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Unless you’re a rockhound or you study mineralogy, you may not think of gemstones as minerals, but that’s exactly what they are. That’s right…diamonds, sapphires, rubies, tourmaline, amethyst, citrines, etc… etc… etc… They are all minerals. Emeralds belong to the beryl family of minerals, which includes several other types of beryl that have become well known gemstones. These beryls are easily distinguishable from each other by their color. They come in green (emerald), blue (aquamarine), dark blue (maxixe), yellow (heliodor or golden beryl), red (a.k.a. bixbite or red emerald), pink (morganite), and colorless (goshenite). They all have the same chemical makeup (Be3Al2(SiO3)6,) but trace elements present where they are found interact with them to give them color.

Emeralds are obviously the most famous type of beryl. In mineral terms, emerald is known as green beryl but not all green beryl can be called an emerald. It has to be gem quality, which very little green beryl is. Emeralds tend to be much more included than other gemstones and even other beryls.

Aquamarine is another famous beryl that many people adore. The best ones come from Brazil and they tend to be relatively free of inclusions and possess good brilliance.

Dark blue beryl or maxixe is quite rare. It comes only from Brazil and gets its color from natural radiation deep within the earth. An interesting fact, however, is that it can lose its color when exposed to heat, UV light, or sunlight.

Yellow beryl is best known as heliodor or golden beryl. With a bright yellow gold color its quite and interesting looking gemstone. Heliodor was discovered in the early 1900’s and was poised to become a popular gemstone until World War I and II got in the way and it was forgotten about for decades.

Red beryl is the rarest of the beryls and very little gem quality red beryl makes it to market from the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah in the United States where it is found. Some refer to it as Bixbite, Bixbyite, or Red Emerald, which is a bit controversial because the word emerald specifically refers to green stones.

Pink beryl might seem like some fancy synthetic created gemstone made for niche boutiques and people who obsess about the color pink, but it actually occurs naturally this way. Orange, peach, and lilac tones are also common with deep pink or lilac being the most desireable (and expensive). Interestingly, this stone was named after J.P. Morgan of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank and Morgan Stanley fame. He was one of the most important gemstone collectors of his time and stones from his collection can be found in the American Museum of Natural History.

Last, but not least is goshenite, also known as colorless beryl. Goshenite gets its name from the town of Goshen, Massachusetts in the United States. It’s by far the most abundant and affordable type of beryl and is often found in close proximity to colored beryls.

Embassy Emeralds has access to almost unlimited emeralds, emeralds in matrix, and green beryl mineral specimens and more. We have sources for quality aquamarine and other gems from Brazil as well. Contact us today to find out more!

Golden Beryl image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Beryl.jpg Author: Vzb83

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Our blog migration was a success and we’re back to blogging about emeralds, gems, jewelry, and everything else related. Be sure to leave us comments if you have something to say and add us to your RSS feeds.

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Please forgive the appearance. We’re moving our Official Blog here from Wordpress. You’ll be able to read more about emeralds, gemstones, and jewelry and shop for them all under the same ‘roof’. For now, the blog will look just as our Wordpress blog did, but we’ll soon be importing our Blogspot content and integrating its content more into the fabric of our site with the same headers and images you’re used to seeing at EmbassyEmeralds.com.

Tell us what you think about it and by all means, if you need emeralds, let us know!
- Garrett

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Recently Embassy Emeralds produced a pair of custom made emerald and diamond cufflinks for one of our customers. They turned out to be quite impressive and the customer was very pleased. After all, emerald and diamond cufflinks are sure to make an impression and so this got us thinking…. Why don’t more guys wear cufflinks?

Certainly enough of us wear long sleeve shirts to the office or when we’re out on the town. And certainly as guys we’re always looking for ways to build and improve our look or impress the ladies. Cufflinks seem like a great and easy way to do exactly that. Very few accessories allow you to assert some individuality, show you have good taste, and create an image that people will respect and perhaps even envy the way a good pair of cufflinks can. Many of us don’t see cufflinks worn every day, and so you can be a trendsetter without even trying.

