Written by Marieke | May 2024
Anyone who has seen an emerald up close, knows it’s easy to be captivated by its superior depth, soothing hues and dazzling beauty. Purchasing one however, can be equally complex. With help from Clémence Devaux, Category Lead New Jewellery at Catawiki, we explore different kinds of emeralds and what to look out for, so you can bid with confidence on an emerald you love.
A protector against evil spells. A cure against diseases. A mystical jewel, granting its wearer riches, truth, eloquent speech, purity and clairvoyance. Emeralds’ history of symbolism and mysticism is as rich as the stone’s deep green colour.
Origins
Emerald mines can be found on practically every continent, yet around 90% of emeralds in today’s gem trade come from Colombia. The first known emerald mines were located in Ancient Egypt, around 330 B.C. and the green gem was worn by Cleopatra.
In more recent history, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, many more mines sprang up around the globe. This introduced beautiful stones to the market from Brazil, Russia, Afghanistan, Zambia, Madagascar and Ethiopia, among others. Their characteristics often overlap, which can make it challenging for gemologists to pinpoint their origins.
On Catawiki, every emerald with an estimated retail value of €2,000 comes with a certificate that can state where the stone is from. Which origin and stone is best for you is dictated by personal taste. Zambian stones often have fewer inclusions than Colombian ones, but for some, inclusions are precisely what make a stone more interesting.
Colour
The perfect balance between blue and yellow form a majestic green that can only be described as, indeed: emerald – succinctly articulated by Roman author Pliny the Elder, “nothing greens greener.” That said, emeralds from different origins can stand out for their particular colour variations. Whether a bluer or yellower tone is desirable, remains subjective and depends on personal preference. For instance, Zambian emeralds tend to have a blue undertone due to a higher iron content.
Green emerald
Clarity and the ‘jardin’
Finding an emerald that is completely ‘clear’ is extremely rare: practically all of them feature inclusions. Unique to emeralds, the ‘jardin’ (French for ‘garden’), is the landscape of perfect imperfections inside each stone. Created by nature, they are formed when different elements in the ground mix. They may include crystallisations of other minerals inside the emerald, liquid inclusions, microscopic gas bubbles, fractures and more. Some jardins are minimal, some intricate and elaborate, and might even be a stone’s unique selling point.
“I like to think of it as looking for pebbles on the beach”, Clémence explains. “As a gemologist, I’m much more interested in discovering jardins than finding clear emeralds. A stone considered irrelevant to one passerby, might be endlessly intriguing to the next. An emerald’s beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Clear emerald
Cut and carat
The carat (ct) is the weight of a gemstone. The larger the gemstone, the heavier the carat weight. Though emeralds are fairly hard (‘7.5’ to ‘8’ on the Mohs hardness scale), they can also be brittle. That’s why most are shaped in the eponymous ‘emerald cut’: a long rectangular step cut with chip-proof faceted corners. Determined by the shape of the uncut emerald and the skill of the cutter, a perfect cut will bring out the best features of the stone.
Cut and Carat of an emerald
Around 99% of natural emeralds are treated to improve their clarity. In a process called ‘oiling’, the stone is filled with an oil or artificial resin to decrease the appearance of fissures. The amount of filler present can range from ‘none’ to ‘minor’, ‘moderate’ or ‘significant’, and should always be identified on the certificate.
Untreated natural emeralds without any fissures are very rare, making them exponentially more expensive. Synthetic emeralds typically have fewer inclusions than their natural counterparts, and rarely receive additional treatment. Catawiki only accepts natural emeralds in auction.
With this information, you’re fully equipped to explore Catawiki for loose stones or jewellery featuring this great green gem.
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