Emeralds have been coveted the world over for more than 4,000 years for their rich luster and vivid color. This alluring gem has adorned the crowns of royals and embellished the thrones of some of the most respected dynasties in history, including Cleopatra.
Emerald Buying Guidelines
As with most gemstones, the factors that come into play are color, cut clarity and carat. Amoro believes that in Emeralds color is the most important, and can be broken down into three parts;
- Hue - the basic color of the stone which can include tints other than green
- Tone - the depth of color, ranging from light to dark
- Saturation - the ‘fire’ within the stone – the more ‘fire’ the more the emerald is valued
Most emeralds have numerous flaws, or inclusions which is the hallmark of most natural emeralds, and generally the best colored stones are sometimes the most included. Due to their extreme rarity it is common for the price of a top-quality emerald to be higher than that of a diamond of the same weight.
Treatment & Enhancement
Like most gemstones in the market today, emeralds are usually treated in some way to remove surface flaws and enhance color. The industry practice for treatment is "oiling". This term refers to the practice of immersing emeralds in a colorless oil or resin. Often this is done using a vacuum chamber to assist penetration. The oil hardens and strengthens the stone, and improves its green color as well.
Colombian Emeralds
Colombian Emeralds are the most famous emeralds in the world and are generally considered to be the finest and most valuable.
Colombian Emeralds are prized for their deep bluish green color, transparency, crystallization and fire however emeralds can range in color from light, yellowish green, to a deep, dark bluish green. The darker bluish green color of Colombian Emeralds is considered the most desirable and commands the highest price. Natural mineral inclusions are found in all emeralds including very high value Colombian emeralds, they are considered natural attributes and are said to add to the character and uniqueness of each gem. No two Colombian emeralds are alike and their beauty is assessed through the combination of one’s own unique appreciation of the gemstones color, fire and life.
When evaluating Colombian emeralds the 4 C’s of gemstones are taken into account, the Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat weight and Amoro offers a 5th C, the C for Confidence. Amoro’s buyers have extensive Colombian emerald knowledge and use their vast experience to select Colombian Emeralds that they believe exhibit the best combination of depth of color, fire and life for the their price. Amoro only deals with the world’s leading Colombian emerald traders and is confident that its stones only originate from Colombia when detailed as such. Each Amoro Colombian emerald design is crafted in 18kt gold and comes with its own Certificate of Authenticity.
