I have been getting ready to go on vacation in a couple of weeks,
so please bear with me. I am slightly frazzled at the moment. That being said,
I have a new, and hopefully informative post for you all. I will be posting
these, theoretically, at the first of each month since they are going to be
about birthstones. I will possibly continue the posts afterwards with
information about other gemstones, but for now, just gemstones. That way you
will all get at least one post a month. Hope you all enjoy them! It gives me a
way to use the stuff that I have learned in my classes and at work.
So, this year’s big colour is emerald green. Well, the emerald is
May’s birthstone. Emeralds are a type of beryl which puts them in the same
mineral class as March’s birthstone, Aquamarine, and the beautiful pale pink
Morganite stone. It is very pretty and can be found in numerous jewelry
settings. You can get find them set in all colours of gold. However, most
jewellers will tell you that the most common and beautiful setting for an
emerald is in yellow gold. In terms of the cut, most emeralds are cut in what
is called and emerald cut. They are available in other cuts, but the emerald
cut brings out the beauty of the emerald and is a good stable cut for the
stone.
A question that I get asked a lot is where do emeralds come from?
Well, that depends on what time period you are living in. If you were to live
in ancient times you would most likely get your emeralds from places like
Austria, Egypt, and India. However, in today’s world you can find emeralds just
about anywhere if you know where and how to look for them. Most emeralds come
from Colombia and Zambia though. Colombia has the most emeralds, however those
that are mined are softer than those mined in Zambia.
Speaking of emerald softness, all emeralds have inclusions in them.
When buying emeralds be wary of buying one that has none. Chances are, if it
has no inclusions it is either a synthetic emerald or an emerald green cubic
zirconia. A synthetic emerald is grown in a lab. Really, there is nothing wrong
with lab grown emeralds apart from they are not brought out of a lab. That
being said. If a jeweller tells you that the emerald has no inclusions always
ask! I cannot stress this enough. The store that I work for has both kinds and
all of us know which is which. If in doubt of it, ask. Most jewellers will have
no qualms about telling you anything and everything you want to know about the
stone you are interested in. If they do not want to tell you, you may be better
off buying somewhere else. Also, do emeralds are one of the stones that you do
not want to buy online. Not only do you run the chance of not getting a real
emerald, but the shipping may damage the already fragile stone. You have no
idea how many people we get coming into the store asking us to replace cracked
emeralds.
What colours do emeralds come in exactly? While most emeralds are a
beautiful medium green, it is not uncommon to find some that are little more
blue or a little more yellow. They are still emerald, but it is the medium
green that people want. If you get too blue you end up with different species
of beryl such as aquamarine and maxie. If you go to yellow you end up with
Golden beryl and heliodor. So, what makes an emerald green as opposed to another
colour of beryl? Emeralds contain small amounts of vanadium or chromium.
Chromium being the most common. Yes, chromium is the chemical that was causing
all those problems if you have seen the film “Erin Brockovich” or know anything
about the case that Erin Brockovich worked on in real life. That being said,
the type of chromium in that case was hexavalent chromium and that is NOT found
in emeralds. Hexavalent chromium is chromium in the sixth state of oxidization.
Unless you are going to be ingesting large amounts of emeralds you will be fine
wearing it. It will not harm you to wear an emerald.
Emeralds, as mentioned above, have inclusions in them. Most
emeralds have a lot of inclusions in them. As such, most emeralds look more
opaque than clear. However, you can buy very clear emeralds if you want to dish
out that kind of money. The clearer the emerald, the more money it is. The good
news is that most lapidarists will oil the emeralds to give it a more clear
look to it. The most common type of oil used is cedar oil. You can ask your
local jeweller about the oiling of emeralds if you so wish. Most jewellers will
be able to tell you if the emerald you are wanting to purchase has been oiled
or not. However, not all emeralds are oiled. Some may be treated with synthetic
oils. In the US the FTC requires that when an emerald is sold the person buying
it must know about it. There is a downside to this though. A company may buy
and emerald to set in a piece of jewellery and know that the emerald has been
oiled. When that company goes to sell to your local jeweller the salesperson
may not know if that emerald has been
oiled when they are selling to your local jeweller. So, if you jeweller tells
you that they are not sure if the emerald was oiled during its time at the
lapidary they very well may be telling the truth. Nonetheless, most emeralds
are in fact oiled and as a good rule of thumb it is safe to assume that the
emerald you are interest in and all other emeralds in your local jewellery
store are in fact oiled.
Another question that I get asked frequently is how does one take
care of an emerald. Since emeralds are so fragile with all of their inclusion
it is better to have your emerald set in a piece of jewellery that does not get
banged around. Pendants, brooches, earrings, and hair pins are all good
choices. Rings and bracelets tend to take more abuse since people use their
hands for various things throughout the day. So, if you want a ring or bracelet
you may consider purchasing a lab created emerald instead as they hold up
better since they do not have very many, if any inclusions and are harder than
mined emeralds. Do not put them in harsh chemicals. Always take them off before
working with chemicals of any kind just to be on the safe side. If you wish to clean
them, use water to gently rinse them off and then dry them with a soft cloth.
It is better to take your emeralds to the jeweller to have them cleaned
professionally. Most jewellers do not charge for cleaning. If they do it is
usually not that much. Also, just because your emerald has been oiled at the
lapidary does not mean that it needs to be oiled again. If your jeweller thinks
it needs it they will tell you. In which case, if your jeweller is a trained
lapidarist they will do it themselves, or they will have a lapidarists come in
to do it. On occasion, they will either take it to the lapidarist or send it to
them. As with most jewellery care, if in doubt ask your local jeweller.
I hope this has helped you and that you have found it interesting! Until
next time!
