Some common misconceptions about Emeralds!

It's the month of the May Birthstone, the noble emerald, the king of green gems, has existed in ancient Egypt, symbolizing kindness, confidence, eternity, luck and happiness. It is also known as "the gem of successful love", can bring happiness and loyalty to the family, and is the commemorative stone of the 55th anniversary of marriage.

At the beginning, I would like to emphasize that emeralds have the title of "Gem Garden". There are abundant inclusions in their bodies. Because emeralds have much higher inclusions than other gems, there are almost no flawless emeralds in nature, so the clarity requirements for emeralds cannot be too high.

 

1. The origin of emerald cut

Emerald is a very brittle gemstone. It is more fragile than other gems. Its sharp edges and corners are the hardest hit area. In order to solve this problem, gem cutters have developed an exclusive emerald cutting method, cut off the four sharp corners of the emerald. They later named this cutting method after emerald. This kind of cutting is elegant and simple, and was later used in other gemstones. It is deeply loved by people.

2. Is it not possible to buy emeralds from Colombia?

Emerald is mainly produced in South America and Africa. Among them, the three most famous producing areas are Colombia, Brazil and Zambia. Colombia is the leader in producing emeralds,  which is synonymous with top emeralds. The two most important emerald deposits in Colombia, Muzo mine and Chivor mine, account for about 80% of the world's total production of high-quality emeralds. The Muzo mine has produced countless well-known emeralds.

Therefore, many people are wondering, is it not possible to buy emeralds from Colombia?

The answer is yes! Although the Colombia origin is the most sought-after, however, due to the fact that Colombian mining areas have been mined in recent years, there are fewer and fewer high-quality emeralds. So you can considered the other two areas, there are also good-quality emeralds in Zambia and Brazil.

3. What does it mean to have oil and no oil?

This is really the most common problem for emerald novices. As mentioned earlier, emeralds are very brittle jewelry. It is born with many cracks, so oil immersion is a kind of protection for emeralds. Therefore, oil immersion is an essential step after each emerald is mined. When cutting, it needs oil protection too.

[Emerald after oil immersion and polishing.]

Oil-free oil is the general term for the oil immersed and the degree of oil immersion. There are many kinds of oils in which emeralds are soaked, including natural oils and synthetic oils. It depends on how to deal with the cracks in the emerald and whether the filling of the cracks is colorless.

4. Can I buy oiled emeralds?

Most buyers will pursue oil-free, and will consider the degree of oil immersion of emeralds to a certain extent. In fact, emeralds filled with oil can also be bought, and there is room for appreciation. The emeralds after oil injection are also divided into many grades according to the type of oil and the degree of oil residue, which will be marked on the appraisal certificate. The oil residue level is also divided into minor oil, medium oil and other levels. Basically, there is no problem in choosing minor and below, so don't worry too much.

5. Is Muzo Green produced by Muzo Mine?

Actually, it is not. We all know that the Colombian Muzo mine is very famous and a legendary mine. It has produced many high-quality emeralds, rich in colors, and neither blue nor yellow. At first, the color of some high-quality emeralds produced in Muzo mine was named after Muzo, called Muzo Color. Now Muzo is a color label, which means that not all Muzo colors come from Muzo mine, the Muzo colored emeralds may also be produced in other mines.

6. Is Muzo color the best color?

Muzo color - Vivid Green is indeed famous, but it is not the best color among emeralds. Vivid represents the color with high saturation and lightness, but Verdant Green is the representative of the top emerald color. It refers to the color with higher saturation and lightness in the brilliant green, which is better than Vivid Green.

7. Emeralds from different origins have different characteristics

Colombian emeralds:

Colombia is the world's largest producer of high-quality emeralds. The color is light green to dark green, with a little blue hue, and the color is bright and pure. Not only the texture is good, the transparency is also very high, there are more visible reflective white light healing fracture surface, white calcite and black carbonaceous inclusions. At present, some carbon monoxide bubbles appear in Colombia's high-quality emerald crystals only, and a zigzag-shaped "bubble-crystal-liquid" three-phase inclusion can be seen with a 20-fold magnifying glass.

Zambian emeralds:

Zambia is the second largest producer of emeralds in the world. The colors are green, blue-green and dark green. Because Zambian emeralds contain a certain amount of Fe element, the color tends to be gray. Zambian emeralds are mainly in the form of gas-liquid two-phase inclusions. Under a 20-fold magnifying glass, it can be seen that the gem contains flake biotite, amphibole, actinolite or tremolite and other inclusions.

Brazilian emeralds:

Since the 1970s, the output of Brazilian mines has been relatively stable. Brazilian emeralds are considered to be the smallest among the three major producing areas. The size of the rough produced is between 0.2 and 20 carats. The color is usually light, dark green, yellow-green, and poor in transparency. It is a mid-range emerald. Different from the emeralds of the first two origins, the rain-like gas-liquid inclusions can usually be seen in the emeralds of Brazil.

8. How about the appreciation space?

Emerald is highly irreplaceable, and the emerald market is well-known and recognized. In the past 10 years, the value of emeralds has soared. High-quality emeralds have appreciated at least 3 to 5 times. Natural oil-free high-quality emeralds has risen by at least 10 times. In the past year, the small carat emeralds of about 2 carats have also increased by 20% to 30%.

According to the previous knowledge, for the emerald, the production area is good, the color is good, the oil volume is good, and the transparency is good. If these points are met, there is no need to worry about the appreciation space.

9. Precautions for maintenance.

We have emphasized it before! Emerald is a very brittle jewelry, it is best to store it separately, avoid knocks, and avoid ultrasonic cleaning. If you don’t pay attention, you will lose it! ! !

For the usual wear, oiled emeralds should be careful with chemical cleaning products, so you must take them off when you wash your hands or in the bath.

 

10. What are the channels for collecting emeralds? What kind of jeweler is trustworthy?

How to choose emeralds and what kind of emeralds are valuable have been mentioned above. There are really many channels for collecting, so you must choose a jeweler you trust to start with emeralds.

In addition, with a large reserve of rough stones, most jewelers who can provide GIA certificates can be trusted. We, PurpleMay, are a jeweler that can be trusted by everyone. We have a large reserve of loose emeralds and many emerald designs for everyone. In addition, our certificates and supporting services are complete. If you are interested, you can take a look.