Leatrice Eiseman once said;
“The most abundant hue in nature, the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum… multifaceted emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate.”
Throughout the years, emeralds have always been symbolic of clarity, rejuvenation and an overall renewal in life.
We think that Emeralds are a lovely way to symbolize your love in a stunning, deep green gem that sparkles from all angles. Here is our take on incorporating Emeralds into your jewelry and the pros and cons to the gemstone route and the quality factors that can drive the price in either direction.
EMERALD COLOR SCALE AND CLARITY
Emeralds can have so many different special qualities, but according to GIA.edu, emeralds are all about color, color, color! Emeralds can be graded by color, tone and hue. With colors ranging from 1 to 10,
The tone can range from light, dark green, medium, medium-dark to deep-intense. Regarding hue, it starts at light yellow green, light bluish green, bluish green, strong yellow green, strong bluish green to intense bluish green.
Most desired emerald colors are bluish green to pure green. You want an emerald that is within the range where it’s not too dark nor too light. The color should be evenly distributed throughout the gem with no visible differences throughout its entirety. With inclusions that are typically visible to the naked eye, an eye-clean emerald with no “jardin” is considered rare and valuable. On the contrary, these eye-visible inclusions can have a negative effect on the transparency and clarity of the emerald.
The overall value and cost of the gemstone can vary massively depending on the color varieties. Color is driven by trace elements such as Chromium, Vanadium and Iron. The varied presence or absence of these elements are what dictate the color varieties in these beautiful gems.
CUT
Just like Diamonds, the cut of an emerald is very important and has four factors leading into the specified cut of the gem. Significant fractures, (or fissures) make an emerald slightly difficult to cut. On the Moh’s scale, emeralds are rated at a 7.5 to 8, compared to Diamonds being rated at a 10. Havinng this in mind, emeralds are a bit softer which is a very important driving factor behind the cut. These fissures make the gemstone more susceptible to being damaged during polishing and cutting. They can be easily damaged and need extra preventative care just to be safe.
Color can easily be adjusted udring cutting process due to the many proportions and number of facets that emeralds encompass. This means that the cutter can darken stone with a deeper cut, or make it paler with a superficial cut.
CARAT WEIGHT
As we hace established with Diamonds, bigger doesn´t mean better, when it comes to emeralds, and almost any gemstone. Carat weight will obviously have an effect on the price, but we recommend focusing more on the color and clarity rather than the true carat weight. As always, you pay for higher quality. Emeralds can be cheaper than diamonds depending on the quality and carat weight you are seeking but can also be more reasonable if you’re willing to explore different options.
PROS & CONS
As mentioned earlier, emeralds are ranked lower on Moh’s scale of Mineral Hardness. Coming in at roughly 7.5-8 on a scale of 1-10, this means you will need to be extra careful with your precious stone. Emeralds are slightly less durable than a diamond, which means they are more susceptible to daily wear and tear. This is very important to keep in mind for rings since you will likely be wearing it on a daily basis. Also emeralds typically have more inclusions to the naked eye. This is not necessarily a bad thing but can have an impact aesthetically and on the price tag.