Different Types of Emerald Gemstone

Regarded as Cleopatra’s favorite, emerald is known for its iconic green hue and the undying spirit of renewal. But, only a few know that the realm of the birthstone of May is vast as there are different types of emerald gemstones to meet the needs of diverse customers.

However, before purchasing this green beauty, you need to understand what kind of emerald you are buying since it entails a significant difference in both price and quality.

Trust us, many different kinds of emerald gemstones are on the market, and it might be challenging to spot natural emeralds among them because of the many treatments used to make them appear flawless. So, how will you decide on your precious jewelry with this stone?

We suggest you continue with us in the journey of exploration regarding different types of emerald gems, and be sure of your majestic pick in green gemstones. What’s say?

Let’s get started.

Types of Emerald: Everything You Want to Know

Since emeralds are more than 20 times rarer than diamonds, their prices are typically higher. Finding a genuine, natural emerald ring is challenging since the average person needs help telling the difference. Here, we share some fundamental distinctions. So, stay tuned.

Natural Emerald

Natural emeralds are gemstones that are emerged from the earth’s interior during geological processes. Let us share a secret: emerald benefits in astrology get multifold if you get hold of an original specimen.

Unlike other colored gemstones, natural emeralds almost always have more visual variances (inclusions) brought on by minerals within the gem. Although these inclusions may appear to be minor faults or uneven patterns, they are nothing major to ponder upon. 

On the contrary, these imperfections can add character and individuality to a diamond and a piece of jewelry. Natural emeralds are found in places like Colombia and Brazil and are the expected deep green color.

Lab-made Emerald

Lab-made emeralds are identical to genuine emeralds in terms of physical properties, atomic structure, and appearance. Still, they are not regarded as natural emeralds because they were created in a lab and did not occur in nature. 

Emeralds created in a laboratory vary in color and are generally inclusion-free. Some people find it better because inclusions can be perceived as defects. Synthetic or lab-made emeralds lack natural emeralds’ desired hue, saturation, rarity, and detail.

Treated Emerald

Most of the natural emeralds you see in the international market have undergone clarity enhancement treatments, utilizing oil or resin to fix potential fractures or flaws to make them consumer/industry-ready.

Natural oils like cedarwood oil are used to patch up emerald fractures as a traditional therapy. Because it is without color and has a refractive index similar to emerald, it is the most widely utilized type. To maintain their best appearance, emeralds must occasionally be re-oiled because the oil can dry out.

Untreated Emerald

An untreated emerald often has a rich green tint, a bright brilliance, and an excellent shape. In this kind of emerald, no oil is used to enhance its clarity. Hence, this emerald is exceptionally rare and expensive. Those who believe in astrology generally seek these kinds of natural untreated stones to garner maximum emerald benefits.

To know your gemstone, it’s better to consult an expert gemologist to find the perfect emerald for your jewelry.

Also See: Rare Gemstones List

Types of Emerald: Classification Based on Origin

Colombian Emerald

Columbia is well-known for being the finest source of emeralds in the world and producing one of the most vibrant and refined emeralds that can fascinate any onlooker. It showcases a range of robust and rich green to a softer bluish-green tint, ideal for any jewelry.

Zambian Emerald

Zambian emeralds typically have a significantly higher iron content than other emeralds, giving them a more robust structure than Colombian emeralds (Zambian 7.5-8 and Colombian 7-7.5). 

Zambian emeralds have a more coherent crystal structure, producing clean stones with very few defects. Zambian emeralds require fewer artificial interventions than their Colombian counterparts.

The emphasis on their natural beauty eventually raises the value of Zambian emeralds.

Trapiche Emerald

Trapiche emerald is extremely rare yet magnificent and is typically found in South America. Some of these emeralds have a hexagonal center and resemble spoked wheels. This emerald’s inclusions are stunning and resemble a cat’s eyes.

Brazilian Emerald

Brazilian emeralds are known to have a yellowish-green hue and are paler than those mined in Colombia. They stand out significantly from emeralds mined in other nations due to their distinctive color and come in various sizes and shades.

