Recently, Emeralds have been a hot topic in the jewelry industry. Since there has been so much bad press about the treatment emeralds, prices for this rich green gemstone have actually decreased. Emeralds have been treated with colorless oils since the time of Cleopatra. Even today, they are still oiled right at the mines. The oiling procedure is done to protect the emerald during the cutting process and also to minimize the visibility of fractures.
Most emeralds come out of the ground in a highly included state.
Recently, the emerald treaters have begun to use colorless oils in combination with synthetic resin fillers which prevent the oils from seeping out of the stone. It is the use of these colored oils and hardeners that has caused such a scare in the industry. At Bijoux Extraordinaire we prefer to sell extra fine grade emeralds that have either no fillers at all or just a colorless oil from the cutting process. Although the colored fillers and hardeners are becoming a common practice in the jewelry industry, we feel that no gemstone should ever be sold without full disclosure of all treatments. Color Change Garnets offer an affordable alternative to Alexandrite - a gem known for changing from red to green as lighting conditions change.