Gwen's Glorious Gemstone Gallery
Emeralds available at the shop
Fakes
There are many different ways to fake an Emerald, and since it
is one of the oldest gemstones, there has been a lot of time for
people to develop imitations. There are three ways emeralds are
"faked":
- doublets
- A doublet is usually two pale colored stones glued
together with a green paste between them simulating a
dark, valuable stone.
- glass
- Green colored glass can be faceted and sold as an
Emerald. Usually these fakes are treated with a hard
surface coat to hide the softness of the glass.
- Synthetic stones
- Many synthetic stones are manufactured and sold as
genuine Emeralds. Often these stones, like glass, can
be identified by their lack of inclusions.
Damaged stones
Emeralds can break if they are:
- subjected to a sharp blow. This is why the "emerald cut"
was developed, it reduces the incidence of breaking stones
as they are cut.
- thermally challenged. Emeralds don't like to have their temperature
changed quickly. You can destroy a beautiful stone by subjecting it
to rapid heating or cooling.
- exposed to detergents or water. Many medium value Emeralds are soaked
with oil or wax to hide flaws. Detergent may remove this oil or wax,
leaving the stone liable to breakage along the flaws.
- cleaned with ultrasonic cleaners. Like detergents, these cleaners can
remove the protective oils or waxes and subject the stone to vibration
as well.
Return to the Emerald page.
Gwen's Glorious Gemstone Gallery
231 Lee Street
Emporia, VA
23847
733-436-7829
Come visit, you won't be disappointed!
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