Category Archives: Emeralds

How Precious Am I?

What do Imperial jadeite, black opal, demantoid garnet, and alexandrite all have in common? First of all, they are all exceptionally rare gemstones. Second, they can command thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to even millions of dollars per carat. Third, they have all historically fallen under the unfortunate appellation “semi-precious” because they are…

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Summer Jewelry Care

Summer has finally settled in. Summer activities abound with the sun out, so it’s worth mentioning that some jewelry needs to be treated a little differently during the fun things we all love to do when it gets beautiful outside. One of the most common jewelry problems I see during (or right after) summer is…

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Emerald Alternatives

I’m a colored stone guy. I love colored stones. I love selling colored stones. I love helping people foster a greater appreciation for colored stones. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that not all colored gems are created equal, and it’s important for a client to know their options when designing a piece…

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Emerald Ethnicity

The prime consideration for emerald quality comes down to color, more so than for almost any other gemstone. The rarity of large, cleaner emeralds of top color has logically led to sky-rocketing values. The finest emeralds are among the rarest and most valuable gemstones in the world, on par with top rubies, and dwarfing all…

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Caring for Your Emerald

In my first blog this month, I wrote about emeralds: all of their wondrous beauty, their allure, and their chaotic origins. But I mentioned, almost in passing, that emeralds need some extra care. I didn’t have room in that entry, so I’m going to expound on that notion here. If you’ll recall (or pull up…

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Emerald – May Birthstone

Pliny the Elder, the great naturalist of Antiquity, once wrote, “Nothing greens greener than emerald.” He was not wrong: to this day, emerald is still the green gem against which all green gems are compared. For over three thousand years, emerald has been treasured above many other gemstones for its rarity, and its largely unrivaled…

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Marc Aronstam on color-change gem stones

Gem stones are amazing things. The science and nature-loving geek in me loves to study each gem before I ever consider how it might look housed in a ring or a necklace. Particularly fascinating to me are the gems that change from one color to another depending on the type of light, from red to…

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Marc Aronstam on gem stone color

Color is by far the most highly touted virtue of gem stones. When you see a beautiful cornflower blue sapphire, or a gorgeous Granny Smith apple green peridot, what attracts you most are the deep colors of the stones. When jewelers determine the quality of a gem stone based on its color, they talk about…

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May’s birthstone: the lovely emerald..green fire.

I first got turned on to emeralds in Munich, Germany, while walking through a museum housing some of the most fantastic pieces I had seen. I remember being in a short passage (lined with cases of incredible jewelry) and glancing to my left seeing green fire. The emerald in the collection was a square emerald…

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