Bahia Emerald

One of the most significant and valuable rough emeralds worldwide is the Bahia emerald, which first appeared in the beryl mines in Bahia, Brazil. Bahia, meaning “bay,” is the name of one of the most exquisite gemstones representing nature and hope.

Also See: Lucky Gems for Zodiac Signs

Types of Emeralds Depending on the Quality

Before deciding on an emerald gemstone for your personalized jewelry, it makes sense to know the quality and grading of your stone. It’s all about ensuring value for money. Like any other gemstone, the quality parameters for emeralds are also the same- cut, color, quality, and carat weight. Let’s look at each one in turn.

Types of Emeralds in Terms of Color Variance

The most preferred emerald hues in the market are pure green to blueish green, which showcases vivid color saturation and a balanced tone and saturation. Most valuable emeralds are very translucent, and there is no color zoning that the eye can see in their color distribution. 

Be informed that the stone is not an emerald if it is too yellowish or bluish in color, leading to the depreciation in its quality.

There may be nothing else in nature that has a green as intense as the finest emeralds. The trace elements that contribute to the color of emeralds are vanadium, chromium, and iron. The precise hue of an emerald crystal depends on whether each element is present or absent, including their relative proportions.

It is believed that the location of origin plays a crucial role in the complete appearance of an emerald. It is thought that Colombian emeralds have a purer, warmer green tint, whereas emeralds from Zambia are reputed to be cooler with a more bluish-green hue. The reality is that emerald appearance overlaps among sources.

How Does Clarity Impact Emerald?

The term “emerald clarity” describes how the gemstone appears on the inside—the quantity, nature, and location of inclusions inside the stone judge the clarity of an emerald. 

The inclusions in emeralds are often apparent to the naked eye. Inclusions are typical in emeralds; they are present in 99% of all naturally occurring emeralds. Because of this, the trade typically accepts eye-visible inclusions in higher-quality emeralds. 

However, a good-quality emerald gemstone will only possess a few inclusions and exhibit good clarity. But they are very precious and rare to find. 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) provided three classifications for colorful gemstones to ensure transparency. Gems of Types 1, 2, and 3 are among them. Naturally, emeralds belong to the Type 3 gemstone group, as type 3 gemstones always have inclusions.

Different Types of Emeralds as Per Cut

Emerald crystals are hard to cut, as most emeralds have noticeable fractures.

A cut should be planned to minimize the impact of the fractures on the final stone. Emeralds are brittle; therefore, a well-planned cut can protect them against potential damage and present a desirable stone at the end.

Colombian emerald has a difficult journey in terms of a cut as it has the dispersion of coloring chemicals during rock formation under the earth, which makes the hue more vibrant near the surface. Without proper planning and cutting, the finished stone may be significantly paler in color than the original stone. Now, you know the importance cut here.

Emerald Varieties Based on Carat Weight

Fashioned emeralds are available in various sizes in the market. The smallest sizes span from 5 mm to 1mm, with weights ranging from 0.50 to 0.02 carat. The most in-demand center stones weigh between 1 to 5 carats. Emeralds weighing more than 20 carats can be found in expensive jewelry.

Also See: Beautiful Gemstones

Different Types of Emerald Grading Systems

Emeralds come in the category of gemstones. Hence, the preferred grading scale for all gemstones, Natural AAA, AA, or A, can therefore be used to grade them.

If we go by the natural grading system, then emerald exhibits great variation in terms of color brilliance and overall quality. So Natural AAA emeralds will have the highest quality, rich green hue, moderate to slight inclusions, and extraordinary brilliance.

The second best is Natural AA, which amounts to around 20 to 30 percent of all available emeralds. In this category, emeralds possess a medium green color and moderate inclusions.

At last, we have Natural A. Around 50% and 75% of emeralds fall under this group. These emeralds are opaque, have dark green hues, and are densely included. They are regarded as lower quality than the first two groups but still considered good.

Now you Know Different Types of Emeralds

As we say, emerald is loved worldwide for their preciousness, unique green disposition, and great astrological benefits. Now that you have this information, you can make an educated decision on which of the different types of emeralds to purchase.

You may also read how to clean emerald bracelets and how to take care of emerald bracelets to widen your wisdom regarding this green marvel.

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