Emerald

Emerald is the second of the birthstones from the Beryl family of gems to feature in this list (the other being Aquamarine in March).

The oldest emeralds are 2.97 billion years old and originated from South Africa. Today’s sources are mainly Colombia, Brazil and Zambia although they are found worldwide in lesser qualities and quantities.

Emerald has a hardness of 7.5 – 8 on Mohs’ scale of hardness, but it is a more brittle stone so it does need a bit more care. Many emeralds are heavily included (containing other minerals which were present at the time the emerald crystal formed, or fissures running through the crystal) and it is this that makes them have a poor degree of toughness.

Due to emeralds being prone to damage when knocked, it is advantageous to have them set with either claws that protect the corners of square or rectangular stones or in a setting where the girdle (edge) of the stone is covered. They are safer when set in earrings or pendants as they are less likely to suffer the knocks and damage as they can do in a ring.

Rings are always the item of jewellery most likely to suffer wear and damage and for this reason we always recommend that gem set rings are removed during any hard physical work. This is particularly important when emeralds are involved.

Care also needs to be taken when cleaning emeralds. Under NO circumstances should they be placed in an ultrasonic cleaning machine as this risks the stone being broken by the vibrations.

In addition to this, many emeralds have surface reaching/breaking fissures and these are often treated with oil (or termed oiled) to improve the clarity of the stone.

This is an accepted practice providing that the oil is colourless. However, if the emerald has been treated with coloured oil thereby improving the colour of the stone then it MUST be disclosed.

Problems can occur with undisclosed, coloured oil treated emeralds if they are subjected to improper cleaning as it can strip the oil from the stone leaving it looking VERY poor in colour and clarity. It can also cause issues when the item of jewellery needs to go to the workshop for any reason as this would mean that the stone would need to be cleaned and again risking the stone looking very different afterwards if coloured oils have come out.

In all coloured gemstones it is the colour that is of great importance, however, in emerald the clarity is a very close second place. Unlike other gems where clarity is observed under 10x magnification, emerald clarity is based using the eye (assuming normal vision applies).

Despite the fact that it can be brittle, Emerald is a very popular gem for rings and if care is taken there is no reason why they should not be worn and enjoyed in that form. Here at Gerry & Co (Jewellers) Ltd we choose emeralds for their colour and clarity, and in many different shapes including round, pear, oval, the traditional rectangular emerald cut. We are proud of the quality of the emerald jewellery that we stock and we would encourage you to view many items before deciding which emerald is for you.

We can make an emerald item to your specifications, however, please be aware that this can be a lengthy process so don’t leave it to the last minute if it is for a special occasion as the gem has to be sourced and often the mount will have to be handmade by our jeweller, a highly skilled craftsman who will work on the item for hours at a time. We are always pleased to be able to obtain a quote for a bespoke item.