All about Emeralds

When selecting an emerald ring or other emerald jewelry, certain things must be taken into consideration - hue, tone and saturation, all of which determine value.  Emerald rings can make stunning gifts.

Emerald Color

Look for emeralds that are bluish green to green with strong saturation and medium to medium dark tone.  The most valuable emeralds are transparent with little or no inclusions to the naked eye.   As a relative guide, you can expect to pay up to $13,000 dollars per carat for emeralds up to two carats and up to $20,000 dollars for emeralds from two carats to under four carats for a good to fine emerald. Emeralds are considered lightly, moderately or heavily included.  Eye clean emeralds are considered very valuable because they are so rare.

Emerald Cut

The most popular cut for an emerald is the emerald cut, but they can also be cut as round, oval, pear, marquise and heart shaped. Poor cutting can reduce the value of your emerald ring or emerald jewelry.  The cutter must take certain things into consideration such as depth of color, durability and inclusions.  Any mistake can lead to large reductions in value. Emeralds are more brittle than stones like rubies or sapphires.  Because of the vulnerability to damage during cutting, setting, polishing or even every day wear, emeralds are considered luxury stones.

Emerald Size

Emeralds come in all sizes from .02 points to 25 carats or more. The priceless 2,680 carat emerald can be found in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.  It was cut from two Columbian crystals that grew together and was cut in 1641. “Egyptians mined emeralds as early as 3500 B.C.  Although some say the ancient Romans (circa 500 B.C. to 400 A.D.) knew of an emerald mine in the European Alps, Egypt was the major source of emeralds until the sixteenth century”, according to the Gemological Institute of America.  Columbia, South America was and still is an important source for emeralds today. They are considered rare and very expensive.