Emerald: Price, worth and Data

 

Emerald ring

Emerald is a gemstone that contains traces of chromium and rarely vanadium; it is an assortment of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6), which occurs in typical green colours.

An emerald's durability isn't the best, as it holds a 7.5–8 on Moh's hardness scale. This means that extra carefulness should be practiced while wearing an Emerald gemstone.

The emerald stone has a recognizable position on the big 4 gems chart, which means it's among the four precious gemstones in the world, and this for sure contributes to its price.

There is an argument between the US, Europe, and the UK about recognizing emeralds that possess vanadium as in the US, they are recognized as Vanadium emeralds, a statement strongly disapproved in Europe and Uk. 

The name emerald has french origins 'esmeraude' and 'Esmeralda/Esmeraldas' in Latin, while ancient Greek called it 'máragdos,' which meant green gem. The English dictionary reveals that it was during the 14th century that the word 'emerald' was first used.

Are emeralds expensive?

Being on the list of the big four leaves emerald to be exceptionally expensive. A 1-carat emerald can be from $1 - $10000, but that depends on the qualities obtained using the 4C's in emerald value determination.

Also, emerald is a scarce stone which makes it super costly.

What is so special about emeralds?

Emeralds have a lower density compared to other stones like a diamond. It implies that diamonds are much heavier than emeralds. A 1-carat diamond physically appears more petite than a 1-carat emerald. Emerald stone density is 2.67-2.78 g/cm3 and, a diamond's density is 3.51 gm/cm3.

Why are emeralds so valuable? 

Among the beryl family gems, an emerald claims the highest prices for many reasons, including the stone, a precious one, and many more. Therefore, gemstones emerald are more valuable than most other popular gems.

What is emerald stone good for?

An emerald stone is known to compel someone into roads of success in whatever they do. It further makes one creative and sharpens one's brain into coming up with unique and valuable decisions hence building up a level of noticeable intelligence.

The stone is known to possess an energy that helps to heal diseases associated with the eyes, skin, and ears. 

The stone can help anyone with confidence issues; this could be someone afraid of talking in front of many people, shy people, introverts, or anyone who finds confidence a nightmare. It produces the positive energy that intrigues confidence and makes you feel in place. 

What does the emerald stone symbolize?

The stone symbolizes being reborn (rebirth), growth, sight, peace, foreseeing, and good fortune. Although there is a lack of evidence to back up these claims scientifically, the people who have used the stones do come up these attributes.

Facts about emeralds.

Do emeralds sparkle?

Emeralds do sparkle; when light is flashed onto an emerald, it makes the stone shiny and brightens its appearance. The emerald stone's index (1.566 – 1.600) doesn't allow it to reflect light, just like a diamond does, sparkle and release noticeable rainbow colours.

Can you heat-treat an emerald?

One of the usual enhancements of emeralds is the oiling, for beautification. As written earlier above, emeralds are relatively softer than other precious stones; they can not withstand heat from soldering and casting in place. They are oiled instead to make them more stunning; it's common in natural emeralds.

Are emeralds rare than a diamond?

The answer is YES; an emerald stone is 20x rare than a diamond stone. Perhaps, that is the reason for them being so expensive. A sum of $142 million carats of diamonds was reported mined in the whole world in 2019 only. That's far common than the estimations of emerald stone.

Emeralds are type III  stones; they frequently have noticeable inclusions when mined from the ground.

What country produces the most emeralds?

Colombia is the world's largest emerald producer claiming 50-90% of the world's production. The biggest emerald mines in Colombia are Muzo and Chivor.

Where are emerald stones mined?

Emerald is mined worldwide, but Zambia, Colombia, and Brazil are the leading countries. There are deposits in other countries like Russia, Australia, the United States, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. 

History states that the first emerald to be discovered and mined were Egyptian. The mines were exploited till they ran out of emerald stones to give. 

Do emeralds make good engagement rings?

High-quality emerald ring

Some believe that emeralds are the softest gems ever known to a man and that they are not fit to make great wedding rings, but that might be the biggest lie you have ever heard. Emerald is soft, but they are not that soft to make fabulous jewellery like a ring.

A stone that is 7.6-5 hard on the Mohs scale isn't wrong for a ring, and of course, with putting in a little bit of extra care and yeah, it is more complex than a pearl (5-6 hardness), a popular, loved gem regarded as unique for engagement rings. Ensure to take the emerald off when doing body exercises and heavy house chores since it risks breaking when hit by a hard object.

JF Kennedy used an emerald baguette and a diamond ring to propose to his wife Jacqueline Bouvier in 1952.

Famous emeralds ever mined.

The Atocha Star: This was an emerald discovered on an ocean floor after a ship it was on, together with other gems and treasure, sunk due to a storm in 1622. It took 16 years to find the ship (Nuestra Senora de Atocha) by treasure hunters known as Mel and Deo Fisher. 

The gem was said to have come from a Colombian mine called Muzo. It was gifted to Deo from Meo in 12 carats, in the year 1992.

The Chalk Emerald: The Chalk Emerald was owned by a royal Indian ruler who went by the name Maharani Saheba from the Baroda state and wore it as a necklace. It was in an emerald-cut style with a weight of 37.82 carats.

It was passed to the ruler's son Maharajah Cooch Behar, and it got recut, and a gorgeous ring was made out of it in the 20th century. The emerald now lies in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum after being purchased by an entrepreneur called Mrs. Chalk.

The Galacha Emerald: This stone was mined from Colombia, and it is one of the largest emeralds ever discovered. It was purchased by Harry Winston, a famous New York Jeweller.

Synthetic Emeralds

Artificial emeralds were first created in 1935 by Carroll Chatham in his garage. Producing synthetic emerald is a very costly process since the methods and energy used is pretty expensive, which means that even lab-grown emerald is quite costly compared to other artificial gems.

There is also another type of non-natural emerald called emerald simulants which are anything made to resemble an emerald stone. Synthetic emeralds are created using two methods flux or hydrothermal.

Characteristics of synthetic emeralds

Synthetic emeralds and quartz necklace

Artificial emeralds don't necessarily have any bit of oil treatment since their makers try as much as they can to perfect them, something that almost all natural emeralds go through for brightening and clarity.

One of the standard features in lab-created emeralds is fingerprint inclusion due to the procedures it passes through, specifically hydrothermal methods. Also, chevron, nail-head spicules, and tubes are the inclusions that synthetic emerald contains.

Are synthetic emeralds valuable?

Lab-grown emeralds are so valuable and expensive compared to other manufactured stones. The reason is that the process and elements used are so costly, and the time taken to grow them is too long. It takes months to come up with a natural-like valuable emerald.

How much is a synthetic emerald?

An artificial emerald could be anywhere below or above $100. It would even cost more if it had fewer inclusions and a perfect cut style.