What Does An Emerald Mine Look Like

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.

What does an emerald mine look like.

Emerald is a cyclosilicate. Most emeralds are highly included so their toughness resistance to breakage is classified as generally poor. Emeralds with many flaws and cracks around the corners aren t good candidates for setting in jewelry. Cracks look like little hairs or threads on the plane of a facet.

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. 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. North carolina designated the emerald as the official state precious stone in 1973. In the photo this looks a lot like the aventurine green quartz that you can find at the mine but the crystals and color are more like emerald.

Beryl has a hardness of 7 5 8 on the mohs scale. Check the emerald with a loupe using reflected light to check for cracks and inclusions. 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. 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.