Emerald

The Egyptians mined emeralds nearly 4,000 years ago, but today most of the world's emeralds are mined in Colombia, Brazil and Zambia. Emerald is the birthstone for May. Emeralds can be cut in a variety of different shapes, but the traditional cut is the rectangular step cut, or “emerald-cut”.  Although emerald itself is quite durable, most emeralds contain inclusions and should be treated carefully.

1.05 ct Colombian Emerald

During my September 2011 trip to Bogota, I explored dozens of shops in the Emerald Trade Center and found two nice emeralds. This one is a classic emerald cut with the typical inclusions, but looks better in real life than in photos (the magnification and lighting of my photography tends to highlight the typical emerald haziness). A saturated slightly bluish-green, light/moderate clarity enhancements typical for Colombian emeralds, and an AGL Presitige Report confirming Colombian origin.

1.05ct, 6.13 x 5.98 x 4.25mm, MI clarity
$1260

1.17 ct Colombian Emerald

This wonderfully-cut pear is the second of the Colombian emeralds that I bought in Bogota.  It is the same color and clarity as the square cushion above, and would make a nice matching pendant. Included is an AGL Presitige Report showing Colombian origin with typical light/moderate clarity enhancements. A very pretty emerald in a hard-to-find pear shape.

1.17ct, 9.94 x 5.70 x 3.95mm, MI clarity
$1390