A sensuous symbol of love and rebirth, Emerald is an absolute gift of enhanced intellect and more romantic heart. Though mind and heart can’t go together, yet an Emerald has that commendable strength to balance both with further passion, poise and youth. Emerald is the birthstone for May and the anniversary gemstone for the twentieth year of marriage, the impeccable crest of an enduring love.
This May Birthstone is popularly considered as traditional gift for 55th wedding anniversary in many cultures. Emerald is a durable gemstone with the hardness ranging from 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. Though Emerald is a hard stone, but its durability can be affected by cracks and inclusion of impurities. Colombian Emeralds are considered to be the world’s most attractive ones with the rich glass- green color kissed by the dash of blue. The countries discovering best quality of emerald are India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Africa, Russia and Zimbabwe. Besides the recent finds in North Carolina they are expected to offer good quality emerald if they continue with mining.
Almost all the emeralds are treated with oils or epoxy resins to fill the surface cracks, making the cracks less visible and improving transparency. Sometimes the oil coatings are clear and visible while others are tinted green to bring more vividness to the Emerald. Yes you got this right; Emeralds are often treated to embellish their appearance. Even though treatments are accepted and generalised, they should be shared with buyers. It is always suggested to avoid cleaning emeralds with ultra sonic devices that can result in removal of coating.
We humans often attempt to produce things that look exactly like the natural thing, when the high demanded things are rare, scarce and expensive to obtain. It is the case with Emeralds too that can be grown artificially in a laboratory. The way of growing synthetic emeralds has perpetually changed, but they are being produced for many years. In fact, some stones even have inclusions that make them look natural. Almost same chemical characteristics can be found in synthetic as their natural counterparts.
You will perhaps run across fake emeralds. It is often difficult to detect these stones without magnification. However, a genuine jeweller would share with you the information of emerald being artificially grown in a lab.
What you assume is a precious emerald might be a fake one made of glass or inferior material. The most collectible emeralds are a pure, vivid green with a telescoped, pristine hue that does not carry marks of other shades such as yellow or brown.
Australian Gemological Laboratory – engagement rings melbourne GIA Alumni Association National Council of Jewellery Valuers JAA Loose Wholesale diamonds for sale graded by GIA Tourist Refund