Emerald is a splendid crystal belonging to the mineral beryl. It is one of the oldest of the found and practiced, precious gemstone in the whole world.
Emerald jewelry featuring charms like emerald rings, pendants, and earrings in accordance with other fancier styles like bracelets etc. It has been a matter of fascination since ages. This rare member of the gemstone family is highly prized.
Fortunately, emerald was discovered and mined in first century BC, in Egypt. Such is the irresistible glam and intense shade of this stone, that even the most beautiful, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, couldn't keep herself away from admiring it.
Emerald in various cultures has shared a significant mythological position. Folklores say that whosoever wore emerald becomes an owner of virtues like faithfulness and unchanging love. In addition, he could also forecast events due to powers bestowed by emerald.
Islam's sacred color, green, contained by emerald made it a much coveted stone in the Indian subcontinent. During the Mughal period, kings and queens would wear bracelets, rings etc., set with emerald to bring God's grace on them. Emerald was usually carved with Islamic writings to ward off evil.
Emerald boasts a relative hardness of 7.5-8 Mohs. This property makes it resistible to daily wear and tear. However, it is a brittle stone. Therefore, under stressful conditions it may develop fractures or internal cracks. This is the same reason behind most emerald roughs to contain flaws and inclusions. Violent geologic conditions and nature's forces inside earth, exercise emeralds to rigorous situations. This process results in cracks and fissures.
To correct these, there are various enhancements or treatments. Commonly practiced is to fill surface-reaching cracks with oil (sometimes tinted green). This is an age old Greek formula.
As science has developed, technology has advanced too. Current enhancement method of oiling by vacuum/heat technology is carried on as treatment.
This method proves quite helpful due to emerald's fragile nature. Therefore, oiling is a much widely accepted treatment in almost the whole world. It helps in covering the white cracks, making them less visible.
However, while cleaning emerald, the extensiveness of enhancement above, comes to light. An oil-treated emerald crystal should never be exposed to an 'Ultrasonic Cleaner'. This electronic device is very well able to remove the built up, off stone, along with oil-filling inside cracks. Unwanted fading away of color with visible flaws emerged in the stone. An 'Ionic Cleaner' is suitable for emerald as well as for other jewelry.
There are newcomers like resin-fillers. Since emerald is rarely found flawless, this practice is gaining popularity in many source countries like Colombia and Brazil. Jewelers and buyers always make a point about intensity of color while judging and pricing beryl. Thus, more carat weight and stress is laid on improvement of color.
Otherwise, talking about its color, elements like chromium and vanadium are responsible for producing its youthful shade. Emerald is a candidly splendorous gemstone. Its lush-green, vibrant vividness simply allures buyers. Demands are very high for purchasing loose gemstones too. Therefore, if greater is the value and demand, more presence of imitations and fraudulent is possible.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Enticing-Emerald&id=3265133
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