Emeralds, the May Birthstone
Wednesday January 30, 2008
Prized since ancient times, a fine emerald can be more expensive than a high quality diamond of the same carat weight. Emerald is a form of Beryl, which occurs in many other colors depending on the impurities that Mother Nature has mixed into its otherwise clear formula. Blue beryl is known as aquamarine. Pink shades of beryl are known as Morganite. Yellows are often just called yellow beryl and golden beryl. The term bixbite refers to red beryl, a variation that's even more rare than emeralds. Learn what you
need to know about emeralds before you shop for emerald jewelry.Photo © Blue Nile
Comments
How come that the fine emerald is much expensive than high quality diamond on the same karat, is there any minerals mixed on emarlad that diamond don’t have?
To answer Adonis’ question. Fine emeralds can be more expensive than diamonds because they are much more rare than diamonds. Fine diamonds are mined in many countries through out the world, but truly fine emeralds really only come from one, Colombia. Since the spanish conquered the new world and found indians adorned with these fantastic Colombian emeralds, they have been considered the undisputed best emeralds to be found anywhere.
The naturally included nature of emeralds also limits how many truly fine emeralds emerge from an already limited supply.
Fine quality untreated emeralds, can easily command prices in the ten of thousands per carat. Approximately 95-98 percent of all emeralds have some degree of clarity enhancement. Consumers should work with reputable emerald dealers who offer third party lab reports from AGL, AGTA, or GIA when purchasing high-end emeralds.