Clarity - This stone is never a clean stone. It occurs in thousands of years thus would certainly contain some blemishes or inclusions. The inclusions are considered as the part of the stone and are very well accepted in the gemstone industry. Absolutely clean and clear stone is impossible to be offered by the Mother Nature. However, number of flaws would vary from one stone to another. It also contains surface cavities that are filled during the initial gemstone processing.
Cut - Cutting is a very crucial aspect as a good cut enhances the color of the stone and augments its worth in terms of money. It is a hard and tough stone but still cutting remains a challenging job for the cutter. However, with the modern techniques it can be cut in different shapes viz. round, oval, pear, marquise, cabochon, square, emerald cut, step cut and many more.
Types of cuts
PEAR SQUARE OVAL
ROUND EMERALDS CUT
Carat Weight - The Emerald contains vitreous luster. It is transparent to translucent in nature. The beauty of the stone is enhanced in large sizes. The carat weight suitable for jewelry items is between 0.5 -4 ctw. Gems beyond 4 carat weight are rare and priced very high. More than 10 carat weight seldom occurs.
Price - This treasured stone is valued on the basis of color, clarity and carat weight. The more bright and intense the green color the higher is the price. Similarly, increases in the carat weight also increases the price and finally less flaws in the crystal also make it more valuable. Different permutations and combinations of these three Cs are available in the market, buyers can select any of them depending upon their "budget".
Color - It is green colored beauty and is available in almost all shades of green. The variations in the green color occur due to the change in the chromium content present in the chemical composition of the crystal. No two mines or deposits producing the gemstone would have exactly the same composition some changes are obvious so different shades come into existence. With the increase in the amount of chromium the color becomes rich and dark.
The color shade of the stone is a very important characteristic as it is a mode of judging the originality of the gemstone. With the color of the stone, its producing country is determined. Stones from Colombia are deep green in color while Russia offer patchy and pale green color. Zimbabwe stones too possess rich green color but are of small magnitude. Emeralds from the gemstones land Brazil are bright light green in color. Gems mined from India are bluish green.
The most preferred cut is emerald cut, as the color of stone is best visible in this shape. This cut is actually rectangular step cut.
