Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl, colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. It is highly prized as a gemstone and by weight is the most valuable gemstone in the world, although it is often made less so by inclusions, which all emeralds have to some degree. The emerald is part of the beryl family and is known as the stone of Peace. It is a soft and gentle healer. It gently balances the energies of the spirit. This stone helps to knit back together that which has become undone.

Emeralds come in many shades of green and bluish green. There is a wide spectrum of clarity, dependent on the inclusions and fractures in the crystal. Emeralds are relatively hard, rating a 7.5 to 8 on the Moh’s scale of hardness. An issue with emeralds is that it is a somewhat brittle stone and as a result is prone to inherent fractures. Almost all emeralds have some kind of inclusions, making eye clean stones that much more valuable because of rarity

Emeralds are almost always treated for color enhancement and strength. The treatment on emerald gemstones would wear off with time and the emeralds will then need to be treated again by gemstone specialists. Emerald gemstones by nature have inclusions and breaks within them. The use of emerald enhancements is to treat these breaks and fill them to 'soften' the flaws and increase the luster of the emerald gems.

Emeralds are commonly treated to improve clarity. Using a practice called oiling or fracture filling, surface reaching fractures in emeralds are filled with oil. Oiling is a practice that has been in use for as long that people have been cutting emeralds. A variety of different types of oils are used to fill emeralds but treatments for emeralds are not permanent. This treatment is used to totally mask the inclusions in an emerald gemstone.

Emerald is regarded as the traditional birthstone for May and the traditional gift for the 55th wedding anniversary. The emerald is part of the beryl family and is known as the stone of Peace. It is a soft and gentle healer. It gently balances the energies of the spirit.