Emerald, famous for its distinctive green color, is a variety of the beryl mineral species. Other beryl varieties include aquamarine and morganite. The first known emeralds emerged from the mines of ancient Egypt. Estimates of the earliest emerald mining range widely, from about 3500 to 330 BC. The exact date is not as important as this: The obstacles to mining emeralds were overwhelming. And the quality of the stones themselves was, by modern standards, disappointing. These emeralds were small, discolored, and heavily included, but quickly became adornments for the powerful and priestly classes.
Emeralds have been mined for thousands of years
Emerald Sources
Out of the millions of dollars’ worth of emeralds that come out of the earth each year, about 60 percent come from Colombia. The Puerto Arturo mine is located near the town of Muzo. The most famous of all emerald mines, it still yields some of the best and biggest of the world’s emeralds. The violence that attended emerald mining during the exploitation of the conquistadors, however, continues to be a fact of life in Colombia. Modern-day smugglers prevent the country from reaping the full rewards of this rich natural resource. In one recent year, the Colombian government recorded $11 million in emeralds legally exported to the US. In that same year, US Customs in Miami recorded importation of $42 million in Colombian emeralds. That means perhaps $30 million in emeralds left the country with no accounting. There’s no telling how much other blackmarket emerald made its way out during that or any other year. There are other emerald sources. Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Madagascar account for most of the other 40 percent of the world’s supply. But in each of these countries, manmade problems combine with natural obstacles, such as remote locations and punishing climate, to make getting emeralds to the marketplace a difficult task. Inflation in Brazil, political maneuvering in Zambia, and corruption in Zimbabwe have each at one time or another helped undermine the legitimate emerald market
Major emerald sources are Colombia, Brazil, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Violence, remote locations, and harsh climates make emeralds difficult to mine
Treated Emeralds It’s common knowledge in the trade that most emeralds are treated. Some are filled with oils, such as cedarwood. Others are filled with polymer resins to hide surface-reaching breaks and improve transparency. As with most treatments, there’s nothing wrong with this as long as the buyer knows that the stone he’s buying is treated.
Emerald Value Factors The most prized emerald hues are green to bluish green. As you read in Assignment 2, emeralds are pleochroic, meaning they display different colors in different directions. The colors are so similar that you usually need special equipment to tell one color from the other. Besides hue, another important factor is saturation, which is a color’s weakness or strength. The highest priced emeralds are those with intense, vivid color saturation. Tone—lightness to darkness—also contributes to emerald value. An emerald’s value is lower if it’s too dark, even if it has high saturation. If beryl is green, but too light in tone and too weak in saturation, it’s simply green beryl, not emerald.
Emerald, famous for its distinctive green color, is a variety of the beryl mineral species. Other beryl varieties include aquamarine and morganite. The first known emeralds emerged from the mines of ancient Egypt. Estimates of the earliest emerald mining range widely, from about 3500 to 330 BC. The exact date is not as important as this: The obstacles to mining emeralds were overwhelming. And the quality of the stones themselves was, by modern standards, disappointing. These emeralds were small, discolored, and heavily included, but quickly became adornments for the powerful and priestly classes.
Emeralds have been mined for thousands of years
Emerald Sources
Out of the millions of dollars’ worth of emeralds that come out of the earth each year, about 60 percent come from Colombia. The Puerto Arturo mine is located near the town of Muzo. The most famous of all emerald mines, it still yields some of the best and biggest of the world’s emeralds. The violence that attended emerald mining during the exploitation of the conquistadors, however, continues to be a fact of life in Colombia. Modern-day smugglers prevent the country from reaping the full rewards of this rich natural resource. In one recent year, the Colombian government recorded $11 million in emeralds legally exported to the US. In that same year, US Customs in Miami recorded importation of $42 million in Colombian emeralds. That means perhaps $30 million in emeralds left the country with no accounting. There’s no telling how much other blackmarket emerald made its way out during that or any other year. There are other emerald sources. Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Madagascar account for most of the other 40 percent of the world’s supply. But in each of these countries, manmade problems combine with natural obstacles, such as remote locations and punishing climate, to make getting emeralds to the marketplace a difficult task. Inflation in Brazil, political maneuvering in Zambia, and corruption in Zimbabwe have each at one time or another helped undermine the legitimate emerald market
Major emerald sources are Colombia, Brazil, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Violence, remote locations, and harsh climates make emeralds difficult to mine
Treated Emeralds It’s common knowledge in the trade that most emeralds are treated. Some are filled with oils, such as cedarwood. Others are filled with polymer resins to hide surface-reaching breaks and improve transparency. As with most treatments, there’s nothing wrong with this as long as the buyer knows that the stone he’s buying is treated.
