Emerald Jewelry

Which piece to buy first

Emerald sits at 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, and its inclusions make it easier to chip than corundum. That single fact changes what each piece type is good for.

• Earrings are the safest. They take almost no impact, so an open setting that would worry you elsewhere is reasonable, and your budget goes further into the stones.
• Necklaces are next. A pendant takes few knocks and is viewed face on in daylight, which is the most flattering light an emerald gets.
• Bracelets sit in the middle. The wrist moves constantly and catches edges, so tennis designs with protected, low settings suit emerald better than raised ones.
• Rings ask the most. They are worth it, but the setting has to do real work: halos, side stones and designs that cover the girdle.

If you are buying a first serious emerald, a pendant or earrings will give you a larger, better stone for the same money than a ring will.

What to read on every emerald certificate

Whatever the piece, the same two lines explain most of the price.

• Degree of clarity enhancement, graded from none through minor, moderate and significant. Nearly every emerald is oiled, and less treatment means more of the clarity you see is structural.
• Origin. Colombia sits at the top, with Muzo the most valuable district name in emerald. Zambia follows with cooler, bluer, generally cleaner material, then Brazil and Ethiopia.

Center stones of real size carry individual reports. Accent diamonds and the many small stones in a pavé or tennis design are graded as a group, which is standard across the industry.

Building a set

Sets are where matching becomes the cost. Emeralds from the same origin share a color character, but inclusion patterns are unique to every crystal, so a matched suite is harder to assemble than the sum of its pieces.

• Match on tone first, hue second. Two stones of the same hue at different tones will look wrong together. slight hue variation reads as natural.
• Keep the metal consistent across the suite. White gold holds the green cool, yellow gold warms it, and rose gold flatters cooler Zambian material.
• Build outward from the largest stone. Match the smaller pieces to the center piece rather than to each other.

Caring for emerald jewelry

• Never use an ultrasonic or steam cleaner on any emerald piece. Both strip the oil and leave inclusions more visible.
• Warm water, mild soap, soft cloth is the whole routine.
• Expect re-oiling eventually. Oil can dry out over a decade or more and a jeweler can replace it. That is maintenance rather than repair.
• Remove rings and bracelets for impact. Earrings and pendants need no such habit.