Adding emeralds, diamonds, and other gems takes cufflinks to the next level. In the case of the customer who had us make the emerald and diamond pair, he wanted something that would be noticed and it’s tough to argue that he didn’t get exactly that. I think he wanted to use the word ‘bling’ but it didn’t come out. Anyway… we knew. Check out some of these unique emerald cufflinks that only Embassy Emeralds can bring to you.

If you’re ready to add a good pair of emerald, diamond, or just plain gold or platinum cufflinks to your repertoire, visit or contact us and we’ll be here to assist you through choosing a set already made or creating a custom set perhaps even with an emerald tie clip.

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Anyone who considers themself a fan of gemstones usually knows a little bit about birthstones. Typically we know our own and perhaps those of our closest family members, but if you want to know them all… here’s a list to refer to:

Why December has five or six birthstones is anyone’s guess. I heard they were thinking of changing it again to just absolutely anything blue.

Well here you have them, use this list as you will. We think birthstone jewelry makes a great gift that’s a bit personalized and lets people know you put some thought into it.

If you’re looking to buy quality loose birthstones, Embassy Emeralds of course can help you with emeralds, but you may not know that we also have sources for many other birthstones including sapphires, rubies, diamonds, citrines, tourmaline, amethyst, aquamarine, and peridot.

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Attention to detail is a good trait to have. In the jewelry business it’s a must. At Embassy Emeralds, we pride ourselves on it and it shows in the quality of our loose emeralds and the designer jewelry we make for our customers. It’s just how we do things. It’s programmed in and we’re forever going to be looking for those ‘little things’ that just aren’t right and need to be fixed. And so for that reason it’s time for us to put out another call to action to correct one of the most common and annoying ‘little things’ we see… The spelling of ‘Colombian Emeralds’. Or is it ‘Columbian Emeralds’? (No, it’s not.) Here’s a brief history lesson to help you remember the difference.

Columbia with a U is a common name for places in the United States. In fact, the United States would have been named Columbia if many of our founding fathers had gotten their way. They favored the name ‘Columbia’ over ‘the United States’, which was seen as too long and awkward. Also many wanted the name Columbia to honor the accomplishments of Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the new world. The debate over this name went on until around the time of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, when proponents of the name Columbia finally gave up their fight, but it wasn’t forgotten however. George Washington later named the place from which the United States would be governed: the ‘Territory of Columbia’, which of course, is now the District of Columbia. Columbia was also the name of a female personification of the United States that was used much like the male equivalent: Uncle Sam. And you may not know that the unofficial U.S. National Anthem was actually ‘Hail, Columbia’ until the Star Spangled Banner was officially adopted in 1931.

Colombia with two O’s is correct if you wish to describe a country in South America that produces the world’s finest emeralds. It is also derived from Christopher Columbus’ name which was Cristóbal Colón or Cristobulo Colombo in Spanish and Cristoforo Colombo in his native Italy. It is from his name that the English term Pre-Columbian or sometimes Pre-Colombian (precolombino in Spanish) is derived, which refers to the period before Europeans landed in the New World.

An interesting note that is completely unrelated to the name debate that went on in the United States, were the name changes going on 50-80 years later in the territories of Great Colombia. Great Colombia included present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and parts of Brazil, Guyana, and Costa Rica but was dissolved in 1830-1831. It was then that Colombia (and small parts of territories that once belonged to Great Colombia) became known as the Republic of New Granada until the name was changed again in 1863 to… The United States of Colombia (no kidding) and again in 1886 to the current, Republic of Colombia.

It’s plain to see that while there is a common origin to both versions of the word Colombia/Columbia, they are distinct and are not interchangeable. Just as it would be incorrect to speak of Colombian emeralds as Columbian emeralds. Columbian emeralds don’t exist and besides, Colombia deserves some credit for one of its most famous legal exports.

