Emeralds-Cleopatra’s Favorite Gemstone
Jewelries are a woman’s best friend. But did you know what Cleopatra’s favorite gem? Her favorite gem is the Emerald. Cleopatra is said to have large collections of emeralds. This rare green stone was mined for thousands of years by the ancient pharaohs since Emeralds at that time were abundant in Egypt. In the 19th century, large mineral mining were found on Egypt but they saw that the minerals at that time was largely diminished. The Emerald got its name from the Greek word smaragdos and the French word esmaraude. These two words simply mean ‘green stone’.
The best emerald gem stones have a grassy green color and have an outstanding clarity. Most stones even the quality ones have internal cracks that are also called inclusions. The number and severity inclusions on the emeralds can affect value, but an emerald’s color and degree of transparency affect the value even more. A brilliant green, translucent stone with inclusions will generally be worth more than a stone with less brilliance, more opacity and very few inclusions.
Looking for an excellent emerald jewelry is difficult. Emeralds come from the mineral Beryl. Beryl stones are colorless in its very purest form, but the presence of elements such as chromium and vanadium gives the gemstones its color. Emeralds are mined in Brazil, Colombia and Zambia they can also be found in Australia, India, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa and the United States.
The Emerald Gemstone is a very precious jewel. It is also in demand in the market that has prompted the development of synthetic Emeralds. These synthetic emeralds are similar with the real emeralds in the sense that they have all qualities of earth-made emerald, but since they are man-made, they are much less valuable.
If ever you are to choose to purchase this gemstone, here are some points for you to look up on.
You must look on the greenness of the gemstone. The biggest difference between an average emerald and a rare valuable emerald the gem stone’s shading of green. The most valuable emerald is that of a green that is not found anywhere else in the world. The color should be sparkling to the eye. A rare Emerald gemstone should emit a green glow that is not too yellow and not too blue.
The other most important factor you should look for is the size of the emerald gemstone. Emeralds can also out-price diamonds. A 5 carat emerald can easily out-price a one carat diamond. However, an emerald that has one carat or less should not cost more. So be sure to know the size of the emeralds you are going to purchase. An emerald’s value increases as the carat also increases.
You should also look for the light coming from inside the emerald. The light should sparkle and reflect from inside the emerald. If the gemstone does not sparkle that much, it means that the emerald has a very poor clarity. An emerald that seems to be transparent but does not reflect light or sparkle may be poorly cut. Both of these factors will determine the value of the Emeralds.
Because of the rarity of the gem and the growing demand for emeralds, man has now developed a way to make emeralds in laboratories. These synthetic emeralds have the same mineralogical qualities compared with the real emeralds. However, here are some of the slight differences that will tell you if the emeralds are real or if the emeralds are man-made.
Most jewelry shops will label these types of emeralds with labels such as synthetic or Chatham. Synthetic emeralds are also much clearer and sparkly than the mined emeralds. If you will stumble upon a clear and sparkly emerald with a cheap price attached to it, then you can bet that these are synthetic.
If you are buying emeralds for investments, you need to get it from a very credible source. The emerald can be a very big investment as it can bloat up to over 300 percent. Some of the best deals can be found in pawnshops, garage sales, jewelry auctions and online jewelry auctions. You have to know what you want to be able to get the best deals online.
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