The worth of an emerald usually depends upon the natural grading of that emerald. When we talk about grading, it is the factor which
involves a number of things which need to be taken into the account. Some of
those sub-factors include color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. Nevertheless,
the biggest factor in this regard is the color of an emerald stone. The matter
of fact is that the grading can be judged only by viewing the color of the
emerald because an expert would make right assumptions after viewing the color
of the emerald.
Emerald color
As mentioned above, quality of natural emeralds is judged by
viewing the color of the emerald. Based on color of natural emeralds, there are
three categories to talk about. These three categories are based on hue, saturation
and tonal grade of the natural emerald. The degree of lightness or darkness of
green color in the emerald is associated with tonal grade. The color in the
emeralds may range from very light to very dark, including every shade which
comes in between these two. According to general formula, the emerald with very
light color is less expensive and not quite a valued one. On the other hand,
increasing darkness indicates increasing value of the emerald.
Another factor is the hue of emerald. Hue mainly includes
type of green color in the emerald. Naturally, there can be blue and yellow
shades found in the natural emeralds. However, most of the emeralds found in
the market are Columbian emeralds which include bluish green shades. Another
factor is the saturation which, in terms of emerald color, includes shades
ranging from dull green to vivid green.
The scales of emerald
grading
Since emerald is a gemstone, it is graded based on the
standard grading system in which several features are considered. The major
grades of emerald are mentioned below.
- Natural AAA: This is the best category of emeralds available naturally. This category involves 10% of total emeralds found in the nature. These emeralds are rich green in color. The inclusions in it can range from moderate to slight. And these Swat EmerAlds come with higher brilliance.
- Natural AA: This one is the second best category of gemstones. Nearly 20% – 30% of all gemstones belong to Natural AA category. Emeralds belonging to this category are medium green in color and have moderate amount of inclusions.
- Natural A: This category of gemstones comprise of 50% - 75% of all gemstones. Emeralds belonging to Natural A are dark green, heavily included and opaque. Although this category of emeralds is also expensive, it still lags behind other two categories.
