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Emeralds are green stones composed of beryl, a chemical that gives them their special deep-green color. People have been treasuring emeralds since the ancient times. It is said that emeralds were a favorite among the scientists of the emperor Nero, who used these as a means to improve the vision of the emperor. They were also the obsession of Empress Cleopatra who filled her clothing with ornaments made of emeralds gemstones. As time passed by, the main use of emerald has converted to decorating engagement rings to seal commitments between lovers.

Such has been the demand for emerald that it’s been subjected to endless forgeries. Some of them are cheap imitations while others are manufactured through processes meant to compliment the original. This is supposed to offer a low cost alternative for those on a budget. Here is when the cubic zirconia diamond comes into play.

Cubic Zirconia is actually the crystalline presentation of a mineral called Zirconium Dioxide. It’s synthesized by man-made process to make it a perfect copy of a diamond. The end result is usually spotless and optically flawless. Although the natural form of this presentation of the mineral is clear, the process can be tampered to make gems of different colors and make them pass as other gemstones.

There are certain ways to recognize an original emerald gemstone from a fake one. Beware: before attempting to recognize an emerald gemstone online, you should have first-hand contact with the real thing first. Here is what you have to do:

• Check the Color

A natural emerald gemstone and a cubic zirconia diamond have very different nuances in their color composition. A natural emerald gemstone has a profound green color. A cubic zirconia diamond passing as an emerald might show slight imperfections in color. Forgeries usually bring the green closer to yellow in some areas of the stone. Full yellow or greenish yellow gemstones are considered olivine or garnets. And not quite as valuable.

• Look for Light fire

Gemologists have this feature identified just by sight. To the untrained eyes, details like light fire may go unnoticed if the gemstone is too little. Light fire has to do with the shine of the gemstone under white light. A natural emerald gemstone doesn’t shine that much, so light fire is hardly visible on them. Because of their near matte surface. A cubic zirconia diamond passing as an emerald will reflect a lot of light and evidence light fire.

• Compare the Costs

This advice may sound like a no-brainer. But if you are buying an emerald gemstone online from a reputed retailer, you should carefully check the cost of the product you are buying and go through the features. A natural emerald gemstone may cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, depending on the quality, shape or the accompanying jewelry. A cubic zirconia diamond passing as an emerald will usually cost a lot less. Both gemstones feature the same chemical composition down to the molecular level. But the second option is still a much cheaper man-made version of the original.

• Take a peek, up close and personal

Buying an emerald gemstone means business because of the monetary transaction that is about to happen between you and the jewelry seller if your options to save money will not let you go to Tiffany’s, but the pawn shop next to it. You should take a basic visualization test to the gemstone you want to buy. An emerald gemstone has a lot of internal imperfections and it has a cloudy appearance that makes reflection hard. A forgery will reflect anything and it will be pristine in their interior.

• Check the Borders

While giving eyesight to this emerald gemstone you want to buy, you might want to check the borders of the gemstone and the upside of it looking for slight bends. A natural emerald gemstone will have a uniform shape. A forgery or a cubic zirconia diamond alteration will have internal work done on it with glass and epoxy to make it look high-quality. If you see bending and layers over layers in the borders of your emerald gemstone make another pick. You are about to be ripped off.

• Ask for Magnifying Lens

There are a lot of characteristics we have stated that can be watched easily. But if you need to see them in detail and notice the imperfections, you can do so better under magnification. Most jewelers have a magnifying lens at their disposal and if you have basic training to know what you are looking for, you’ll get it at first sight.

Conditions for this visual examination should include a narrow, incandescent light, and getting the gem in the right angle, under a sheet of white paper to see the imperfections. Remember: if you catch irregular patterns and flaws within the stone. And cloudy internal composition you are probably dealing with a real emerald gemstone.

When buying an emerald gemstone online, take into consideration the fact that you will not be able to see any of this irrespective of the kind of zoom the online gallery offers.

• Look for the Inclusions

When you have an emerald gemstone under the magnifying glass, you can look on the surface for a feature gemologists call “Inclusions.” A real emerald gemstone will have bubbles and little air compartments in the interior in a unique distribution. These inclusions are never the same in two emeralds and they work as well as a signature for most of these gemstones. A cubic zirconia diamond passing as an emerald shows a whole constitution with no imperfections under the glass, making it easy to spot to the untrained eye if you know what to look for.

There is a wide market for emerald gemstones and there has always been a market for precious stones. The lack of technologies in the past didn’t allow for many forgeries to be available. But today, it is easy to scam people to sell a piece of jewelry with the ultra-modern technology.

Fortunately, the same technology allows us to separate the forgeries from the real thing. There is always an emerald gemstone for anyone willing to pay for it. Bear in mind that the key to finding a quality gemstone is doing basic research on your retailer of choice and the size of your budget. Otherwise, you must conform to the next best thing. Cubic zirconia diamonds look pretty despite the fact that they are not emerald gemstones.