Emerald Value Factors The most prized emerald hues are green to bluish green. As you read in Assignment 2, emeralds are pleochroic, meaning they display different colors in different directions. The colors are so similar that you usually need special equipment to tell one color from the other. Besides hue, another important factor is saturation, which is a color’s weakness or strength. The highest priced emeralds are those with intense, vivid color saturation. Tone—lightness to darkness—also contributes to emerald value. An emerald’s value is lower if it’s too dark, even if it has high saturation. If beryl is green, but too light in tone and too weak in saturation, it’s simply green beryl, not emerald.
Emerald, famous for its distinctive green color, is a variety of the beryl mineral species. Other beryl varieties include aquamarine and morganite. The first known emeralds emerged from the mines of ancient Egypt. Estimates of the earliest emerald mining range widely, from about 3500 to 330 BC. The exact date is not as important as this: The obstacles to mining emeralds were overwhelming. And the quality of the stones themselves was, by modern standards, disappointing. These emeralds were small, discolored, and heavily included, but quickly became adornments for the powerful and priestly classes.
Emeralds have been mined for thousands of years
Emerald Sources
Out of the millions of dollars’ worth of emeralds that come out of the earth each year, about 60 percent come from Colombia. The Puerto Arturo mine is located near the town of Muzo. The most famous of all emerald mines, it still yields some of the best and biggest of the world’s emeralds. The violence that attended emerald mining during the exploitation of the conquistadors, however, continues to be a fact of life in Colombia. Modern-day smugglers prevent the country from reaping the full rewards of this rich natural resource. In one recent year, the Colombian government recorded $11 million in emeralds legally exported to the US. In that same year, US Customs in Miami recorded importation of $42 million in Colombian emeralds. That means perhaps $30 million in emeralds left the country with no accounting. There’s no telling how much other blackmarket emerald made its way out during that or any other year. There are other emerald sources. Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Madagascar account for most of the other 40 percent of the world’s supply. But in each of these countries, manmade problems combine with natural obstacles, such as remote locations and punishing climate, to make getting emeralds to the marketplace a difficult task. Inflation in Brazil, political maneuvering in Zambia, and corruption in Zimbabwe have each at one time or another helped undermine the legitimate emerald market
Major emerald sources are Colombia, Brazil, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Violence, remote locations, and harsh climates make emeralds difficult to mine
Treated Emeralds It’s common knowledge in the trade that most emeralds are treated. Some are filled with oils, such as cedarwood. Others are filled with polymer resins to hide surface-reaching breaks and improve transparency. As with most treatments, there’s nothing wrong with this as long as the buyer knows that the stone he’s buying is treated.
Emerald Value Factors The most prized emerald hues are green to bluish green. As you read in Assignment 2, emeralds are pleochroic, meaning they display different colors in different directions. The colors are so similar that you usually need special equipment to tell one color from the other. Besides hue, another important factor is saturation, which is a color’s weakness or strength. The highest priced emeralds are those with intense, vivid color saturation. Tone—lightness to darkness—also contributes to emerald value. An emerald’s value is lower if it’s too dark, even if it has high saturation. If beryl is green, but too light in tone and too weak in saturation, it’s simply green beryl, not emerald.
