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What is an Emerald?

 

 

An emerald color is medium deep green, which is very bright. An emerald was one of the first stones to be mined in the Egyptian desert near the Red Sea. These stones that are mined in the Egyptian desert are small and are dark colored. The emerald stone is a member of the Beryl mineral family with Aquamarine, Golden Beryl, Goshenite, Bixbite and Morganite. The name Emerald comes from a Greek smaragdos with means Green stone. The trace elements that give emerald its color is by chromium, vanadium, and iron. This is why an emerald has its hue tone.

The color of an emerald depends on how much chromium or vanadium is present. The higher the chromium or vanadium the greener the emerald's color will be. The blue color of an emerald depends on the amount of iron is present. As the iron present decreases s does the color blue from an emerald. Or if an emerald has a high level of iron it is a bluer green. When an emerald has low iron then an emerald is a purer green. Emerald's can be very strong bluish green to green hues, even though some emeralds may be very slightly yellowish green to it. Most people would like an emerald that is bluish green to green.

One thing to remember is that if your emerald is too yellowish or too bluish then you do not have an emerald stone. What you have is a beryl. A not well trained eye can not recognize the difference in an emerald value. The best emerald's are the ones that are highly transparent with no eye visible color zoning. Most all emerald's have some identified inclusions and with those inclusions you can determine with country of origin your emerald is from. Emerald's are very fragile, they must be treated with care so that they do not chip. Be sure not to clean your emerald jewelry in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner. The best way to keep your emerald clean is to clean it with soapy water and a soft brush.

 

 

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