Emerald Buying Guide

Here at Bailey’s, we absolutely love emeralds because of the variety of colors, shapes, and sizes that they come in. Emeralds are one of the “Big Three” most popular gemstones along with ruby and sapphires, and we can definitely see why. Emeralds are the May birthstone, and they can also represent the twentieth and thirty-fifth wedding anniversaries. 

Emeralds have gotten a bad wrap in the past because people tend to think that they are not the most durable, everyday-wear stone. Being that they are a 7.5 to 8 on the Moh’s Hardness Scale, they are more fragile than sapphire or diamond but with a few precautions like protective settings, jewelry insurance, and regular maintenance and inspection, they can definitely still be worn everyday. 

Similar to diamonds, emeralds are found with inclusions but emerald inclusions are often more pronounced and can weaken the gem causing it to be brittle or even break. Similar to other colored gemstones like sapphires and rubies, emeralds often undergo acceptable treatments to improve their clarity, color, or durability. An emerald’s inclusions are often treated with oils, waxes, polymers, or other substances that make their appearance less noticeable and improve the durability of the gem. It can be really hard to decipher the quality of emeralds if you aren’t well versed in gemology so it’s incredibly important to purchase your emeralds from a trusted jeweler. Reputable jewelers like Bailey’s will quality control all emeralds that come through the doors for durability to ensure that all of the emeralds being sold are more likely to last a lifetime. 

Many jewelers will also agree that it’s extra important with emeralds to purchase them in person rather than online. It can be really hard to see the color and inclusions of an emerald based solely on photos so if you are going to purchase from an online retailer, be sure that you are able to see videos, 360 images, and proper paperwork on your stone before you buy.  Once you purchase an emerald from a trusted jeweler, it’s important to bring your emeralds to see your jeweler every couple of months so that they can clean and inspect them. With regular maintenance and cleaning, your emeralds will remain strong and beautiful for much longer.