May - Emerald & Chrysoprase

Through time, emerald has been known as a symbol of truth and love. In ancient Greece and Rome, emerald was said to be the gemstone of the goddess Venus, purveyor of love and hope. On the other side of the world, emeralds were revered by the Incas and believed by the Egyptians to be a source of eternal life. Emerald is also known as a stone of intuition, associated with sight and the revelation of future events and truths. It is also believed to have a soothing energy that generates freshness and vitality in the spirit of the wearer. A stone that embodies patience and compassion, the stone imbues the wearer with those same qualities while enhancing mental clarity and focus. Additionally, emerald represents balance, harmony, renewal, and growth. As the color of nature, emerald green embodies life, fertility, and abundance.

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Emerald has a vibrant green color that creates beautifully focal jewelry. In fact, emeralds of the optimal shade and transparency can be even more valuable than a diamond. Emeralds, like all colored gemstones, are graded using four basic parameters — the four Cs: color, clarity, cut and carat weight. Normally, in the grading of colored gemstones, color is by far the most important criterion. However, in the grading of emeralds, clarity is considered a close second. A fine emerald must possess not only a pure verdant green hue as described below, but also a high degree of transparency to be considered a top gemstone. Emeralds tend to have numerous inclusions and surface-breaking fissures. Unlike diamonds, where the loupe standard is used to grade clarity, emeralds are graded by eye. Thus, if an emerald has no visible inclusions to the eye it is considered flawless. Stones that lack surface breaking fissures are extremely rare and therefore almost all emeralds are treated ("oiled") to enhance the apparent clarity. Imperfections are unique for each emerald and can be used to identify a particular stone. Eye-clean stones of a vivid primary green hue with no more than 15% of any secondary hue or combination (either blue or yellow) of a medium-dark tone, command the highest prices.

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Care for Your Emerald Jewelry: Emeralds can be worn every day albeit with utmost care. If they are handled roughly or receive a sharp blow, they can chip and even break. It is also important to keep in mind that emeralds typically feature inclusions. The best way to clean emerald jewelry is with warm, soapy water, or a warm soapy cloth. Do not soak emeralds in soapy water and avoid harsh detergents that might dilute or remove any treatment from the stone. Never soak emeralds in solvents such as alcohol, acetone, or paint thinner.