Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They show the most
beautiful, deepest and most brilliant green imaginable: Emerald green.
Inclusions are allowed, and nevertheless, in top qualities fine Emerald are
even more valuable than diamonds.
The name Emerald was derived from French "esmeraude”
which in turn goes back via Latin to the Greek root "smaragdos”, meaning
simply "green gemstone”. There are uncountable adventure stories involving
this splendid gemstone. Even the ancient Incas and Aztecs in South America,
where the best Emeralds are still being found today, worshipped it as a holy
stone. However, probably the most ancient occurrences which were known are
located near the Red Sea. These gemstone mines were already exploited by
Egyptian Pharaohs between 3000 and 1500 B.C., gained fame under he name of
"Cleopatra’s Mines”, but had already run out when they were rediscovered.
Many centuries ago in the Veda, the ancient sacred
writings of Hinduism, there was written down information on the valuable green
gemstones and their healing power: ”Emeralds promise good luck”, or ”The
Emerald enhances your well-being”. It does not come as a surprise, then, that
the treasure chests of Indian Maharajas and Maharanis contained most wonderful
Emeralds. One of the largest Emeralds in the world is the "Mogul Emerald”.
It goes back to the year 1695, weighs 217.80 carats and is about 10 cm high.
One side is inscribed with prayers, on the other side there are engraved
opulent flower ornaments. The legendary Emerald was auctioned off at Christie’s
of London for 2.2 million US dollars to an anonymous buyer.
Emeralds have been coveted ever since ancient times. Some
of the most famous Emeralds can therefore be admired in museums and
collections. For example, The New York Museum of Natural History not only shows
a cup from pure Emerald which was owned by Emperor Jehingar, but also a
Colombian Emerald crystal weighing 632 carats. The collection owned by the Bank
of Bogota contains no less than five valuable Emerald crystals weighing between
220 and 1796 carats. Also in the Irani State Treasure there are guarded some
wonderful Emeralds, among them the tiara of ex-Empress Farah.
Green of Life and of Light
Emerald green is the colour of life and of eternally
returning spring. For centuries, however, it has also been the colour of beauty
and of eternal love. Even in ancient Rome green was the colour dedicated to
Venus, goddess of love and beauty. Today there are still many cultures and
religions where green holds a special position. For example, green is the holy
colour of Islam. All states of the Arabian league sport green banners
symbolising the unity of their religion. But also within the Catholic church
green holds an important status, as among the liturgy colours green is
considered the most natural and elementary one.
Splendid Emerald green is a colour communicating harmony,
love of nature and a primeval joy of life. You cannot ever get too much of this
unique colour, as Pliny already pointed out "Green is pleasant to the eye
without tiring it.”. Green is characterised as fresh and full of life, never as
monotonous. And as this colour keeps on changing gradually between bright
daylight and artificial lamplight, Emerald green in all its hues and shades
will preserve its vivid energy.
Fingerprints of Nature
The vivid
brilliance of its colour makes Emerald a unique gemstone indeed. But really
good qualities are rare, as inclusions will often spoil the impression - traces
of an active history of origin characterising the gemstone. Fine inclusions,
after all, do not diminish the value; on the contrary. An Emerald of deep,
vivid green with inclusions will be valued higher than an inclusion-free stone
of paler colour. Almost endearingly, experts call the many crystal inclusions
or fissures which are so typical for this gemstone a "jardin”. The tender
green plant-like structures in the Emerald garden are considered as identifying
characteristics of a naturally grown Emerald.
Where do they come from and why are they acceptable? In
order to answer this question we must look back in history over 65 million
years to the times when Emeralds were created. From a chemical-mineralogical
point of view, Emeralds are beryllium aluminium silicates achieving the good
hardness of 7.5 to 8. Like blue Aquamarine,
pale pink Morganite,
golden Heliodor and pale green Beryl, Emerald is also a member the Beryl gemstone
family. Pure Beryl is colourless. Colours only exist when traces of
certain elements are added in the process. For Emerald, traces of chrome and
vanadium are mainly responsible for the fascinating colour. These elements
usually occur concentrated in the Earth crust at completely different locations
from beryllium, and therefore Emeralds should not exist at all. However, in the
course of extreme tectonic processes these contrary elements were brought
together and created one of our most beautiful crystals in the process of
crystallising under enormous heat and high pressure. Due to the tensions
involved in the geological conditions there occurred several smaller or larger
disturbances during creation. And a view inside the heart of an Emerald, with a
magnifying glass or a microscope, will tell us something about the wild and
vivid process of creating this unique jewel: there may be smaller or larger
fissures recognisable, perhaps there will be a miniature crystal or a small
bubble within, and a variety of structures may be discerned. Some of these
phenomena had the time to heal out in the growth phase and show the serrated
three-phase-inclusions, which are so typical for Colombian emeralds: cavities
filled with liquid, often containing also a small gas bubble and tiny crystals.
