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Emerald Cleaning and Polishing
Introduction:
Thank you for your purchase. Your treasure hunt has
arrived and now the fun begins! As this material is still dirty from the mine,
the first thing you will want to do is wash it thoroughly in warm water and a
little dish soap. It is best evaluated while wet and under a good light source,
such as a desk lamp. This should give you a really good look at what you have.
A background about emeralds:
Emeralds belong to the beryl family of minerals and owes
its green color to trace amounts of the elements Chromium and Vanadium.
Emeralds have been cherished since 4000 BC, when it was
traded at the earliest know gem market in Babylon. The ancient Egyptian mines
near the Red Sea were worked as early as 2000 BC. These mines were the main
source of emeralds for the west until the 16th century. By this time finer
quality emeralds were being mined in Columbia and Brazil, and these gems
eventually took their place as the most coveted gemstones. Today, South America
is a major source for this precious gemstone.
The emerald is steeped in lore and tradition. According
to legend, it improves the eloquence, intelligence, fertility, and the eyesight
of the owner. It was worn to relieve the pain of childbirth and enable the
wearer to predict the future. Believed to be the sacred stone of Venus, it
became the symbol of springtime, enduring love and fertility. It is the
birthstone for May and the gemstone for the twentieth wedding anniversary.
Gem quality emeralds are so rare that they are considered
more valuable than diamonds.
Where these emeralds came from:
These emeralds come from Brazilian Stock that is over 30
years old. As the story goes, this guy's grandfather was an overseer at a mine
in Brazil. When the mine closed he bought up a shipload of the tailings that he
was "inspecting" and had them shipped to his son in New York, who put them into
storage.
Over 30 years later, after both the grandfather in Brazil
and the father in New York passed away, the grandson inherited the storage unit
with loads of unopened burlap sacks of emeralds. Not being interested in gems,
the grandson sold the sacks outright, unopened. That is how I got them - filthy
dirty in bags sewn shut with ancient twine.
What should I do next?
After you have washed them in warm water and dish soap
(this works very well in a strainer), there should be plenty of green emerald in
plain sight and the black mica matrix often conceals very nice emeralds hidden
within. Hold each piece up to the light to see if it has gem potential
otherwise you could overlook something valuable.
Next, remove the matrix. The easiest way to remove the
matrix on the emeralds is to tumble them. If you do not have a tumbler, the
matrix pieces can be also be carefully broken open with a hammer to reveal the
emeralds within. Because the matrix is not very hard, another good method is to
flake the matrix off with a knife or a heavy sewing needle. A dremmel tool with
a diamond tip will also work, but it is a bit tedious.
It is not important which method you use and sometimes you
may need to use more than one method to fully remove the matrix; the important
thing is that sometimes the best stuff is found inside the matrix.
How can I tell if they are good?
The three factors of value for emeralds are Clarity,
Color, and Cut (the 3 C's).
Clarity: How well you can see light through the
stone and (relative) absence of flaws.
Color:
-AAA (best) = dark green
-AA (good) = green
-A (average) = light green/blue
Cut:
-en cabochon - cut smooth and rounded, used for
opaque stones like turquoise
-faceted - cut with sparkling polished planes,
like a diamond
Cabochon grade stones usually have less clarity,
translucent to opaque. Facet grade stones are more transparent, with some
inclusions in natural emeralds. Inclusions are called jarden are
actually prized in emeralds. A large emerald with excellent Cut, Color, and
Clarity can be worth up to $20,000 per carat or more.
You should get a lot of good cabochon and possibly come
facet grade out of this material, and maybe even one worth a fortune! If you
have a rock tumbler the rest can be polished into lovely freeform shapes and
used in wire wrap jewelry, medicine bags, good luck charms, gem trees, and
more! The nice crystal shapes are best left intact as rare and lovely
specimens.
Emerald Profile
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