Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl and is highly prized as a gemstone. Emerald is one of the four most valued 'precious' gemstones along with Ruby, Sapphire and Diamond. By weight Emerald is the most valuable gemstone in the world, however its value decreases if it is highly included (all natural Emeralds do have natural inclusions to some degree).

Emeralds can be found in many shades of green and blue green, however the most valuable Emeralds are those with a deep yet vibrant colour and few inclusions.

Emerald is the traditional birthstone for May and is associated with the astrological signs of Taurus and Cancer. Emerald is the traditional stone for the 55th wedding anniversary and is also sometimes given for the 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries.

Emerald has a hardness of 7.5 to 8 on Moh's hardness scale, however the hardness of an Emerald is often reduced by inclusions.

Cleaning your Emerald jewellery: Emeralds can be gently cleaned using warm water. The vast majority of Emeralds are oiled to improve the clarity of the stone by reducing the visibility of inclusions. Take great care when cleaning your Emerald jewellery as cleaning may remove or dilute the oil, causing the clarity to be reduced and the stone to require re-oiling. Emeralds have sensitivity to high temperatures and so warm rather than hot water should be used for cleaning to avoid the chances of thermal shock. It is not advisable to clean Emeralds in an ultrasonic tank.

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