Obeying the laws of logic, such a history of creation
makes it virtually impossible for larger crystals to grow without
imperfections. Therefore, then, it is a rare event indeed when a larger emerald
of good colour and good transparency is found. And this is why such fine
Emeralds are so valuable. But the very fact that Emeralds have a vivid past
mean that we like to see traces of this in the stone - provided there is only a
fine "jardin” apparent in the stone, and not a wildly overgrown and
untamed jungle of a garden, which negatively effects colour and transparency.
The World of Fine Emeralds
Colombia is still the main country of occurrence for fine
Emeralds. About 150 mining sites are known there, but not all of these are
currently being exploited. The most famous names in this context are Muzo and
Chivor, where even in pre-Colombian times the Incas mined Emeralds. The
economically most important mine is Coscuez. Estimates ascribe about three
quarters of the current Colombian emerald production to the about 60 locations
belonging to the Coscuez mine. Colombian Emeralds are set apart from Emeralds
of other origin by their especially fine and brilliant green which is not influenced
by any bluish tinge. Depending on the place of occurrence, the colour of
Emerald may vary. This fascinatingly beautiful colour is highly coveted in the
international Emerald trade, so that even visible inclusions which can be
discerned with the mere eye are acceptable. But Colombia has more to offer:
from Colombian Emerald mines occasionally there come Emerald rarities on the
market, like "Trapiche-emeralds” displaying a six-ray-star , or like the
extremely rare Emerald Cat’s Eye.
Although undoubtedly the best and finest qualities of
emeralds are from Colombia, it would be wrong to suppose that the
"birthplace” of a stone automatically guarantees immaculate quality. Fine
emeralds are also found in other countries such as the Zambia, Brazil, Zimbabwe,
Madagascar, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan or Russia. Mainly Zambia, Zimbabwe and
Brazil have gained an international reputation for fine Emeralds. From Zambia
there are exported excellent Emerald crystals in a beautiful, deep emerald
green showing good transparency. Their colour is usually darker than that of
Colombian stones and often has a fine bluish undertone. From Zimbabwe’s famous
Sandawana mines there come usually smaller, but very fine Emeralds in a vivid
and deep green, often with a slight yellowish-green shade. Brazil’s gemstone
mine Nova Era at present even challenges the famous Colombian Emerald mines:
their production of Emeralds in beautiful shades of green compete in their
attractive beauty with the gemstones offered by the neighbouring country.
Because of the occurrences found in Africa and Brazil, Emeralds are fortunately
available in larger amounts today than in earlier times - much to the pleasure
of their fans.
A Capricious Gemstone
The
good hardness may well protect Emeralds from scratches to some extent, but its
brittle structure and the many fissures can make cutting, setting and cleaning
the stone somewhat problematic. Cutting Emeralds always means a new challenge
even for experienced cutters, on the one hand because of the high value of the
rough crystal involved, on the other hand because of the frequent inclusions.
But this does not diminish their fascination with the unique gemstone. They
have developed a special cut, especially for Emeralds: the so-called
emerald-cut. The clear design of the rectangular or square cut with its
bevelled edges underlines the beauty of the valuable gemstone perfectly, while
at the same time offering protection from mechanical strain. Emeralds, however,
are also cut in many other, usually classical shapes. But if the raw material
is veined by a multitude of inclusions, it is often cut as softly rounded
cabochon or as Emerald pearls, which are especially popular in India.
Many Emeralds today are treated with oils or natural resins.
This is customary in the trade, but it has the effect that the green jewels
react often quite sensitively to in-expert treatment. For example, they must
not be cleaned ultrasonically. The substances used by the cutter in the process
of cutting or applied subsequently seal the fine openings on the surface of the
gemstone and these would be removed in the course of such a cleaning procedure
- resulting in a rather matted gemstone. Therefore Emerald rings should always
be removed before the hands are immersed in any kind of detergent.
A Question of Trust
As
Emerald is not only one of the most beautiful gemstones, but also one of the
most valuable ones, there are unfortunately a multitude of syntheses and
imitations. How can you feel safe that you do not fall for one of these
impostors? The best strategy here is to buy your gemstone from an expert of
your trust. Especially larger emeralds should only be purchased with an
accompanying certificate provided by a renowned gemmological institute, where
modern methods of analysis will be employed to assess a stone and separate
natural from synthetic Emeralds, and where you will be informed about any
treatments the stone was subjected to that you should know about.
And now a last piece of advice for buying Emeralds: other
than diamonds, which show their sparkling brilliance even in sizes below one
carat, a coloured gemstone should be preferred in larger sizes. There does
exist beautiful jewellery set with smaller coloured stones as decorative
accents, but Emeralds like other coloured gemstones will best display their
brilliance in larger dimensions. How big your perfect Emerald should be - this
depends on your personal preferences and also on your purse. Really big
Emeralds of good quality are rare. In these cases the price for an Emerald of
top quality will be higher than the price for an equally large diamond of the
same weight. After all - Emerald is a gemstone with a unique fascination …