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Happy Birthday May: Green as an Emerald…

21
Jun
Emerald is the traditional birthstone of the month of May. The green variety of Beryl –Aquamarine is the blue variety of Beryl, Heliodore the golden yellow variety of Beryl– Emerald has been used in jewelry since before the pyramids were built.
It is the gem that comes closest to symbolizing Spring. The color of (American) money, the color of envy, the gem of love. Because, more so than any of the other “big” gemstones –in the jewelry world Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby are collectively known as the “Big Three” due to their persistent importance and popularity– you have to fall in love with an individual Emerald.
No two Emeralds of any size are identical. And two Emeralds of roughly the same weight and value may strike a viewer as radically different. Because, they often are radically different. They may be equally beautiful… but one you love and one you may not really love.
That said, like everything we love, Emeralds have their flaws.

In fact, the flaws often contribute to their beauty. (“Flawless” isn’t a word we can use when describing a natural Emerald. The lack of flaws in synthetic Emeralds makes them noticeably different than natural Emeralds.)
In the interests of full disclosure we at N.C. Nagle Gems & Beads always believe in disclosing “inclusions” –but with an Emerald we also believe in marking a clear line between aspects of the stone that will make it more fragile, and characteristics that merely impact the appearance.

A crack or a fracture is something that you should worry about. An inclusion? Often an inclusion is a bit like a freckle… nothing to worry about. In fact, as a gem dealer I can get quite excited about certain types of inclusions. Some inclusions in Emeralds are impossible to fake and their presence automatically proves that the stone is natural. A good eye and and a goodly amount of experience and all that heavy equipment is just an accessory, not really a necessity.