Over the centuries, several cultures have considered the emerald to be a mighty stone.
Mines are on virtually every continent, namely the USA, Brazil, Afghanistan, Spain, South Africa, Zambia, Switzerland, Cambodia, and China. The first emerald mines on record are those in southern Egypt (over 2000 years ago). Still, the emeralds that are unanimously considered the most beautiful and of the best quality in the world are those from Colombia, producing more than half of all emeralds.
Color, clarity, cut, and carats are the four factors used to determine the value of an emerald, the crucial being - color.
Valuable and excellent quality emeralds are very transparent, with the most valued color being vibrant green or bluish, with uniform saturation and without zonality of colors.
The smaller the number of inclusions, the greater its transparency and, consequently, the higher its price. However, most emeralds have inclusions, and this can be very important in determining their natural origin, since the market is flooded with synthetic emeralds (Gilson, hydrothermals, etc.) as well as their geographical origin.
The rarity of this gemstone is also an important factor, as there are fewer emeralds in the world than diamonds, so high-quality emeralds can be worth more per carat than diamonds.