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Species: Beryl
Colour: emerald green, green, slightly yellowish-green
Moh’s hardness: 7½ - 8
Chemical composition: aluminium beryllium silicate
May’s Birthstone

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Colour
Emerald is the deeper green and most prized member of the Beryl family, the others being aquamarine(blue), helidor(yellow), morganite(pink), maxixe(deep blue) and the nearly colourless to pale green which is simply called green Beryl.
Emerald is the most intensely coloured gem, the colour ranges from pure green to a bluish green. The colouring agent is Chrome.
Emerald is the fourth hardest precious gem, but is less durable due its characteristic flaws. It has lower optical indexes (refractive and dispersive), giving it a little less sparkle, but it fluoresces in ultra violet light that occurs naturally in daylight, making a contribution to its incredible vivid colour. But Emeralds can also tend to show dirt and grease badly.

Shape
Most coloured gems look best, and cost less, in oval shapes. At Precious Metals though, we prefer the “emerald cut” emeralds, as the colour appears more uniform. The rough crystal shapes can often be cut more economically to rectangular shapes, making them simply better value.
At the end of the day though, it comes down to personal preference. If you are in doubt, it is best for you to compare “emerald-cut” emeralds in your price range with others, and then decide.
Some designs require a specific shaped emerald, but if possible, consider the shape that takes its name from the emerald.

Inclusions
Inclusions within the structure of the gem have usually grown at the same time as the gem formation. Darker coloured emeralds conceal inclusions better than clear crystal types.
All emeralds have inclusions; without them it is impossible to tell natural gems from the plethora of respectable synthetic or manmade emeralds. Chatam, Gilson, Australia’s Biron and many new firms have been producing synthetic emeralds for decades.
A natural emerald without microscopic inclusions is suspect until proven otherwise. As Garry says “I have never seen a loupe clean emerald”

Inclusions near the top or sides of an emerald can increase the risk of damage. If choosing an emerald as an everyday ring, then the correct stone is a must. It is our job to guide you through this process. With emeralds flaws are a fact of life, thus making eye-flawless emeralds very rare and very expensive.

Inclusions in emeralds are also useful in identifying the origin of the stone.
Variables in available elements and the effect of the host rock mineralisation, create specific identifiable inclusions.

For example, an emerald is worth much more if it can be proven to have come from Columbia, the most famous historical area. In this case it can be identified because the emerald is deposited as a hydrothermal (hot liquids and gases) mineral.

Origin
Emeralds have been prized since ancient times and have been known to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Emeralds are a love talisman, stemmed from times when they were the gem dedicated to the goddess of love, Venus.
The word emerald is derived from the ancient Greek word ‘’ smaragdos’’ which evolved to ‘’esmeraude’’ and ‘’ esmeralde’’. In antiquity, the major source of emeralds was from the Cleopatra mines, near the Red Sea. These mines have been uncovering emeralds from 2000BC.
From the mines they made their way via ancient trade routes to India where they were mainly worked into beads and cabachons (polished, unfaceted domes).
The other arguably more important ancient source for emeralds was the Inca civilisation in what is present day Colombia. It is not known how long the Incas had been mining emerald crystals, but it is now taken for granted that the specimens in Central America, known as the Mexican emeralds, are of Columbian origin and were traded between various Indian tribes.
The other major source from Columbia was the El Chivor mine, which closed in 1625, however, with the development of modern technology it reopened in 1923. The looted emeralds from Colombia found their way to many European capitals and the gem mecca of that period, India. It was not long after the arrival of the emeralds from the New World that these fine gems began to adorn the jewellery of the European royalty and nobility.

Famous Emeralds

Some beautiful specimens of several hundred carats are kept in the British Museum of Natural History in London. In the Viennese treasury is a vase, 12cm high and weighing 2205 carats, cut from a single emerald crystal!

For care and cleaning of your emeralds go to Frequently Asked Questions.