Emeralds are a beautiful and valuable gemstone that deserves to be taken care of properly. One of the best ways to protect your emerald jewelry is by oiling them regularly and storing them properly.
But if you do this incorrectly, you could end up damaging your emeralds.
So, how do you oil emeralds the right way?
In this beginners emerald oil treatment guide, we will discuss the basics of how to oil your emeralds so that they stay looking their best.
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Table of Contents
What Is Emerald Oil Treatment and Why Should You Do It?
When emeralds are mined, most of them are then soaked in cedarwood oil to prevent them from drying out and to optimize the color.
This oil has the same refractive index that emeralds do and it does not have any colorant added.
This is the safest oil to use to keep your emeralds looking their best over the years. How often you will want to oil them depends on how much exposure that your emerald gets to heat, light and soaps that would tend to slowly dry them out.
If you are wearing your emerald daily, and if the emerald is a ring, then chances are that you will regularly need to put it into some cedar oil in a warm sunny place for two days to refresh it.
The oil soaking will enable it to permeate the stones crevices and fissures.
How To Use Emerald Oil
Emerald oil is usually cedar wood oil and can be purchased easily enough.
Take your emerald and soak it in a warm place in the sun (not an oven) for two days to give the emerald time for the oil to soak into all the natural inclusions.
Although it may be tempting, do not buy an oil that has a colorant in it because that colorant will end up creating dark green lines that will be seen with the naked eye as it soaks into the gem.
That is it!
After you have soaked, rinse off the emerald with water and then just dry it.
What Other Oil Is Used To Treat Emeralds?
There are several oils that are used for emeralds, the most popular being baby oil which can work too. Another oil is Canadian Balsam.
The problem with oiling emeralds is that you really will never know what the true quality of the gem is when you buy it unless it has been graded by a Certified Graduate Gemologist.
Emeralds that have been oiled will have a marked improvement in the depth of color and also many of the natural inclusions will be masked.
Sometimes masking inclusions will mean that the stone may be far more fragile than what it appears!
It is nearly impossible to find an emerald that has not been oiled at all, which means that if you are buying a Type III emerald, it will be full of inclusions that are masked by this oiling, and some of those may even be cracks which will help your emerald break apart.
However, that said, if you already own an emerald, you may as well continue to oil it to keep it looking nice.
How To Clean Oiled Emeralds
Cleaning your emeralds is done strictly by hand much the same way you would clean your opals or pearls.
You must never put emeralds in an ultrasonic cleaner lest you dry it out and crack it.
An ultrasonic cleaner means the certain death for a stone that has fissures or layers like pearl and opal does.
To clean your emeralds, simply get a warm damp cloth and clean the surfaces as best as you can.
You can also take your emeralds to your local jewelry store who will use a steamer AFTER they have taken the care to entirely cover the emerald.
The jeweler will not really be cleaning the stone itself, but will be cleaning all the metal around and under it where junk collects.
Here is something else to consider regarding your emeralds:
There are some types of treatments that are used to enhance emeralds.
Knowing what yours has been treated with will determine whether or not you wish to continue with the treatment.
Natural and synthetic resins are alternatives to oil because they do not dry out as quickly. You should find out if your emerald has had Opticon, ExCel or Permasafe added to it, because an overtreated emerald will devalue it.
If your emerald does not show any of these enhancement treatments, then just stick with the cedarwood oil.
Tips For Emerald Care
Although emeralds are tough, they are still emeralds.
Be sure to handle them with care as you would any other gemstone. Emeralds are best kept in a jewelry box by themselves where they will not come into contact with other harder stones that could scratch them.
So if you don’t want to go to the expense of having your emeralds professionally repaired on a regular basis, here are some tips on emerald care:
Never Work While Wearing Emeralds
Whether you’re a car mechanic or a gardener, emeralds should never be worn while working with your hands.
The oils from your skin will eventually dull the emerald’s surface, and the emerald could easily get scratched or chipped if it gets caught on something.
Remove your emerald ring or bracelet even before you do chores around the house so as not to get it dirtier than necessary, and to protect it from being damaged.
Avoid Chemical Treatments
Never soak your emeralds in acetone, alcohol, paint thinner or any type of chemical treatments that a diamond could get away with.
Emeralds will suck up anything that you soak them in and this will in turn make them more brittle, and will break down the composition and natural color.
Keep Your Emerald Jewelry Separated
Do not store your emeralds with other metal jewelry rubbing against it. It is okay to put them in the same container or jewelry box, but make certain that they are not in contact with other harder items that could leave scratches.
Remove Emerald Jewelry Before Shower/Sleep
Do not shower or sleep with your emerald jewelry on.
Sleeping with your emeralds on will only result in dulling them over the years due to the friction of the bedding.
Showering will create a build up of soaps, shampoo and conditioners that will leave a film on the emeralds over a short period of time.
FAQ’s About Emerald Oil Treatment
How often should emeralds be oiled?
If your emerald has not had added resins to it, then you will want to treat it with cedarwood oil about every 6 months if you wear it regularly.
This is assuming that you have not been putting your hands in hot soapy water while wearing it.
If you are, then once a month will be necessary to oil it because each time you dunk your emerald into hot soapy water you are removing the oil from it and causing it to dry out.
Are all emeralds oil treated?
About 95% of emeralds are oil treated, but this is an “acceptable” practice in the trade.
As long as the oil does not have an additional colorant with it to conceal or change its hue, and as long as the treatment is not a resin, then it will not have an effect on price or value.
An emerald that has not been oiled will dry out and become brittle over the years, which will have an impact on the value of an emerald should it crack.
Is baby oil good for emeralds?
Many people use baby oil, castor oil, mineral oil, and anything that is not acidic or caustic and is a natural plant based clear oil.
What you don’t want to do is use an oil that will “leak” out of your stone when exposed to the sun, like coconut oil would do. Coconut oil becomes solid below room temperature, so it may leave white streaks inside your stone until it gets warm!
Final Thoughts
Oiling your emeralds is required from time to time just the same as cleaning your strands of pearls will be depending on how often you use them. Most people are not aware that oiling an emerald should be done because they are unaware of how they grow in nature and that they will dry out.
Whenever you buy emerald jewelry from a jewelry store, first research all that you can about the gemstone and then ask more questions if you spot something that you think you’d like to buy.
Make certain that if it is fairly expensive, that it comes with a Gemologist Report which gives you details about any treatments that it may have undergone besides simple oiling.