The Price of Emeralds

If you’re someone who loves emeralds, you’re not alone. But they do come in a variety of price ranges. 

Some of the cheapest can be a dollar per carat.  However, for big, profound pieces, a hundred grand is a number seen for a carat of that. 

The gems themselves usually are determined in price based on the quality of this.  Some of the opaquer ones will be less expensive, since they’re used primarily to carve.  The more transparent ones that got the auction houses smiling from ear to ear, usually cost much more. 

Now, for those green emeralds that are transparent and a very vibrant green, these usually are imagined to cost less than a hundred bucks.  They usually tend to be less than a carat in terms of weight, and usually, not as brightly colored as the higher quality ones.  Some of the more affordable ones usually are around $200. But let’s also look at the cuts that are there. 

For instance, some emeralds may be brighter and more colored, but due to the cut of them, they might be cheaper.  However, due to the price of some, they may choose the more affordable because it looks better too. 

The Four Cs and Emeralds 

Emeralds do have the same rules as diamonds, where the 4 Cs are all a part of this. For example, color is the biggest one, because everything but diamonds factor this in. clarity, however, is not avital as diamonds because of the inclusions and the arrangements are what matters here.  Most of the emeralds that you find tend to be highly included, which is normal. This also means that emeralds with a much higher clarity tend to be much greater in price. The preciseness of the arrangement and clarity of these inclusions is also controlled by the different cuts that are there too. 

Then, there is the carat weight, which is the last C of this, which gauges how rare the other factors of this are there and also is one of the main factors when finally determining an emerald’s value. 

Prices and Treatments 

Another factor that we didn’t mention earlier, is the treatments of emeralds, and how this can actually be a big factor in price. Almost 99% of the emeralds out there usually get a clarity treatment through resin or oil filter types.  This is due to the fact that emeralds get classified as Type III gemstones, and this means that they tend to be included quite heavily already.  It’s very rare for emeralds to not be treated, especially since most emeralds are very small in terms of carats. 

Most auction houses have emeralds that are treated.  There are exceptions to this rule. One of these is one called the Rockefeller Emerald. Due to the transparency that’s near perfect, and the lack of enhancements, including the large, 18 carat stone, it’s been sold for about $5.5 million USC. 

Even the untreated ones though, with no inclusions or fame, they usually are still viewed as premiums. Most emeralds are much more eye clean and are not as vivid in terms of greens either, but there are of course, exceptions to the rule. 

You need to also look at the treatments. The more oiled ones for example, may not be as expensive, due to all of this, but some resin treatments are definitely going to maintain the price. 

There are a lot of factors that go into this, and as well, you want to consider how many times this has been reoiled in order to figure out the specific values too.