What Does An Emerald Mine Look Like

Raw emeralds like cut emeralds are all green but the shade of green varies from blue green to pale yellow green to a rich forest green.

What does an emerald mine look like.

Like cut emeralds raw emeralds can be transparent or translucent a quality that is sometimes called clarity but in the gem trade is referred to as diaphaneity. Emerald is a cyclosilicate. Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl be 3 al 2 sio 3 6 colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Most emeralds are highly included so their toughness resistance to breakage is classified as generally poor.

This specimen is about 6 5 centimeters in height and has the blue green color and medium dark tone that is common in many emeralds mined in zambia. Check the emerald with a loupe using reflected light to check for cracks and inclusions. Emerald crystal from the kagem emerald mine zambia on a matrix of quartz and mica schist. Cracks look like little hairs or threads on the plane of a facet.

We found a few specimens like this where you could see small green crystals in the rock with close inspection or magnification. A greater variety of minerals have been found in north carolina than in any other state more than 300 including some of the most valuable and unique gems in the world. Emeralds with many flaws and cracks around the corners aren t good candidates for setting in jewelry. Even if they can be set without damage they aren t likely to last long in the setting.