Emerald gems have always held a special position throughout history. It was the gem stone of the rich and famous. Kings and queens invariably generously included emerald rings and other emerald gemstones in their treasures. Cleopatra was believed to be a great lover of this green gem stone, but as knowledge of gems increased some interesting facts surfaced regarding her 'emerald' jewelry collection. It was found that many of the 'emerald' gems in her collection were infact peridot. This could ofcourse be an honest mistake since there was a time when all green gems were called emeralds and all red stones were called rubies!
Moving to today, gemologists have unravelled the mystery that shrouded almost every gem stone. Almost every aspect of and property of emerald gems are known today. But no one has really cared to educate the consumer, not many buyers have sufficient knowledge of the gem stone in their emerald ring. Most jewelers don't care or dare educate buyers. The feeling is that full knowledge of an emerald could keep buyers away from emerald gem stone jewelry. This is a short sighted view since, understanding a gem will allow buyers to actually take better care of the gem stone. You can therefore expect the buyer to get more satisfaction from their emerald gold rings. In this report we try to cover all the important issues related to an emerald gemstone. Armed with this knowledge you are more likely, to make the right decision when choosing a yellow or white gold emerald ring.
Basic information: Emerald belongs to the beryl mineral family, other gems from this same group are morganite, aquamarine and bixbite. If you are going to get an emerald ring as a birthstone jewel, you should know that this gem is the birth stone for the month of May. Emeralds have an hardness ranging from 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. Considering that 10 is the highest hardness rating on this scale, the hardness of emerald is quite impressive. However, this does not directly translate into higher durability for your yellow or white gold emerald gem stone ring. The next paragraph on inclusions in emeralds throws more light on this issue. Emeralds are generally green in color but you can find a bluish tint in some emerald gems.
Inclusions and fissures: This is a very important issue that needs to be understood by everyone who is thinking of buying an emerald ring or, already owns one. All emeralds will have visible inclusions and fine cracks (fissures) in them. Unless the emerald piece is very small (3mm or lower), these inclusions are visible to the naked eye. If you come across a 1.5 carat or above emerald gem with no visible flaws, it will either cost you a fortune or (more likely) be a fake. Most emerald gems are in the 1.5 to 3 carat range and will have visible inclusions no matter how much you pay for them. Keep this in mind when buying your 14k or 18k emerald gold ring. Emerald jewelry lovers, fondly refer to these flaws as 'birthmarks' of the stone. They are something that happens to the gem during the millions of years that it takes for a natural emerald to be formed. It is this characteristic of emeralds that lowers the durability of the gem despite it's impressive hardness reading.
Emerald treatment: Treating a gem stone is supposed to enhance it's beauty. Several gem stone treatments have been implemented for many decades. You can say with almost 95% accuracy that the gem stone in your emerald ring would have been treated. Almost every emerald that reaches the gem stone markets, is treated with natural oils. These oils seep through the fissures and cracks and 'soften' their appearance. You can therefore see that the clarity and lustre of the gem is enhanced by this oil treatment. This along with the fact that emeralds can break with physical impact will influence the way in which you should wear, store or clean your emerald gem stone ring. The next paragraph carries more information on this issue.
Wearing, storing: Before you read this paragraph you should understand a few things. Many gems have specific characteristics that need to be taken care of when wearing or cleaning them. For example, the pink color of Kunzite fades when exposed to light. Tanzanite should not be worn when doing a lot of physical activity etc. There are two important facts about emerarlds that require attention when wearing, storing or cleaning your emerald gemstone ring. We already mentioned that the inclusions and fissures in an emerald gem stone, makes it more likely that the gem will crack or break with physical impact. You should therefore keep your emerald ring away from hard objects and not wear it when excercising, repairing the fence etc. Remember that oil treatment of an emerald enhances it's beauty. So if there is any damage or drying up of the oils, the beauty of the gem will be clearly reduced. Heat, strong solvents and detergents can negatively affect the oils in an emerald. When you store an emerald gem or an emerald gemstone jewel, separate it from other jewels. You can place it in a small soft pouch or in a separate compartment in your jewelry case. This is a good suggestion and can be followed for all gemstone jewelry. You should ofcourse keep your emerald gem ring away from heated sources.
Cleaning an emerald ring: Do not use ultrasonic cleaners to clean your yellow or white gold emerald ring. Soaking in water for long hours is also not recommend, this can cause the water to seep through the stone and damage the oils. You can keep your ring in cool (room temperature) water for about half a minute and then gently dry it with a soft cloth. If there is too much of grit and dirt below or anywhere else on the gemstone, get the ring cleaned by a professional jeweler. Do not use strong detergents or solvents to clean the ring. If you have a sterling silver emerald ring, take additional precautions when using commercial anti-tarnish solutions to polish your silver ring. Wash the ring in cool running water for a few seconds after polishing, this will ensure that residue chemicals from the polishing solution do not stick to the gem. If you wash your emerald gemstone ring in a washing basin, ensure that the ring does not strike against the basin or water tap.
We do hope that you find the above report to be interesting and useful. We have always tried to educate gem and jewelry lovers with facts and suggestions. This might not bring us any additional sales revenue but, it gives us a sense of satisfaction to see buyers making proper evaluations before making a purchase. If you need any more information or would like answers to any gem or jewelry related questions, please email us at sales@kaisilver.com
We have put together an interesting collection of emerald gem rings for you. Since all Kaisilver jewelry is custom made with the metal, gem and design of your choice. We can produce just about any jewel with an emerald gem. We handpick emeralds directly from miners and custom cut the stones inhouse, this reduces multiple commissions and profit margins that are normally heaped on to most gemstones.