EmeraldAn amulet believed to protect against evil spells. Emerald has enthralled the elites of civilizations with
its stunning beauty and symbolic power for over 6,000 years. The name comes from the old French “esmeralde” through Latin “smaragdus” through Greek “smargdos.” One of the world’s first emerald mines in Egypt was named “Cleopatra’s emerald mine” for her lifetime love affair with the stone. Emeralds from what is now Colombia were part of the plunder when 16th century Spanish explorers invaded the New World. The Spanish, who treasured gold and silver far more than gems, traded emeralds for precious metals. Their trades opened the eyes of European and Asian royalty to emerald’s majesty. Color Emerald is the green to bluish green variety of the
mineral beryl colored by trace elements of chromium and vanadium. The most desirable emerald colors are bluish green to pure green with strong to vivid color saturation and medium to medium-dark tone. An emerald’s hue, tone and saturation determine its value. If the hue is too yellowish or bluish, the stone is not an emerald. Clarity Emeralds are inherently more included than most
other gemstones. Eye-clean stones are very rare. Unlike most other stones, visible inclusions are acceptable in emeralds unless they are so numerous as to affect the transparency of the stone. The most prized emeralds are highly transparent with even color distribution and no eye-visible color zoning. Source Colombia, Brazil, Zambia and Zimbabwe supply the
majority of emeralds on the international market. Colombia produces what many consider to be the highest quality and volume of emeralds. The Colombian emerald has been widely accepted as the world’s most desirable pedigree and its mines remain a prized locality to this day. Treatments Filling surface-reaching fractures or fissures with oil can
make them less noticeable, which increases transparency and improves the apparent color of an emerald. Since oil can leak or dry after a period of time, the use of paraffin or resins are sometimes used as a more stable filler. 
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All information are courtesy of Gemological Institute of America (GIA). OR DIAMOND are not affiliated with, connected to, or associated with GIA other than selling diamonds and gemstones graded by GIA and have GIA trained staff gemologist and accredited jewelry professional on site.
Images courtesy: Anonymous Gift; Diana Benoit; Ron Ringsrud
