meraldQualitFactor

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This5.30caratemeraldfromBrazilhasaslightlybluishgreencolor.CourtesyJohnParrish,courtesyAfrican,Brazilian,ColombianGemsIncorporated.

Emeraldhasmanyspecialqualities,butcoloredstoneprofessionalsgenerallyagreethatemeraldsare,mostofall,aboutcolor.Emeraldhasbeenthe
standardforgreenamongcoloredstonesforthousandsofyears.

Aswithothercoloredstones,itrequiresawelltrainedeyetorecognizethesometimessubtlevariationsthatmakesignificantdifferencesinemerald
value.Thisisespeciallytrueinthehigherqualities.

Color
Themostdesirableemeraldcolorsarebluishgreentopuregreen,withvividcolorsaturationandtonethatsnottoodark.Themostprizedemeralds
arehighlytransparent.Theircolorisevenlydistributed,withnoeyevisiblecolorzoning.Ifthehueistooyellowishortoobluish,thestoneisnot
emerald,butadifferentvarietyofberyl,anditsvaluedropsaccordingly.
Theintensityofthegreeninthefinestemeraldsmightnotbeequaledbyanythingelseinnature.
Chromium,vanadium,andironarethetraceelementsthatcauseemeraldscolor.Thepresenceorabsenceofeachandtheirrelativeamounts
determinetheexactcolorofanemeraldcrystal.
Emeraldappearanceissometimesassociatedwithitsminelocation.Colombianemeraldsaresaidtohaveawarmerandmoreintensepuregreen
color.Zambianemeraldsaresaidtohaveacooler,morebluishgreencolor.Inspiteofthesetheories,thetruthisthatemeraldappearanceoverlaps
betweensources.
Clarity

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Emeraldsthathavenoeyevisibleinclusionsareveryrare.TinoHammid,courtesyICA.

Emeraldstypicallycontaininclusionsthatarevisibletotheunaidedeye.Becauseofthis,trademembersandsomeconsumersunderstandand
acceptthepresenceofinclusionsinemeralds.Eyecleanemeraldsareespeciallyvaluablebecausetheyresorare.
Emeraldinclusionsareoftendescribedaslookingmossyorgardenlike.Theyresometimescalledjardin,whichisFrenchforgarden.

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This10.03caratstoneisatrapicheemerald.Itsinclusionsformraysinastarlikepattern.Thiswellexecutedcabochoncutshowsoffthisunusualarrangement.Courtesy
ColombianEmeraldsCo.

Incoloredstones,transparencyandclarityarecloselylinked.Thisisespeciallytrueforemeralds.Thetradegenerallyacceptseyevisibleinclusions
inhigherqualityemeralds.Butwhentheinclusionshaveanegativeeffectontransparencyandclarity,theyalsodramaticallyreducevalue.


Inearly2000,theGIALaboratorybeganofferingaclassificationserviceforemeraldclaritytreatments.Thelaboratoryexaminesaloosestoneand
providesanEmeraldReportthatincludesadigitallygeneratedcolorimageofthestonetakenatthetimeitsexamined.Thereportdescribesthelevel
ofclarityenhancementasminor,moderate,orsignificant.TheGIALaboratoryemphasizesthatitusestheclassificationsystemonlytoevaluatethe
leveloftreatment,andnottoofferanoverallclaritygradeforthestone.
Cut
Thecuttermustconsidertheroughsdepthofcolor,durability,andinclusionswhenmakingcuttingdecisions.Mistakescauseweightloss,which
greatlyreducesthevalueofapotentiallyvaluablegem.
Fourcharacteristicsofemeraldcrystalsmakethemdifficulttocut.First,almostallemeraldshavesignificantfractures(sometimescalledfissuresin
thetrade).Acuttermustdesignthecuttominimizetheeffectofthosefracturesonthefinishedstone.
Thesecondfactorisduepartlytothoseinherentfractures:Emeraldsaremorebrittlethanagemlikecorundum.Thismakesthemvulnerableto
damageduringcutting,polishing,andsetting,orevenduringcarelessdailywear.Theemeraldcutcanhelpprotectagainstdamagebecausethe
vulnerablecornersarefacetedandprovideacomparativelysafeplaceforprongs.
Third,becausecolorissoimportantinestablishinganemeraldsvalue,thecutmustmaximizetheeffectofhue,tone,andsaturation.Thecuttercan
affectcolorbyadjustinganemeraldsproportionsandnumberoffacets.Thecuttercandarkenapalestonewithadeepcut,asmalltable,andfewer
facets,orlightenadarkstonewithashallowcut,alargetable,andadditionalfacets.

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Asthenamesuggests,theemeraldcutisthemostcommoncutforemeralds.CourtesyRonaldRingsrudCo.

Fourth,thebluishgreentoyellowishgreendichroismofmanyemeraldcrystalsencouragesthecuttertoorientthetablesoitsperpendiculartothe
crystalslength.Thatway,themoreapparentcolorinthecutgemisthebluishgreenthatsomanyemeraldloversprize.
Colombianroughisespeciallychallengingduetothedistributionofcoloringagentsduringformation.Itscolorismoreintenseclosertothesurface.
Withoutcarefulplanningandcutting,thefinishedstonemightbemuchlighterincolorthantheoriginalmaterial.
CaratWeight
Fashionedemeraldscomeinawiderangeofsizes.Thereareemeraldsinmuseumsandprivatecollectionsthatweighhundredsofcarats.Atthe
otherextremearetinyemeraldsthatweighfractionsofacarat.
TheSandawanaemeraldmineinZimbabweisknownforitstiny,yetvividlycoloredstones.Itsemeraldsareassmallas1mmsquare,buttheyrestill
intenselygreen.Theminescutstonesaverageabout0.05to0.25carat,andrarelyweighmorethan1.50carats.Popularjewelrysizesareusually
somewhereinbetween.

Theemeraldcenterstoneofthisnecklaceweighs61carats.CourtesyRonaldLeeSchultz.

Thesmallestsizesrangefrom1mmto5mm,withweightsfrom0.02to0.50carat,while1to5caratstonesarepopularascenterstones.Prestigious
piecesofjewelrycanincludeemeraldsthatweighover20carats.
Qualityforquality,thepriceofemeraldcanrisedramaticallyasthesizeincreases.

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