Emerald
Emerald
The emerald – a gemstone in spring-like green
The most fascinating thing about an emerald is its beautiful green color, for which even the own color name emerald green has prevailed and on the basis of which the gemstone was chosen as the birthstone for the month of May.
The color scheme is the most important criterion for the value of an emerald, with the highest reputation here enjoying a very intense and vivid green without gray veil in a medium color brightness. The most beautiful emeralds in color are those from Colombia, where this green is most pronounced.
Brazil is also an important place of origin for emeralds of good quality, although they are usually a bit brighter than the Colombian ones. A characteristic feature of an emerald is its pleochroism, which is expressed by the fact that the gemstone takes on different colors depending on the direction from which one looks at it.
The emerald and its history
The emerald has a long history. In Egypt, emerald mines, which may have existed as early as 3,500 years BC, were not rediscovered until 1816 by the French mineralogist and explorer Frédéric Cailliaud.
These mines in the eastern desert region probably supplied Europe with the precious minerals for more than a thousand years. But also the Habachtal region in the Austrian province of Salzburg produced one or the other emerald and also the discovery of Roman earrings suggested that emeralds were found in the Mingora mine in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.
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Cleopatra's preference
The emerald, which, like aquamarine, belongs to the mineral family beryl, was already a popular status symbol in the time of the Egyptian pharaohs. Already Cleopatra appreciated the gemstone with its unique color: she wore sumptuous emerald jewelry, decorated her decoration with them and gave away emeralds in which her image was cut to dignitaries of her empire.
Thus, the gemstones had a great meaning for the Egyptians – they were not only pretty to look at, but also patriotic symbols as an expression of national pride. For this reason, Cleopatra declared the impressive gemstone her property in her country around 47 BC. Since then, emeralds have been repeatedly associated with fertility, immortality, rejuvenation and eternal spring.
The "Jardin" of an emerald – inner inclusions as fingerprints of nature
There is hardly an absolutely transparent emerald – impurities and turbidity in the crystal structure are a hallmark of these gemstones. In terms of purity, they belong to type III, in which unevenness and small cracks can almost always be found. These features are referred to in the emerald in reference to the French as Jardin (=garden) and characterize the individual appearance of each individual gemstone.
The degree of clarity of an emerald is determined accordingly with the naked eye and not under the microscope as with diamonds. However, since the numerous inclusions can have a negative effect on the material properties of an emerald, a special cut shape was developed for this gemstone: the rectangular emerald cut. It is so suitable for the emerald because it has bevelled corners and so there is no risk that the emerald prone to brittleness will be damaged in the exposed
areas.
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The rare trapiche emeralds from Colombia
Occasionally, an emerald can lead to special adhesions of various crystals, which are reminiscent of six-spoke wagon wheels in their appearance.
The special feature of this variety is that the Trapiche emerald grows from the beginning in a hexagonal shape and is not only brought into this shape by a gemstone cutter. The name Trapiche is Spanish and can be translated as sugar mill.
The brilliance of the emerald
In addition to the inclusions, another characteristic feature of the emerald is its unique brilliance. Silky, warm, soft or green fire – this is how the glow of this gemstone is often described and significantly influenced by color, purity and cut. In particular, the quality of the cut is of particular importance in the case of emerald, as the inclusions of the emerald, visible to the naked eye, can be placed in such a way that the beauty of the gemstone is not affected.
Emerald
Overview
The name for this gemstone has its origin in Greek’: ’emerald’ means ‘green stone’.
The emerald is considered the noblest stone of the beryl group.
The color ’emerald green’ is considered the most important evaluation criterion for this gemstone.
The emerald gets its color from traces of chromium, vanadium and iron, which, due to their
respective concentrations, produce an exceptionally beautiful color palette from pastel to deep green. Emeralds in a strong emerald green are usually more expensive than pale green stones.
The cuts for gemstone processing in ruby range from cabochon cut to facet cut. Heart, octagon or
oval are also popular ruby shapes. The facet cut is best suited for clear rubies, the cabochon cut more for those with optical effects.
The so-called rutile needles give the ruby a very special shine. Due to the fluorescence of the gemstone, the red color looks all the more intense.
Emerald
Quality Factors
Purity is not the decisive factor in emeralds. Emeralds with inclusions, but with an emerald green color, are more valuable than flawless, pale green emeralds.
The most important criterion for the evaluation of an emerald is its color. The stronger the emerald
green, the more valuable the emerald is.
Carat indicates the size of a gemstone – 0.2 grams equals 1 carat. Basically, the more carat, the more valuable. Emeralds, which have a more beautiful color scheme, can be more expensive, although they have less carats.
The emerald is generally available in any type of cut. In order to highlight the bright colours, the so- called emerald cut – all four corners are blunted by facets – was developed.
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The value of the unmistakable emerald green
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Occurrence of the emerald
The first emerald finds are long ago in ancient Egypt. As early as the 13th century BC, the gemstones
were mined there. The Orient, persians, Ottomans and Indians worshipped these gemstones until the first finds were made in South America (Colombia, Mexico and Chile). Colombia, the Urals, Brazil and South Africa are considered the most important sites today. However, emeralds are also found in Norway and Austria.
Decorations with emeralds
The emerald is considered a particularly valuable gemstone due to its rarity and is particularly sought after thanks to its intense and unique colors.