Synthetic and Treated Emeralds : Emeralds - A Guide To
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Synthetic Emeralds
It is also important to be aware of the prevalence of synthetic emeralds in the marketplace. These imitations of these precious stones cab are constructed of glass or green cubic zirconia for example.
More recently, “laboratory created” emeralds have emerged in retail environments. These “man made” emeralds are still quite pricey though as “lab created” emeralds do require the use of expensive laboratory equipment, and they do take an extremely long time to be “created”. Consequently, this process is both labor intensive and energy intensive. Additionally, the end result usually results in a low percentage of truly useable emeralds. However, these “lab created” emeralds do look identical to the natural emeralds to the untrained eye.
Luckily though, there are scientific methods that can be utilized to determine whether or not the emerald is indeed a natural or synthetic one. (Great for consumers like you!) Today, these “lab created” emeralds are manufactured in the United States, France and Germany.
Emerald Treatments
Emeralds, of today, are often treated with natural oils or resins, and this situation is considered commonplace in emerald jewels. In fact, emeralds of today are usually oiled twice – once at the mine site and again at the gem cutting location. Only when an emerald is specifically advertised as being “untreated” can you ascertain that the emerald has not been treated in any way. However, because of the treatment process, the visibility of the emerald’s inclusions is reduced, and thus, the overall clarity of the emerald significantly improves.
Other Treatments: When green oil or other filler is utilized to perform this particular task, the color of the emerald also improves. However, using this type of oil or filler is often considered to be a non-standard treatment.
One practice that is definitely not accepted by the jewelry trade is to treat emeralds with certain epoxy resins. This process does fill the cracks like the oiling process does, but does completely hide these inclusions. Consequently, you have no way of knowing if the gem has been treated in any way unless it is disclosed to you.
Important Note: Do not use steam cleaners, solvents, ultrasonics, and so on on treated emeralds as these items do have the ability to remove the emerald’s oils.
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