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We’ve recently learned that the Government of Colombia is working with the Colombian Emerald Association to set up a new gemological laboratory near the emerald trading district in Bogota. The laboratory has purchased the very latest in advanced digital gemological equipment to accurately identify gemstones of all types and the treatments used on them. Teams of gemologists and chemists will work together here in a manner that ensures the highest accuracy and confidence in the certifications issued by the lab. With the backing of the Colombian government, this new laboratory should protect and further solidify the sound and growing confidence that the current Colombian emerald market enjoys after a period of difficulty.

Carlos Arboleda, president of the Emerald Association who represents miners, exporters, traders and jewelers says, “Nothing illegal”; “We want to make sure that people know that nothing illegal is happening.” The Federation and the Colombian government are also designing joint advertising campaigns aimed to triple sales in five years, which last year totaled $140 million, says Arboleda.

The news of government backed gem lab and a collaborative advertising push is a welcome development in the Colombian emerald trade from Embassy Emeralds’ perspective. While reputable, independent gemologists have always had an important role and have served the Colombian gemstone market well, there has always been the need for an authoritative lab that can operate outside of potential influence from the emerald traders themselves and give greater assurances to emerald buyers. While we don’t feel there is a problem with the way Colombian emeralds are brought to market, the emerald trade like many other aspects of Colombia suffers from an image problem that is largely due to Colombia’s other more well known issues.

Of Note: The independent GIA gemologist we often work with in Bogota has been contracted to be the new lab’s director and will define and implement the procedures for identifying emerald treatments. He’s a respected gemologist for many important international emerald buyers that come to Bogota and his expertise will serve the laboratory well. Our main supplier has also contributed to the new lab by lending emeralds to be used as test subjects and in the calibration of their equipment.

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Many people ask us about trapiche emeralds and are curious about how they got their name. It’s not an English word and so the curiosity is understandable. Here we take a look at what the word means and how to pronounce it. It’s a very brief look however. If you’d like to learn even more about trapiche emeralds, I suggest you read our other trapiche blog that explains in detail, more about this unique type of emerald.

The word is Spanish and its use as a name for these rare emeralds comes from the unique spoked wheel appearance that is similar to a wheel used in the sugarcane milling process. Sugarcane is an important crop in Colombia and other parts of Latin America and so it’s plausible that an association was readily made by someone familiar with the trapiche wheel and the name quickly stuck.

Spanish speakers will have no problem pronouncing ‘Trapiche’ because it sounds just as it looks, but for those of us who are not familiar with Spanish pronunciation, it would sound like: trah-pee-chay. When used in English, ‘Trapiche’ is pronounced trah-peesh. Both are correct and you might find people that use both versions when speaking in English.

Embassy Emeralds has access to several trapiche emeralds in various sizes and qualities beyond what you see on our website. If you’re interested in acquiring one, please feel free to contact us today and we can start searching or send you pictures of others we have available to us.

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It might seem like a no-brainer to most people of how one should examine a gemstone given a loupe and a stone, but few people outside of the trade actually know how to do it effectively. If you fit that description, then this blog is for you. It’s not an exhaustive look at gemstone evaluation and you’re not going to be pro for having read this, but it should help a great deal if you’re looking for where to start.

Before you begin, you need to be sure you have a few things present:

NOTE: Preferably, you’ll be viewing the stone unmounted. This gives you the best opportunity to view the stone as it really is on its own. Gem settings can greatly influence a stone’s appearance, generally improving the apparent color saturation and sometimes hiding flaws.

