How To Care, Clean And Store Emerald Gemstones

Emeralds are beautiful long-lasting investments regardless of the specific color you own. However, proper handling and care are a must to keep this investment looking gorgeous for many years to come. Despite their breathtaking beauty, caring for emeralds tends to be a bit more finicky compared to other precious gemstones such as rubies or diamonds.

As the birthstone of May, emeralds may be elegant, chic, and sophisticated but are quite fragile. These stones are known to chip and fracture more easily than other precious stones. Learning how to care for your emerald will ensure that it will remain beautiful and sparkling for a long time.

How to Clean Emerald

The good news is that it is a relatively easy and simple undertaking to keep your emerald clean. Emerald jewelry can be cleaned a few times a year or as necessary depending on the stone’s appearance.

The general rule of thumb is to clean your emerald several times annually. While some people take their emerald to a professional who can clean it for them, you can also do the task yourself.

Here are the steps to follow to clean your emerald:

1. Start by using a soft and clean microfiber cloth to get rid of any dirt and oil that built up on your emerald.
2. Prepare a bowl and fill it with lukewarm water before adding some mild soap. Put the emerald into the water and soap mixture.
3. Use a jewelry brush or soft toothbrush to clean the emerald. Make sure you use the brush to get into the hard-to-reach spots and clean every part meticulously.
4. Prepare another bowl with lukewarm water for rinsing. Submerge the emerald fully in this water and check to ensure that there are no leftover soapy residues on the stone.
5. Dry the emerald using a clean and soft microfiber towel. After the jewelry is completely dry, you can now wear or store it again.

How to Store Emerald

On the Mohs scale, emeralds rank 7.5 to 8, which means that metals and harder stones such as diamonds, tungsten, moissanite, or sapphires can scratch them easily. Always store your emeralds in separate fabric-lined jewelry boxes or pouches to keep them free from scratches and dust. Avoid storing your emerald jewelry with other pieces because harder substances may end up scratching the stone.

How to Charge Emerald

If you want to lift and infuse more energy into your emerald stones, you can try placing them under soft sunlight for one hour and allow the light to fill up the gemstone with joyous energy. Some other safe methods to charge your emerald include singing bowls, smudging, and putting it together with geodes and other crystals known to raise energy.

How to Cleanse Emerald

As an energetic partner and precious gem, it is important to take some time looking after your emeralds. The best way of cleansing emerald stone is to run this under some warm water that will wash away any energy buildup.

How to Display Emerald

Generally speaking, green crystals are great for the family and must be displayed in the eastern corner of the house to produce the most influence.

Emeralds are a symbol of abundance, new life, and growth, so putting this stone in the play area or bedroom of a young child will give them the greatest start in life.

A home’s southeast portion is assigned to prosperity and wealth, and once again, green gemstones like emeralds are the most influential here.

Since emerald also symbolizes new beginnings, displaying one in the part of the house that is used for a new enterprise or project is also a wise idea.

Precautions

Here are a few important precautions to remember when handling emeralds:

• Never use commercial jewelry cleaners. Many of these cleaners can be too harsh and unsafe to use on emeralds. These can be abrasive as well, possibly scratching the stone’s surface. These cleaners may also affect the fillers and oils in the stone that can weaken the emerald. Only mild soap should be used when cleaning emeralds.
• Keep emeralds safely away from any harsh detergents and household chemicals.
• Heat can damage emeralds, resulting in the weakening or altering of the stone’s fillers. Heat may also exacerbate fractures. It is why emeralds should never be exposed to hot water.
• Avoid cleaning your emeralds using ultrasonic cleaners because it increases the risks of fracturing the stone. Emeralds are also known for their inclusions known as Jardin. Also, the majority of emeralds are also fracture-filled, which means that fillers were used to treat the natural fractures to further enhance the stability and appearance of the stone. Once placed in an ultrasonic cleaner, the intense vibration and pressure can make the fractures weak and even lead to the dislodging of the fillings.

Tips When Wearing Emerald

While emeralds are considered rather durable stones, these are still technically softer compared to other gems often used in jewelry pieces.

Being less durable than their counterparts without being immune to scratching or chipping, jewelers commonly treat emeralds to boost their durability and bring out their colors’ richness at the same time. Although jewelers do their best to lend these stones lasting stability, emerald owners still need to learn how to be good stewards of these precious gemstones.

Here are several tips to remember when wearing emerald:

• It is recommended to take off your emerald jewelry when applying perfume, mopping, doing the dishes, or swimming. The chemicals involved in these activities can damage the stone’s surface and result in grime buildup.
• A hard blow may cause your emerald stone to chip or break. Keep your emerald jewelry safe by taking it off when engaging in some physical activities like gardening, climbing, or sports.
• Avoid wearing your emerald 24/7. It is best to remove your emerald jewelry when bathing and sleeping aside from removing it when doing more physical activities.
• Always put your emerald jewelry after you have applied perfume, hairspray, or makeup to prevent the chemicals from damaging the stone.