Emerald is an unspoken classic in any jewelry collection. The stone has won the love of fans for its diverse palette of green shades - from pastel green to juicy tropical and deep almost marine color.
Emeralds belong to the 3rd group of purity, which means that most stones cannot boast of perfect transparency and have noticeable inclusions. This property is called "life inside the stone itself" or the "jardin" effect, which means "garden" in French. This is how the term describing the natural inclusions of emeralds is designated in the jewelry world.
Color
Emeralds have 5 color groups:
1. dark green
2. medium-dark green
3. medium green
4. medium-light green
5. light green.
The color of emeralds is divided into 3 components: hue, tone and saturation.
Without a doubt, it is the color that is the most important parameter.
The following names are used to designate the colors of the emerald:
"vivid green" - is the most rare and expensive color;
"green" and "pastel green" - are more popular colors.
Shade
The shade not only shows what subtone of green a particular emerald has, but also significantly affects its value. Here we should immediately indicate that each individual stone is completely unique and there is no strict color gradation when viewed visually.
Classification by tone
The tone determines how light or dark the color of the stone is. The tone of the emerald depends on the presence of chemical elements such as chromium, iron, and vanadium. The range of tones depends on the combination of these components and varies from light green to dark green.
Most people mistakenly believe that the darker the tone, the better the emerald. But this is not necessarily the case. Saturation plays one of the key roles when choosing an emerald.
Saturation
Saturation is an important factor for an emerald, it is what gives the color intensity and strength. It is important to take into account that the deeper the tone and the higher the saturation, the higher the price for the stone. It is the combination of these two factors that matters.
Specifications
1. Cleanliness
As mentioned above, emeralds have many natural inclusions as a consequence of the natural formation of the crystal. Stones with minimal inclusions that do not affect the play of color are the most commercially attractive.
2. Gentrification
Most of the natural emeralds have undergone the process of refinement (oiling in cedar oil) acceptable in the jewelry field in order to fill in cracks to improve visual characteristics. This permissible "improvement" affects the cost of the stone, reducing it, depending on the intensity.
Categories of oiling:
1. insignificant
2. minor
3. minor-to-moderate
4. moderate
5. prominent.
3. Deposit
This factor also significantly affects the cost. The most valuable are Colombian, Zambian, and Ural emeralds. Also, deposits in Madagascar and Afghanistan have proven themselves highly.
We recommend purchasing all colored stones only with supporting certificates from expert international laboratories.