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

1. subjected to a sharp blow. This is why the "emerald cut" was developed, it reduces the incidence of breaking stones as they are cut.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. cleaned with ultrasonic cleaners. Like detergents, these cleaners can remove the protective oils or waxes and subject the stone to vibration as well.