EMERALD 1.35

About Emeralds

Emeralds are the green variety of the mineral group Beryl. Emeralds are so synonymous with the word green, that many colors are described as “Emerald Green”.

It has a Mohs Hardness of 7.5 – 8 on a scale of 10. The refractive index of an Emerald ranges from 1.564–1.602. Although being extremely hard, emeralds are quite delicate owing to the numerous inclusions associated with them. It is very hard to find an emerald which is natural and completely clean and such stones can be extremely expensive.

The biggest and the most beautiful Emeralds come from the Chivor and Muzo mines of Colombia. Another notable origin is Zambia with many other deposits found in mines of Zimbabwe and Tanzania, Brazil and Ethiopia.

The color of Zambian and Colombian emeralds are quite contrasting. While Colombian emeralds are highly saturated and display a kind of fluorescent green color, Zambian emeralds have a darker and deeper green with sometimes a blue overcast.

Emeralds are very often associated with inclusions which represent moss-like structure also called as Jardin which is the French word for garden. Owing to the presence of inclusions in almost all stones, clean emeralds above 3-carat size are extremely rare and can be highly valuable.

Colombian emeralds also have a very rare variety called Trapiche Emeralds. These display a fixed black spoke-like structure in them