How to choose an emerald for your jewel

It may happen that when you arrive at a jewelry store you come across beautiful designs, but it's just not what you're looking for oring isn't the quality of the stone that the jewel has.

This has a solution and all that needs to be done is to completely design a new jewel with an emerald chosen by the client or change the gem that is already set in another piece.

For these occasions we have created this article, whose purpose is to give you some tips to choose the right natural emerald to create your perfect jewel.

How to find the perfect emerald

Once you have decided to make from scratch your jewel with emeralds or exchange it for a different one, it is time to observe them in detail, here some tips so as not to fail in the attempt:

1. Form: Define what size or cuts you want to acquire is. I mean, you want a round emerald, square, emerald carving, trapiche, oval, heart, cabin, etc.

In case you want to replace it with a new one in a jewel already made, you should keep in mind that the box or nails of the piece where the emerald will be located have the same shape or size of the gem you will choose.

2. Size: Like most gemstones, emeralds can be presented in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from 0.02 to 0.5 carats to gemstones of 1 to 5 carat gemstones.

In this respect you must be careful, if the jewel is completely customized you can choose the size you want, however, if you are looking for it to replace the emerald the stone options for the change must fit perfectly into the existing box.

3. Check the color: emeralds come in a wide range of colors. Color is one of the most important factors in determining the value of an emerald. The difference in the color of the emeralds is due to the different amounts of chrome, vanadium and iron in the environment in which they formed, so you must establish if you want a crystalline emerald (clear, transparent foe) or an emerald of good color (green bluish or intense green).

Whatever the case, you should keep in mind that when you set the jewel both color, and some of the emerald inclusions can change both in tone and in notoriety, respectively.

4. Look for inclusions. The inclusions are all material (such as gas bubbles or tiny crystals) that has been trapped inside a precious stone during its formation. An emerald with excessive inclusions that diminish its transparency or clarity is worth less than an emerald with less inclusions.

TIP: Be cautious about the inclusions that reach the surface of the precious stone, as they can cause it to fracture in the future in case of setting in a jewel.

5. Treatments: Due to the fact that emeralds often have notorious inclusions, it is well known that some emeralds and jewelers choose to apply treatments with oil, acids or other substances to be applied to stones so that emeralds light up purer.

If you do not want some treatment to be applied to the emerald before setting it on the jewel, you should notify in advance.

Emeralds in the silver jewelry

To choose the perfect emerald for silver you have to bear in mind that the quality of the gem is usually medium to low, this does not mean that you cannot use a fine stone, simply since silver is not a high jewelry material, they are not used in this stones of the best quality.

• AnillosRings: As for silver ring emeralds, they should usually be chosen as medium to small size, rarely using an emerald of more than 9 or 10 mm. Otherwise the size and color are the client's decision.
• Earrings: for silver earrings the most important thing is to choose calibrated stones (measured) and as far as possible they have the same shade of green, so it won't seem like earrings are not a couple.
• I said, for sayings, stones have no distinction in size, colour, or size. The most important thing is that it is the perfect stone for the design that you have in mind or that it will perfectly marry the previous stone if it is the case of a change.
• Bracelets: Silver bracelets with emeralds are usually solitary (a central stone) or are endless type, meaning they have a row of stones the same size and almost the same hue on the entire bracelet.

It is not advisable to change the stones of this type of bracelets because only with replacement one, the handle will lose the symmetry. If the case is to make a new one, a batch of calibrated stones should be chosen.

Emeralds in gold

To talk about the emerald setting in gold, it must be said that whatever the jewelry piece to be made, the gem will always have a slight change of tone due to its contrast to yellow or white gold.

For example, in yellow gold the gem tends to look darker, on the other hand, with white gold the gem will look a little clearer and even crystal clear.  

• Rings: the gold ring emeralds are chosen from the best possible quality and color and usually should be chosen medium or small, in these cases the largest sizes do not exceed 9 mm wide X 9mm long. The size and color are the customer's decision.
• Earrings: as in the silverware, for the earrings in gold the most important thing is to choose calibrated stones (measures) and as far as possible that have the same tone, quality and color. With this it won't look like earrings are not a couple. However, it must be said that achieving a symmetry in the emeralds for gold earrings is even more complex than in silver and you must choose to let an expert select them and choose from these the most appropriate.
• Says: for golden sayings, stones have no distinction in size, color, or size. The most important thing is that it is the perfect stone and of excellent quality to highlight the design you have in mind.
• Bracelets: in gold, the types of bracelets with most common emeralds are slaves and endless ones. Normally, for slaves you use an emerald type called Baguette, its color, size and size are customer choice. On the other hand, in terms of the ends, your choice of stones is a little more difficult, as finding emeralds of excellent quality for a complete line is complex. In these cases it is chosen to buy as similar stones as possible, or to position the most uneven stones in the corners in order to disguise the contrasts.

Paula A. Bonilla 

Social communicator and journalist from Sergio Arboleda University in Colombia. She is also a jeweler and is passionate about constantly learning about precious gems and national high jewelry.

Currently, she is working for one of Bogotá's most important jewelry stores, Emerald by Love. This jewelry store has over 40 years of experience and has 2 physical branches in the capital city of Colombia, located in the city center.