Emerald Quality

[Ziggy85]

Hi everyone,

I just bought these off Etsy for $80 AUD. Was it a bad deal? They seem to have a lot of inclusions, will I be able to get rid of those if I immerse them in cedarwood oil overnight?

 

[Bron357]

Hi,
if shopping online ie Etsy or eBay there are many many sellers of emeralds.
Some emeralds are genuine, earth mined, minor oil only while others are everything from dyed Quartz, to beryl that has been bleached and then filled with green flux (glass) to emeralds from Zoisite, to lab created emeralds (many different qualities and types of manufacture) to even green glass.
Yes, cedar wood oil is a traditional method of improving appearance by “hiding” crystalline imperfections but it is done under heat and with vacuum, not really the sort of thing one can do at home. The modern method, which is permanent, (oiling does event dry out) is using Opticon. Again, not something you can do yourself at home.
The emeralds you have bought I wouldn’t class as “gem” material. To be expected if both cost $80 and they are very included and also probably highly treated. Unfortunately there is nothing anyone can do or any further treatment applied that will improve their appearance.
Gem quality emeralds cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars per carat.

 

[Ziggy85]

Hi,
if shopping online ie Etsy or eBay there are many many sellers of emeralds.
Some emeralds are genuine, earth mined, minor oil only while others are everything from dyed Quartz, to beryl that has been bleached and then filled with green flux (glass) to emeralds from Zoisite, to lab created emeralds (many different qualities and types of manufacture) to even green glass.
Yes, cedar wood oil is a traditional method of improving appearance by “hiding” crystalline imperfections but it is done under heat and with vacuum, not really the sort of thing one can do at home. The modern method, which is permanent, (oiling does event dry out) is using Opticon. Again, not something you can do yourself at home.
The emeralds you have bought I wouldn’t class as “gem” material. To be expected if both cost $80 and they are very included and also probably highly treated. Unfortunately there is nothing anyone can do or any further treatment applied that will improve their appearance.
Gem quality emeralds cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars per carat.

Hi Bron,

That's sad just 1 question what is "gem" material. I had some gold lying around that I wanted to use on these and make it into 22ct gold drop earrings.. should I bother wasting the gold on them?

 

[Bron357]

If YOU love them, why not turn them into earrings.
As with all things, when a price seems “too good to be true” it probably is.
Gem quality emeralds (or rubies or sapphires) are transparent to slightly translucent. When the material is heavily included, the gem becomes more opaque and this material is very very cheap to buy because it’s very plentiful.
Likewise poor quality natural gem material can be highly treated including bleaching, dyeing and filling with glass to fill up the fissures / cracks to make it look better.
Gem quality emeralds can’t realistically be bought for $40 each. The reason is straightforward, it hard work, difficult and rare to find beautiful natural emerald crystals.
If you love the look and colour of top quality emeralds and don’t have the thousands needed (who does!) consider lab grown material. This way you can have an amazing look but for a wallet friendly price.

 

[whitewave]

I agree that if you love them, do what you want with them. All that is required is that they make you happy. They were $80. Happiness on a budget is perfectly acceptable!

 

[Ziggy85]

Thanks for you reply everyone.

If I buy Lab created emeralds, will a trained eye be able to identify that they were lab created? Any suggestions where to buy them from?