Emerald

Emeralds are a green-colored, fascinating gemstone that looks amazing and can really set off anyone’s skin. In fact, the word emerald is actually a combination of an old French word and an old English word which mean Green Gem when combined. Other languages also can claim a right to naming an emerald stone. As with the other three main stones: rubies, diamonds and sapphires, emeralds are priced by the four main C’s: color, clarity, cut and carat. These four things are what shape the industry and make jeweler’s jobs easier to sort out the good emeralds from the substandard ones. For an emerald to be considered as top notch it has to score high marks in all four of these categories.

One of the most important of the four C’s is color since an emerald has to be of a deep green color and that the saturation of that color has to be throughout the stone without any inclusions. If the color of the gem is not deep to dark green and is more of a light green, then the stone is not classified as an emerald and is known as green beryl. Another gem that is not classified as an emerald in a lot of countries is the vandadium beryl or Columbium emerald as it is also known. Mined in the US, the American jewelry industry reclassified this gem as an emerald, but it is not widely recognized as such outside of the United States. If you buy an emerald in the US, make sure you are buying a complete emerald and not a vandadium beryl emerald.  

Another interesting fact is that when it comes to the clarity of an emerald, it is not subject to the scrutiny that a diamond is. A diamond is subjected to a specialized test under 10x magnification scrutiny where as an emerald is classified on clarity by the eye.  

Ruby

Rubies are a valuable gemstone that comes in a dark pink to pure dark red color. Rubies are among the four precious gemstones which also include emeralds, diamonds and sapphires. Depending on the color, size and clarity of the stone, a ruby can be very expensive with the darkest red or pigeon blood red as it is known being the most sought after. Just like diamonds, rubies also have to be judged on clarity and any inclusions which are needle like in appearance can diminish the price; this along with carat and cut also play a factor. Rubies are actually a very hard gemstone and only diamonds and moissanite are harder. The hardness of a stone is measured on a scale called a Mohs scale. On this scale, rubies come at a hardness of 9.0 with diamonds coming in at 10.0.

Jewelry containing rubies are very common on the market, but finding rubies set in anything but gold is very rare. If you are someone who likes to wear platinum or white gold then you will need to go and visit a specialty jeweler. If you want to find a ruby at its source, then there are a few places in the world that you can choose from. Currently the best place to find a really good ruby that has good clarity, size and carat is the Mong Hsu area of central Myanmar. Good deposits of ruby can be found in Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tanzania, Nepal, Vietnam, both North and South Carolina and recently Kenya. In some of these areas there is a stone found which is very similar to a ruby, called a spinel. A spinel looks exactly like a ruby since it is red in color and often is mistaken for the real thing. They are much cheaper than a ruby to buy. For those who love the rich redness of a ruby but are unable to buy expensive ruby jewelry, buying spinel is a cheaper option.  

Sapphire

Sapphires are one of the most common gemstones worn in jewelry all over the world. The main reason for this is that the sapphire comes in so many different colors; blue, yellow, pink, purple, orange and even light green. A sapphire becomes these colors by having a combination of iron, chromium and/or titanium elements within the makeup of the sapphire. Each different combination results in the sapphire becoming one of these colors. Sapphires are typically much more affordable than a diamond, a ruby or even an emerald and this is also another reason why they are a much more popular choice.

Unlike any of the other three main gemstones (diamond, emerald and ruby) the sapphire is more often treated with chemicals, heating and diffusion to improve the sapphire’s clarity and color. Heating a sapphire anywhere between 500 and 1800 degrees Celsius for a set amount of time will help to remove the pesky inclusions and bring the color out even further. Another technique is to heat it in a nitrogen deficient oven for seven or more days which will make the clarity improve greatly. A very controversial way to improve color, carat and size is a technique that involves taking beryllium and diffusing it into the sapphire, using an exceptionally high heat. This technique is frowned upon in some areas of the world, but encouraged in others. Originally, it was this process that actually created the color orange in sapphires. In recent times, this process has been further refined, and new and exciting shade and colors are beginning to emerge using this process.  

Sapphires can be mined in China, Kenya, India, Pakistan and Tanzania or they can be synthetically created in a laboratory. A synthetic sapphire can be made to any specified color, size, clarity and carat. They are also not very expensive to purchase, making sapphire jewelry much more affordable for the masses.