Emerald: Greener than the Green

Emerald, the greener than the green jewel, is the gem fancied by the kings and queens of the past and believed that it wards off evil and protects the wearer from the mishappenings. It is formed in nature by the heat and pressure for a long period of time.

Not only in nature, it is also made in laboratory as well. These lab made are for the people who cannot afford to buy the natural but aspires to have one. Because it is relatively cheaper than the natural one. It is mainly found in Mura and Cosquez of Columbia. Emeralds from these regions are greatly valued. Other places where emeralds are found are Zambia, Brazil, Russia and Pakistan. Synthetic emeralds are produced in Germany, USA, and France.

Though many things have been written about the natural emeralds, people are often confused between natural and synthetic ones. There are many differences between them as follows:

1. Specific gravity of synthetic one is 2.66 while that of the natural is 2.70-2.78.

2. Refractive index of natural one is higher the that of the synthetic ones i.e. refractive index of synthetic is 1.565 while that of natural is 1.576-1.582.

3. Synthetic one shines with dull red in ultra-violet light while that of natural one has not this type of characteristics.

4. Feathery inclusions are found in synthetic one differing from the natural one.

5. Natural one produces green light due to the impurities in it while synthetic one does not have this.

6. Clarity in synthetic one cannot be enhanced by oiling while in natural it is done to enhance clarity.