emeralds

Emerald is historical and the word “Emerald” is derived from the Greek word Smaragdos, which means “green stone” and in ancient times nearly all green stones were incorrectly referred as emeralds.

Emerald is interesting and belongs to the “Beryl” group of gems, as does Aquamarine. The trace element of chrome in the Beryl will produce the well-known rich emerald green hue.

Emeralds are fine, the finest emeralds are an even soft green. The best and largest are found in Colombia while other good quality stones are mined in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. Only the finest quality of Emeralds are transparent, with the majority of emeralds clouded by inclusions. These are not necessarily classified as faults, but are evidence of a genuine emerald as compared with synthetic and other imitations.

Emerald is soft and on Moh’s scale of hardness, emeralds rate as 71/2 –8, slightly softer than Sapphires and Rubies and requires special attention when wearing on the finger in a setting. They are sensative to thermal shock and may crack when put under extreme temperatures or sudden changes in temperature.