Loose Emerald
The Egyptian queen Cleopatra fancied emeralds. Since then, emeralds have epitomized the color in green gemstones. A fine emerald is a breathtaking sight and is well deserving of its placement in the traditional "big five" along with sapphire, ruby and diamond.
Emerald is the birthstone for May and for commemorating the 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries.
Formerly, emeralds were confused with other green gemstones like peridot, jade and tsavorite garnet. With advanced mineral studies and equipment, we now have a distinction between emeralds and pale green beryl, which significantly alters the price; while the difference is only of saturation and tone.
The center of world emerald mining is in South America with Colombia and Brazil as major producers. Today, the African continent is second only to South America in production of emeralds, with mines in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Nigeria.
Each of these world locales typically produces a certain color, size and clarity so much so that the term "Colombian" emerald is often used to describe vivid, slightly bluish green emeralds of medium to medium dark color, irrespective of their geographic origin. Similarly, emeralds of lighter color are sometimes called Brazilian, even if they were mined in Africa.
Emeralds belong to the mineral family of beryls. Pure beryl is colorless. The colors occur because traces of some other element are added. In case of the emerald, it is mainly traces of chromium and vanadium which are responsible for the fascinating color. Whenever considering emeralds, remember that clarity in any emerald is extremely rare. Inclusions are invariably found in the best quality emeralds. In fact, sometimes fine inclusions in emeralds, called jardin, actually help in spreading the light evenly in an emerald.
Emerald is the only gem which has a cut named after it, the emerald cut. Necessitated by the softness of an emerald as compared to other gemstones, early emeralds were mostly cut in this manner. Nowadays one does find emeralds in oval, pear and marquise, but one must closely examine these for durability issues.
Emeralds are fascinating gems, and history is replete with examples of truly rare specimens and only the top echelons possessing them. Even today a quality emerald usually outdoes a good diamond of equal weight. Unlike diamonds which show their brilliance at less than 1 carat, like all colored gemstones, emeralds too show their true beauty in larger sizes. How large ‘your’ emerald is ultimately depends on your preference and your budget.
It is a general trade practice to treat emeralds to resins and oil them. While it really improves their appearance, it accords the wearer the responsibility of being careful when wearing an emerald. For example, the wearer must take off an emerald ring before putting hands into water that has cleansing agent.
Emerald is the birthstone for those born in May and the zodiac sign Taurus. Emerald is anniversary gift for the 20th and the 35th wedding anniversary.
