Learn About The Beauty of Emerald and Emerald Rough!

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Beautiful Emerald Jewelry Starts With Beautiful Emerald Rough!

Emeralds originate from a mineral called beryl, and are green as a result of traces of the element chromium. Some beryl with vanadium is also green, and in the US can be called emerald. This is not the case in Europe and the UK, where this mineral is not permitted to have the name emerald.

Geologists have a hardness scale for minerals, and it is called the Mohs scale of hardness. On this scale, emeralds are 7.5-8, the scale going up to a maximum of 10.

Almost all emeralds have imperfections known as inclusions within them, and these may cause weakness. Inclusions cause them to be less resistant to breakage than those which are inclusion-free.

Emeralds having no inclusions are small in number, and as a result can fetch large sums of money. 'Jardins' are tiny inclusions filled with liquid, and these have a garden-like appearance within the gemstone.

An emerald's value, as with other gemstones, depends on what is referred to as the 4 'C's - Color, Clarity, Cut and Crystal.

The majority of emeralds are treated with oils to improve their clarity. Cedar oil or synthetic oils may be used for this purpose. In the USA, emeralds which have been treated in this way must be disclosed as such at the time of sale.

There are many places in the world where emeralds are mined, but probably the best-known place for emeralds is Colombia. A rare type of emerald called a trapiche is found in this country. It has a radial pattern with six points, which is caused by impurities of carbon.

Pakistan, Austria and Egypt are also noted for their emerald mines, however many other places around the world have these mines.

Synthetic emeralds can be manufactured nowadays, and a number of different processes have achieved this. Many use a seed of beryl on which the synthetic emerald grows.

When it comes to birthstones, the month of May has emerald as the birthstone. Emerald has also traditionally been the astrological stone for the signs of the zodiac Cancer and Taurus. People also give emeralds to their marriage partners on their wedding anniversaries of 20, 35 and 55 years.

Some significant emerald finds include the 37.82 carat Chalk Emerald from Colombia, and the Gachala Emerald also from Colombia. This weighed in at 172g.

Emeralds can be cut into many shapes, a popular one being the 'emerald cut'. This is popular as it shows the gemstone off very well. Some other cuts are pear, oval, round and marquise.