Natural Green Emerald Gemstones

Emerald has always been one of those gemstones that you really need to see in person to appreciate. I've worked with colored gemstones for decades, and a fine natural emerald has a green that is difficult to duplicate in any other stone. There's a reason emeralds have been prized for thousands of years.

The emerald gemstones you'll find here have been selected for their color, beauty and overall value. When I look at an emerald, I'm not simply looking for the cleanest stone. With emerald, it's about the entire package: the quality of the green, how lively the stone is, its transparency, cut and, of course, the price.

What Makes a Fine Emerald?

Color comes first.

The best emerald color is a rich, saturated green that doesn't become so dark that the stone loses its life. Some emeralds have a slightly bluish-green appearance, while others lean toward a warmer green. There isn't one exact shade that makes an emerald beautiful, but when you see a really good one, you tend to know it.

I've looked at a lot of emerald rough and finished emeralds over the years. One mistake people make when shopping online is concentrating too much on clarity. Emerald is a Type III gemstone, which means inclusions are expected. In fact, finding a completely clean natural emerald is extremely unusual.

Those inclusions don't automatically make an emerald undesirable. What matters is whether they interfere with the beauty and durability of the stone. I'd much rather own a beautiful green emerald with some visible inclusions than a cleaner stone with weak color.

Where Do Emeralds Come From?

Emeralds are found in several parts of the world, with Colombia and Zambia producing many of the stones that reach the fine gemstone market.

Colombian emeralds have been famous for centuries and can have an exceptional bright, vivid green. Zambia also produces some outstanding natural emeralds, often with a slightly deeper or bluish-green color.

Origin can certainly affect emerald value, particularly with exceptional stones, but I don't recommend buying an emerald based on origin alone. I've seen beautiful Colombian emeralds and unattractive Colombian emeralds. The same is true of Zambian material.

Buy the stone, not just the name attached to it.

How Much Are Emeralds Worth?

This is one of the hardest questions to answer with a simple emerald price per carat.

The cost of emeralds can range tremendously. Two emerald stones of the same carat weight can be worth dramatically different amounts depending on color, clarity, transparency, cut, treatment and origin.

Color is generally the biggest factor. A vivid emerald green gemstone with excellent transparency can command a much higher price than a darker or heavily included stone of the same size.

Size matters too. Fine-quality emerald becomes increasingly difficult to find as the carat weight increases, so emerald value per carat generally rises as you move into larger, higher-quality stones.

This is why I evaluate each emerald individually rather than trying to apply a standard price-per-carat formula.

Cutting an Emerald Is Different

Emerald has a Mohs hardness of roughly 7.5 to 8, but emerald hardness doesn't tell the entire story. Natural inclusions can make emerald more susceptible to damage during cutting, setting or everyday wear than its Mohs number might suggest.

That's also one reason the classic emerald cut became so closely associated with the gemstone. Its clipped corners help protect vulnerable areas of the stone while the broad facets can show off a fine emerald's color.

As a gem cutter, I'm always looking at what the rough wants to become. Saving weight isn't worth much if the finished emerald is dark or lifeless. The goal is to produce the best-looking finished gem possible.

Natural Emeralds Selected for Their Beauty

We're a little different from a company simply buying finished stones from a wholesaler and putting them online.

My family has been in the gemstone and jewelry business for decades. We've traveled to mining regions, purchased rough, cut gemstones and worked directly with collectors and jewelry clients. That experience changes the way you look at a stone.

When we're considering an emerald for sale, we're looking at it as both gem cutters and jewelers. Would we want to own it? Does the color justify the price? Will it look beautiful once it's set into a ring or pendant?

Those questions matter more to me than whether a stone looks perfect on a grading report.

Browse our current selection of natural emerald gemstones above. Because we purchase individual stones rather than mass-produced inventory, our selection is always changing. If you see an emerald stone you love, we can also help you design a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry around it.

— Steve Moriarty, Gem Cutter