With a clean stone and everything in place, you can start your examination. If you’ve chosen to hold the stone with your fingers, be sure to hold it in a manner in which you’re only touching the girdle. With the loupe in one hand brought close to the eye (about 1 inch away), bring the other hand with the gemstone into view by bringing the meaty part of your two hands together. This helps steady the gem hand and tends to be very close to the proper distance to focus properly on the stone with the loupe. Slight adjustments with the gem hand will be necessary as you’ll quickly figure out. You’ll want to rotate the stone and view it from several angles. Focus on the surface to detect any cracks or other exterior damage first and then focus deeper to view inclusions and other features of the interior. With practice you’ll be able to quickly examine stones noting the depth of inclusions and features not plainly visible with casual naked eye observations. This is a particularly good practice with emeralds, because of their included nature.

Besides obvious cracks, on the exterior you’ll want to look for chips, scratches, as well as the quality and alignment of the cut. On the interior, take a look at internal fissures if present, inclusions, and be on the lookout for possible foreign substances that could indicate an attempt was made at dying or fracture filling the stone. If you have very little experience in examining gems, take some time to do some homework beforehand. You’ll want to read about the characteristics and concerns that pertain to the stone and the defects you might encounter during your examination.

If you’re looking at the stone to later have it set, a nice trick you’ll want to try is to place the stone in the groove between your fingers with your hand faced down and your fingers together (as shown above). Your skin will provide a backing to the stone that simulates the color deepening effect that many jewelry settings have on gemstones. It really helps to give you a rough idea of how the stone might look once set.

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Working on custom jewelry with online customers is a rewarding experience. It presents us with an opportunity to get to know our customers and work with them online in a way that many online businesses can’t or won’t. Our customers find it educational and in the end, very worthwhile. For us, it’s something we find engaging and sometimes challenging, but extremely satisfying when the finished jewel turns out to be so much more than the customer ever imagined. Since we started maintaining a presence in Bogota, Colombia, we’ve been able to work with several of our customers to turn their custom jewelry ideas into reality.

Most of our custom jewelry requests come from customers that even don’t know we take requests. They often find out while making special requests for stones that may not be shown on the site. We explain that with a presence in Colombia, we are ideally suited to handle custom jewelry requests, as we have immediate access to not only thousands of emeralds and uncut emerald rough, but also gem cutters and expert jewelers with a lifetime of experience working with emeralds. These resources make it much easier for us to locate or cut the stones needed, and have them made into custom handcrafted jewelry pieces in much less time than it takes most jewelers elsewhere to simply acquire the stones. It’s a big advantage, but one that we think isn’t taken advantage of as much as we’d expect.

When a customer decides they may be interested in making a piece of custom jewelry and contacts us to discuss the project, we’ll often call to learn more about what ideas the customer has and how they’d like for it to look. Many times we receive pictures or links to pictures showing similar designs. We also often learn of the significance of the piece and perhaps personal reasons why the piece is being made. We take it all to heart and we continue a dialogue to resolve any design issues, make decisions on the materials to be used, and to work on the fine details. When all is set, the work can begin. The whole process, from first contact to completion of the piece, can take just a few days or up to 3 weeks. That’s not bad, considering it’s a custom design, handcrafted to your specifications, and made with highest quality materials.

To those who read this blog and are considering making custom emerald or diamond jewelry or any jewelry for that matter, we offer you the following advice: 1) Study the matter carefully – read about gold and the gems you want to include 2) Ask questions about the things you are concerned about or don’t understand – It never hurts to ask and especially with us if we have a chance to educate more people about emeralds. 3) Consider quality – When customers ask us to copy designs they find on other websites, sometimes we can do it for less, sometimes we can’t. If we can’t, it comes down to a question of quality and we tell the customer that we can’t because we use higher quality stones and metals… They really matter.

All of the above were produced by Embassy Emeralds and the craftsmen we work with. Place your mouse over each picture to preview the link and to view the photo labels describing each jewel.. To create your custom jewelry masterpiece, family heirloom, or a special one-of-a-kind gift, contact us and we’ll talk about it. 

Filed under: custom jewelry, designer jewelry, emerald jewelry | 2 Comments »