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First, let's be honest. The finest emeralds come from Colombia. That said, it is
an unfortunate fact that Colombia is awash in drug money and that the emerald
trade has been tainted by this set of circumstances. Hopefully, America (which
is the largest consumer of the drugs that Colombia produces) will one day wake
up and realize that they no longer need this type of stimulant. Until then, be
aware that buying gems from Colombia may benefit the wrong people. I'm not
saying that all Colombian emerald dealers are somehow involved in the drug
business. The ones I know here in the U.S. are honest and reputable dealers.
That is why it is so important to know who you do business with. Select an
emerald supplier who will stand behind their product and who has high ethical
and professional standards. This is your assurance that the beautiful emerald
you purchase has come from a legitimate source.
There are other locations worldwide that produce beautiful emeralds. The
color green in emerald is available in many variations and all are very
pleasing. This is an area where the customer decides the color that is most
pleasing to them. Some like a darker, forest green. Others like the green like
green grass in the Spring, slightly yellowish green. Emerald varies from bluish
green to green to slightly yellowish green.
It is a fact that Nature gave emerald many inclusions, brought about from the
unique circumstances that produced it in its wonderful green color. Other
members of the beryl family do not suffer from this extensive geologic trauma
and therefore are relatively free of inclusions.
The finest emeralds will have a medium, saturated pure green color; not too
dark and not too light. Secondary colors, such as black or gray, that act to
mask the true body color will be absent. Be especially careful of inclusions and
note their location within the gem. If possible select an emerald that has its
heart or center relatively free of eye visible inclusions. An emerald that is
lively and has some crispness to its color will be more valuable than one that
seems dull. As is true of all gems, not just emerald, it is easier to find these
desirable characteristics in smaller sizes. Large sizes command a premium and
rightly so because it is very rare to find beautiful color, clarity, and
liveliness in a single gem, much less one of a significant size. In emeralds,
anything over one carat in size with the above qualities would be considered
rare.
Since emeralds are expensive, there has been a keen interest in developing
materials that mimic its wonderful color. Synthetic emerald has been produced
for at least seventy years and there have been many imitations developed to fool
the emerald loving public. Owning a fine emerald is very special because it is
rare to find one with the color, clarity and life that characterizes this
category. The difference between a fine natural emerald and an emerald synthetic
is the difference between fine wine and grape juice. There are times when grape
juice will do quite well but there are occasions when fine wine is the only
choice.
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