Emerald is one of the most precious and valuable gemstones. Here’s everything you need to know about Emerald gemstones!
Emerald is one of the most precious and valuable gemstones, both due to its rarity and its breathtaking color. Emeralds are rarer than diamonds and exhibit more “fire” than any other gemstone.
The emerald is the birthstone for May, which means that people born in this month can gift each other with emerald jewelry as a present. In addition to being a May birthstone, emeralds are also among the gemstones associated with the zodiac sign of Taurus.
Emeralds are mined in many countries around the world including Colombia, Zambia, Brazil, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
It is much harder to find an emerald with perfect color than a diamond with perfect clarity.
According to the Gemological Institute of America, “The most highly valued emeralds are prized for their pure, rich green to bluish-green color and medium light tone.” (The term “tone” is used to describe how dark or light a stone appears.) The most valuable emeralds are usually around the 1.35-1.40 range on the refractive index scale, meaning that they are slightly less dense than a diamond.
Emeralds receive their grade based on the following criteria: color, tone and saturation, clarity, cutting and proportions (what percentage of light enters and exits through top of a gemstone)
Emeralds are graded on the basis of color, cut, clarity, and carat weight. The four C’s are not independent of one another; they interrelate, and a change in one alters the value of the others.
When looking at emeralds, the four C’s are important grading factors: color, cut, clarity and carat weight.
The color of an emerald is judged by two characteristics: tone and saturation. Tone refers to the degree of lightness or darkness in a stone. The most preferred tones for emeralds are medium-dark green to very dark green. If it’s too light or too dark, it will be less prized. Saturation refers to the vividness or strength of the hue of a color. A pure clear green without any bluish, yellowish or brownish tints will be highly desirable; a stone with these tints is considered less valuable as an emerald and more valuable as a gemstone known as a beryl.
In addition to being judged on its overall tone and saturation, an individual stone may have multiple shades within it because of internal characteristics called fissures that cause portions of the stone to appear darker than others. These inclusions make up part of the overall appearance of an emerald and can’t be separated from its value since they’re already integrated into the gemstone itself—emerald fractures easily along these fissure lines when cut poorly by inexperienced jewelers so you want someone who has experience cutting precious stones working on your emerald if you plan on setting it into jewelry!
You’ll often see eye-clean stones for sale online because buyers cannot always tell if there are subtle imperfections when viewing images from afar — but once under magnification these details become apparent! Some dealers even advertise their “eye clean” products without disclosing that there might actually be slight flaws visible with magnification (or worse yet). That said–if what you’re looking at doesn’t say anything about clarity ratings then assume they aren’t qualified enough themselves either!
A good emerald should be vivid as well as clear green in color.
The most important factor to consider when purchasing an emerald is its color. A good emerald should be vivid as well as clear green in color. The presence of chromium and vanadium increases the intensity of the green and creates some shimmering effects in the stone. An emerald should not have a very dark or very pale coloring, which indicates that it is either too low-quality to use or has been altered with treatments to make it appear more valuable than it is.
Cut refers to the way a jeweler shapes and polishes a rough stone into a faceted gemstone. The cut gives the stone its brilliance and sparkle.
The cut of a gemstone is its shape, the way it’s been polished, and how it catches and reflects light. The art of cutting stones is an ancient one that requires years of practice to master.
A jeweler or gem cutter looks at a rough stone and decides how to cut the gem in order to best display its color, transparency and luster. This decision-making process can be very complicated because if the cutter makes a wrong judgment about how to go about cutting the stone, it will lose value; however, if the cutter does their job well, the resulting gemstone has more worth than when it was still in its unpolished state.
The clarity in gemstones can be judged by observing any internal characteristics called inclusions or external characteristics called blemishes.
Emerald clarity can be judged by observing any internal characteristics called inclusions or external characteristics called blemishes. These are measured on a scale from Excellent to Fair, and are determined by the number and type of inclusions inside the stone. The fewer inclusions and the less noticeable they are, the higher the clarity grade, making them more valuable. Stones with more inclusions may have a lower clarity grade, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re low quality.
Carat is a measure of weight that is generally used to measure gemstones and pearls. Pearls are generally measured in grains. One pearl grain equals 0.25 carats or 1/4 carats.
In many cases, the price of a gemstone is directly related to its weight. For example, a ten-carat emerald is going to be more expensive than a two-carat emerald of the same quality. However, this isn’t always the case. Very large or very small stones are harder to find and therefore more desirable; these qualities can raise their value above that of an average stone in the middle carat range (between 3 and 5 carats).
One carat is equal to 0.2 grams!
Emeralds are relatively rare gemstones
- Emeralds are rare. Emeralds are among the most expensive gemstones, despite being considerably less hard than diamonds. In fact, emerald is only the fourth-hardest stone on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness (after diamond, sapphire and ruby). This is because they are less common than other gemstones; emeralds have a lower ore rate than any other precious stone except for tanzanite.
- The process of making an emerald involves metamorphism in which organic material is subjected to intense heat and pressure over millions of years to produce a high-quality crystal.
- Prices vary depending on quality, but as a rule of thumb, one carat of top-end cut and polished emerald will cost you about $10,000–$15,000 USD (so if you’re looking for an engagement ring with a big stone… keep saving!).