How To Choose Emerald Rings?
The emerald is a very beautiful gemstone. Cleopatra was once a great favourite: the queen adorned her clothes with emerald placers and gave her courtiers crystals featuring her profile.
Rings, pendants, earrings and other jewellery with emeralds are relevant at all times. It is a great way to give a gift for a memorable event or occasion. Today, unique emerald rings are worn by both men and women.
Features of the stone
Emerald belongs to one of the most expensive stones. Pure specimens of rich shades of green without inclusions, weighing 5 carats or more, are generally more expensive than diamonds. From the jeweller’s point of view, the ideal gemstones are transparent ones in which colour is evenly distributed. Natural stones often have various inclusions, cracks or even a hazy appearance.
The emerald cut is the most frequently used cut stone. Other popular varieties include:
- Cabochon, Heart;
- “Ball”, “Princess”;
- “Marquis”, “Drop”.
Emeralds create a striking combination with diamonds, garnets and rubies. The emeralds are also very elegant, with a single large emerald surrounded by a fine scattering of diamonds.
Varieties of emerald
Stones are classified according to their place of origin. They differ in depth and richness of hue, as well as the range of colours.
- Colombian emeralds have a distinctive blue-green colour and minimal imperfections. Some of the most expensive specimens are mined here.
- Brazilian – light green emeralds, characterized by their large size.
- Zambian stones are clear, almost transparent, and yellowish-green in colour.
- Egyptian emeralds are the brightest stones with a blue-green hue.
- Ural stones are opaque, deep green.
The emerald’s colour depends on the number of additives that make up the stone, such as chromium, vanadium, and iron. Stones mined in the Urals have a deep green tint because of the high iron content. As a rule, the Ural emeralds are used in their natural state and subjected to slight treatment only. Vanadium in its composition gives the stones a pleasant bluish tone, while chrome is dark green.
Interesting qualities
Emeralds are believed to be mostly feminine stones. They help to reveal beauty and femininity and protect from rash actions. Get rid of the stiffness, help find confidence and give a positive attitude to life.
Emerald ring: the nuances of choice
Before choosing a ring with an emerald, pay attention to the criteria that determine the quality of the stone.
- Colour– A dark green and green shade, possibly with a touch of blue, is considered the benchmark.
- Purity-This is determined by the number of micro-cracks, bubbles, rock debris or other inclusions. Completely transparent stones are practically impossible to find on the market.
- Transparency– Smooth gemstones, uniform in colour are highly valued.
Ring design must be in harmony with the image and hands of the wearer. For example, girls with long fingers can wear rings with big, geometric-shaped stones. For wide fingers, rings with pear or teardrop-shaped inlays are suitable.
What to look out for
Rings may have synthetic, triplet, duplet and imitation stones inlaid on them under the guise of emerald. High-quality imitation stones grown in a laboratory using the process of geothermal synthesis are as good as natural emeralds in terms of their properties. However, stones of natural origin are of great value: they do not deteriorate under the influence of sunlight and are not prone to scratches.
- When exposed to ultraviolet light, the real emeralds turn a brownish-red shade. But this method is not good at detecting imitation stones, as they also shine under UV light.
- Duplexes and triplexes consisting of several stones can be distinguished by the inclusions in the areas glued together. Natural emeralds do not appear to be layered.
- When looked at from different angles, the emerald is a green-blue shade, with some golden hints.
- The authenticity of quality emeralds in large sizes is always confirmed by gemological certificates.
- Natural emeralds contain specks, scratches, abrasions and micro-cracks.
