How To Buy An Emerald

“Our Emeralds Make Diamonds Green With Envy” ®

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Now that you know how to buy a Conch Pearl, it’s time to learn how to buy an Emerald. There’s a wonderful saying that “nothing greens greener than an emerald” and as a general rule at Emeralds International, when we are asked this question by a prospective buyer wanting to own the alluring green gem for the first time, we typically start our education and advice with the statement “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and that one should buy what appeals to their desire and interests (including budget) first. If the interest is quality and price, then these are determined by other factors, primarily color, transparency, fire/brilliance, clarity and size. Collector status will have certain prerequisites including, but not limited to, country of origin and treatment for many collectors, as we see new discoveries such as Ethiopia for example, making the headlines and catching the eye of collectors and consumers alike.

Emerald Origins & Formation

Emeralds, depending on country of origin will have single, double or triple phase inclusions. Although incredibly fine and valuable emeralds come from sources such as Africa and Brazil, Colombian emeralds are still the standard by which all other emeralds are judged and are particularly known for their color and inclusion patterns, that is to say, liquids, solids, and gases within its structure. Unlike diamond, which is the crystallization of a single element, carbon, the chemical composition of emerald involves many elements coming together such as aluminum, beryllium, silicate & iron. Along with the coloring agents chromium, vanadium, this unique combination that separates it from all other green gems and beryl’s, produces a gem commonly found to have inclusions and fissures. The geological locality of an emerald will often determine what type and how much concentration of these coloring minerals are present i.e. chromium, vanadium and iron, which affect it’s color and hue. Colombian emeralds for example, form in a unique environment of hydrothermal and tectonic activity including the evaporation of salty brine (among other things), which give them, when compared to other origins such as Africa and Brazil which form in metamorphic and magmatic conditions, their distinctive qualities from inclusion type and pattern to purer green hues.

Emerald Characteristics

All natural emeralds contain inclusions. These inclusions are known as the “Jardin” or “Garden”, and are visible somewhere within the emerald, most often to the naked eye. Unlike diamonds, the words “inclusion” and “flaw” are not interchangeable when referring to emeralds. The inclusions, ie. liquids, solids and gasses are to be expected in all natural emeralds and should be regarded as a signature of genuineness. These inclusions do not necessarily mean the gem is weaker as a result of having them either, although heavy fractures and surface reaching fissures can create a more unstable gem and sometimes heavy ultrasonic use can break a heavily fractured gem apart. The standard enhancement for emeralds dating back many, many centuries, is a clarity treatment using natural oils such as cedar, balsam and wax to name a few, and since the 1980’s man made polymers such as Opticon and other patented processes have been used frequently. These types of oils and polymers are close to the refractive index of the gem and when successfully applied, allow the light and color to project more efficiently through the gem. These treatments should always be disclosed and usually can be reapplied or removed and one can assume that 99% of all emeralds are clarity treated. There is an old process in emerald mining that still continues today whereby miners will use pliers to crunch the outside perimeter of a rough emerald to detach heavily fractured areas and reveal the “noble” part of the emerald that will later be cut into a gem with less or no internal fractures. As is with all color gems, color (including hue, saturation and tone) is the first determinant of value in an emerald, then fire/brilliance, transparency and clarity next and its size the final factor. Emeralds come in basically three hues i.e. green, blue green and yellow green. The varying degrees of each of these characteristics will have an impact on desirability and value. An emerald could be over saturated in color or dull with heavy inclusions or lighter with vivid fire and superb clarity and everything in between. As a Type III gem which according to the GIA classification of gemstones in their respective clarity characteristic classification – is the most heavily included category, thus clarity is not as important in emeralds as other gems particularly diamond, but can be a multiplying factor in certain specimens. Even as cutting techniques improve with technology and precision cut emeralds are more available in the market place, particularly for smaller sizes, cut in an emerald however, is still not as important as in a diamond for example, where cut is now the most important factor in creating brilliance and performance in a diamond. Emerald is being cut primarily for color, not brilliance. The fire/brilliance in an emerald is more inherent in the molecular structure, and it is common to see many varying proportions in the cut of an emerald evident in the facets, tables, crowns, pavilions and culets in the attempt to conserve weight. Geologically far rarer than diamonds, on average emeralds are not large stones and those over one carat cut, of good quality are considered large and can command higher prices and be even more valuable than white diamonds. The green fire of an emerald is forever exciting to see and a magnificent emerald is the heaven of the mineral world. The joy of owning one never diminishes… and the romance never ends!

Beauty in Diversity

The beauty of purchasing an emerald lies in the diversity and variety of nuances of color, clarity, fire/brilliance and sizes available to select. Choose clarity and fire/brilliance over color or conversely, the darker green, whichever pleases you more. Marcial de Gomar’s Emeralds International, LLC, is one of the original contemporary sources in the world for rough emerald crystals in either rough-cut or freeform cut gems in mountings custom designed by hand.

We hope you enjoy your shopping experience with Emeralds International, LLC, and that we have contributed to your knowledge of one of the rarest of the precious gems that Mother Nature has created. We look forward to providing you with excellence in quality and service beyond conventional expectations, as Marcial De Gomar’s Emeralds International, LLC, celebrates over five decades in the business of fine emeralds, conch pearls and other rare gems.

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