What do I do with my raw emerald?

After you have washed your raw emerald in warm water and dish soap (this works very well in a strainer), there should be plenty of green emerald in plain sight and the black mica matrix often conceals very nice emeralds hidden within.

Hold each piece up to the light to see if it has gem potential otherwise you could overlook something valuable.

Next, remove the matrix. The easiest way to remove the matrix on the emeralds is to tumble them. If you do not have a tumbler, the matrix pieces can be also be carefully broken open with a hammer to reveal the emeralds within. Because the matrix is not very hard, another good method is to flake the matrix off with a knife or a heavy sewing needle. A dremmel tool with a diamond tip will also work, but it is a bit tedious.

It is not important which method you use and sometimes you may need to use more than one method to fully remove the matrix; the important thing is that sometimes the best stuff is found inside the matrix.

How can I tell if it is any good?

The three factors of value for emeralds are Clarity, Color, and Cut (the 3 C's).

Clarity: How well you can see light through the stone and (relative) absence of flaws.

Color: -AAA (best) = dark green -AA (good) = green -A (average) = light green/blue

Cut: -en cabochon - cut smooth and rounded, used for opaque stones like turquoise -faceted - cut with sparkling polished planes, like a diamond. Cabochon grade stones usually have less clarity, translucent to opaque. Facet grade stones are more transparent, with some inclusions in natural emeralds. Inclusions are called jarden are actually prized in emeralds.

A large emerald with excellent Cut, Color, and Clarity can be worth up to $20,000 per carat or more. You might have a good cabochon and possibly come facet grade out emerald that may be worth a fortune!

If you have a rock tumbler the rest can be polished into lovely freeform shapes and used in wire wrap jewelry, medicine bags, good luck charms, gem trees, and more! The nice crystal shapes are best left intact as rare and lovely specimens.