hue
Hue indicates the actual color of the emerald. As such, the hue refers to two things: the main color of the emerald, which is green, and any other colors that might exist. Typically, emerald can be found in yellow-green to blue-green hues or sometimes greyish-green hue. The finest emeralds usually have blue-green or pure green hues, whereas greyish-green hue is a sign of a dull emerald. In this case, the secondary color is specified first, whereas the primary color is mentioned second.
Tone
Tone refers to the intensity or depth of color. For instance, two emeralds may both have green hues. However, the first emerald could appear bright green while the second appear to be "Muzo" green. The variation between the two stones' shade is the tone. Only stones that exist in medium to dark tones are recognized as emeralds, while the light-toned counterpart is considered as green beryl. The most magnificent emeralds are around 75% tone given that 0% tone is transparent and 100% tone is pitch-black.
Saturation
Saturation specifies the purity of color within emeralds. For example, grey color saturation is highly undesirable in emeralds due to it making the gemstone look dull. The highest saturation, "vivid", refers to emeralds that have the purest color with minimum color impurities and makes the stones look brighter as a result.
Golden Eiffel's standard guidelines ensure we exclusively offer emeralds ranging from yellow-green to bluish-green hues and strong to vivid saturation with medium light to dark tones.
Clarity
Clarity in emeralds is perceived in a very different manner compared to diamonds or even every other colored gemstones. Clarity in emeralds is evaluated by eye. Even then, emeralds tend to have a lot of inclusions and fissures. Thus, emeralds that are eye-clean are considered flawless and command the highest prices. On the flipside, traders and users accept that most emeralds will not be eye-clean, and that the inclusions are a reflection of the uniqueness and moss-like appearance of emeralds called jardin, which translates to garden in French. The most common clarity characteristics in emeralds include crystals, needles, and fractures. With that said, inclusions that do not affect transparency or durability is seen as acceptable. However, fractures in emeralds could get so big that it is referred to as fissures, which affect the durability and transparency greatly. In such case, the value will go down significantly and setting the stone safely onto jewelries could pose a challenge to jewelers, limiting the usage of such stones.
At Golden Eiffel, we hand pick stones that are clear of big, noticeable, and durability upsetting flaws.
Cut
Cut is essential to bring out the true worth of emeralds. However, unlike diamonds, there is no one standard perfect cut for emeralds because each one have a unique combination of color components, clarity characteristics, and transparency levels. As such, it is critical for gemstone cutters to be able to maximize a gemstone's beauty and value using the cut. For instance, a cutter might choose to cut more deeply for lighter-colored stones compared to one with deeper colors. Additionally, color can be distributed unevenly throughout a stone and different tones of the same hue can often be found in a stone. Consequently, cutters must contemplate the best way to cut the stone such that it reflects exclusively one shade of color as evenly as possible. Likewise, cutters try their best to "hide" clarity characteristics through cut and possibly remove them if deemed undesirable. The objective of every exceptionally cut emerald is to end with a gemstone that has a beautiful, even color saturation face-up combined with brilliance that makes the stone look full of life while preserving as much weight as possible for value.
Historically, the emerald cut is created in order to bring about the best looking gemstone. This style of cutting is invented to preserve the emerald's beauty in combination with the better durability that comes with the cut. Other cut regularly used for emeralds are cabochon and oval brilliant. Nowadays, the limitations on emerald cutting because of its jardin do not exist due to the advances of gemstone cutting techniques.
Transparency
Transparency refers to the relative ability of an emerald to transmit light. An emerald's transparency is often gauged by eye, which is a bit different compared to other colored gemstones due to its included nature. A very translucent look despite the presence of inclusions is a sign of a good, transparent emerald, while those with less transparency would look cloudy and light would be noticeably hindered. High transparency is one of the indication of an excellent emerald as it affects salience greatly.
Why Emeralds?
Individuality
Emeralds are considered to be one of the most treasured gemstones by many. The first reason is its jardin, which infinitely screams out the uniqueness of the stone to life with its distinct "beauty marks". Second, its green color that is said to be unparalleled is believed to embody abundance, harmony, prosperity, and growth for life. These aspects bring out a lot of individuality to each piece of emerald jewelry and its wearer alike by making them stand out from the crowd. Furthermore, emerald being the birthstone of May adds to its value as a modern engagement ring option.
Value
Emerald is the overwhelmingly more affordable option compared to diamonds, especially considering how rare and expensive green diamonds can be. This bang for your buck makes it so you can get a bigger sized stone. To add to that, emeralds are lower in density compared to diamonds, so emerald lovers will get a bigger stone even for the same carat weight compared to diamonds. Finally, high-quality emeralds over one carat see their prices consistently rise over the years due to their unmatched beauty and salience together with the widespread appeal, demand, and scarcity.
Durability
Just like the other precious gemstones, emeralds are generally considered to be durable and therefore is appropriate for daily wear. However, emeralds are graded 7.5 out of 10 on Mohs Scale of Hardness; quite a way behind diamonds and somewhat trailing sapphires and rubies. Consequently, emerald enthusiasts are suggested to take caution when choosing for jardin; it is advised to be especially vigilant towards fissures and to consult your expert jeweler before making a purchase. This way, they can be worn daily without dreading damaging the gemstones. Lastly, emeralds are not unusually sensitive to exposure to heat or light, but make sure to avoid chemicals found in perfumes, detergents, and such and ask an expert to clean your emerald jewelries professionally.