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When you buy Emerald Rings, Emerald Earrings and Emerald Pendants, there are several factors to consider - these are the 4 C's - colour, clarity, carat weight and cut.

Emerald Colour

Emeralds occur in a variety of green colours. Some emeralds have yellowish to bluish overtones. The stone loses its colour when heated strongly.

The colour of an Emerald is its most important determiner of value. The best colour of an Emerald is "Emerald Green" or "grass" green. There is nothing else in the world that quite has this colour. It is not too yellow and not too blue; it is not pale or dark, but intense and bright. A quality Emerald looks like its glowing. Typically, the finest coloured Emeralds come from Columbia.

Once again, the most widely accepted and most documented system is the GIA grading system, but there are also many other commercial systems.

Emerald Clarity

Unlike most gemstones, clarity is not large enough to determine the value of the emerald. It's definitely not as important as colour. This is because the inclusions are so common in natural emerald and it is thought not to interfere with its beauty.

Good transparency is still desirable, however, to the extent that the light is able to play in the stone, and it is transparent. Although no complete clarity is needed to make the Emerald exceptional value, completely opaque emerald is not worth much: in fact, even the best emerald, it is completely opaque, can no longer be valuable. Clarity is the second most important of the 4 C when you consider quality.

The clarity of Emerald, as with all other gems, are officially classified as ranging from best VVS (very very slightly included) to VS (very slightly included), the SI-S2 (slightly included) down to I1 , I2, 13 (included).

Weight of Emerald

Emeralds that are large (more than 10 CTS) and of good quality, are extremely rare. Most of them are in museums, crown jewels and gem collections of the elite and famous. Emeralds over 3 cts are still rare, but are available for those only with many thousands of pounds. An emerald of good quality, regardless of size is valuable, although the price will drop considerably when the stone is less than 0.5 carats.

Emerald Cut

A good cut means Emerald to sparkle and shine in its full capacity. Facets that are good is not so important in emerald, because as in the other gemstone, an emerald is worth more for the colour saturation, and it is often very included to still shine. The type of cut known as "emerald cut", which is now a popular cut also for diamonds and other precious stones, was actually originally created for the Emerald. This type of cutting was to emphasise the colour rather than the sparkle. However, it is increasingly important to know the difference between a good and bad cut, so that when you highlight a selection of Emerald, you can choose a well cut version. In assessing the emerald cut, you should look for:

"Fish Eye": if the bottom Emerald is not cut at the proper angles, you will be able to see through the Emerald rather than seeing light reflected back to you.

Uneven facets: especially pronounced in emerald cuts, step cuts, baguette and princess cuts, which are common among Emeralds. These cuts have long straight facets instead of small triangles and diamonds. A poorly cut Emerald of this style will have one end smaller than the other instead of an even length.

Polish: Emeralds can be difficult to polish due to the natural structure of the crystal, so then turning emerald to see that each facet reflects light like a mirror without boring or rough area is important. Also, Emerald is subject to internal cracks and fissures which can also be applied to the surface. If you see fine lines on the facets of the surface of the emerald, there is an error in the cut and you should avoid because it can be vulnerable to cracking in the future. In the business of large gems of emerald, emeralds are sold at a price per carat basis. It is therefore logical that the three-carat emerald will cost more than a 1 carat emerald, when all other things being equal. But another factor is that it is rarer to find a 3 carat emerald as a 1 carat emerald. Therefore, not only the is the total price higher, but the price per carat is higher because of the scarcity of additional factors.

Emerald Treatments

Almost all Emerald on the market have been treated to improve its clarity. Because Emerald is naturally full of cracks and crevices, making it more opaque and less attractive, it has become an industry standard for filling cracks in Emerald to improve its clarity. Fillers are traditional natural oils such as cedar oil. Over many years these oils fade or "sweat". Although they are accepted and the emerald is not worth any less, there are discussions about the permanence of the treatment. For treatment of precious stones, they must be valued at no less since "permanent". Other methods for filling cracks in Emerald are explored, such as wax, resin and even glass. A substance is considered well for filling cracks in Emerald when it reflects light in a manner very similar to emerald, making fillings less noticeable.

While filling cracks are acceptable for improving clarity, sometimes it is also used for improving colour. For example, green dyed oil is used. This is generally considered deceptive and it is better not to buy these "dyed" Emeralds. This can be detected under 10X magnification.

Please note: Emerald gems may lose the oils or fillers after a few years of wear. This is normal. The Emerald Gemstones in this condition become brittle and are more prone to cracking and breaking. Most local Jewellers are well informed to do the treatment required for Emeralds and you can avail of their services. This is a special care that should be done by a professional Jeweller and cannot be attempted at home.

Emerald fakes and imitations

In recent years, synthetic emeralds have been busy in the market. They come with labels such as "created", "laboratory", "synthetic", "Chatham" (a major producer of synthetic emeralds). They are "real" Emeralds in the sense that they are the same mineral, the difference is that they were made in a laboratory rather than in the crust of the earth. Synthetic emeralds are generally much more transparent than natural emeralds, with less defects. It is also possible to find very attractive emerald-coloured plastic emeralds. Emeralds are created about 1/10 the price of natural variations of emeralds.

Wearing Your Emerald Jewellery

Do not do heavy works while wearing emerald jewellery. Protect the jewels from bumps and jolts. Also, do not put near sources of heat, because it can damage the oils and fillers in emeralds that have been treated. When you care for emerald gemstone jewellery you should take into account improvements/enhancements in the gem.

Looking after your Emerald Jewellery

Emeralds should never be cleaned with very hot water, steam or any other solution that contains petroleum distillates or any organic solvents. Jewellery cleaning solutions sold as such in the market is not compatible with the oil treatment of Emeralds. Your Emeralds or Emerald containing jewellery should not be placed in ultrasonic cleaning equipment at all.

To clean emerald or emerald jewellery, use a soft old toothbrush or a piece of cloth soaked in warm water. Avoid soaking emeralds in hot and warm, or very cold water. Water can get in to the treated cracks and fillers to dilute or dissolve. The exposure of the Emerald to heat may cause cracks to expand and make them very fragile.

Remove your emerald jewellery when not needed and store it in a safe place, away from heat or moisture. The idea is to keep your emeralds in good condition, avoiding the need to clean the jewellery frequently.

My last word ..,

Importantly, I have always strongly suggested you buy your Emerald Rings, and other Emerald Jewellery carefully. Expect to pay more for larger size gems and remember; at the end of the day, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". So choose the stones for your Emerald Jewellery, you want, not what you are led to believe you want! Whichever colour, size or shape of Emerald you choose, be sure to wear it and ENJOY IT!