May Birthstone - Emerald
• Mr Harold Son
MAY BIRTHSTONE - EMERALD
This month we're celebrating the mesmerising birthstone that is emerald.
This magnifcent green precious stone comes from Africa, South America and Central Asia.
source: GIA.edu
The most desirable emerald colours are bluish green to pure green, with vivid colour saturation and tone that’s not too dark. The most-prized emeralds are highly transparent. Their colour is evenly distributed, with no eye-visible colour zoning.
Emeralds typically contain inclusions that are visible to the unaided eye. Because of this, trade members and some consumers understand and accept the presence of inclusions in emeralds. Eye-clean emeralds are especially valuable because they’re so rare.
Fashioned emeralds come in a wide range of sizes. There are emeralds in museums and private collections that weigh hundreds of carats. At the other extreme are tiny emeralds that weigh fractions of a carat. Quality-for-quality, the price of emerald can rise dramatically as the size increases.
To learn more about emeralds, you can visit GIA's website where they discuss its history, what jewellers look for in this precious stone along with its characteristics and qualities.
