Emerald Shopping Guide
If April snows, that must mean we get emeralds in May, right? We certainly hope so! For those born in May, the much-revered emerald is your birthstone. Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers has created an emerald shopping guide to help make buying emerald jewelry a breeze. Historians have discovered Egyptians mining for emeralds as far back as 3500 BC! And while at Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers, we can’t promise the ability to foresee the future (if placed under the tongue), cure cholera and malaria, reveal truths or falseness of a lover’s oath, enhancing speaking or ward off evil spells, we can guarantee we carry a beautiful selection of emerald jewelry!
Emerald Shopping Guide
So, without further ado, here is what to look for when buying emerald jewelry. Like most precious and semi-precious gemstones, emeralds are graded by the GIA’s 4C’s (Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat).
Color:
As Rome’s “Pliny the Elder described emerald in his Natural History, published in the first century AD: “…nothing greens greener” (GIA). And while emeralds exist in a spectrum of green hues, the lush, deep and calming hues of green are the sought-after tones. This richness in hue has long captivated the lore and imagination, just ask the people of Ireland (the Emerald Isle) or Washington (The Emerald City). However, jewelers look for highly transparent and evenly distributed color with emeralds.
Clarity:
Although emeralds typically contain eye-visible inclusions that give the emeralds a mossy or garden-like appearance (jardin), the absence of eye-visible inclusions are rare and considerably more valuable.
Cut:
taking into consideration of inclusions, fractures, durability and color-zoning, an emerald cutter will decide how to cut the rough. Common cuts include “step cuts” which are highly influential, so much so that other stones (such as diamonds) can be cut into “emerald cuts”.
Carat Weight:
Gemologist typically find emeralds weighing from a fraction of a carat to as large as 20 carats. All other factors held constant, as the carat size increases, so does the price.
Stop by Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers today to peruse our fine selection of emerald jewelry. Not only do they make for great May birthday gifts, but also commemorate 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries.
