You love the colour green, making it an obvious choice for your engagement ring. Naturally you have a few questions about which gemstone you should choose: what's better, an Emerald or a Green Sapphire? Price, colour, clarity and durability all play a big part in deciding which gem is right for you.
What is an Emerald?
Emeralds are part of the beryl mineral family, and are well known for their intense, vivid green colouring. Well known for their stunning emeralds, Colombia, Zambia and Ethiopia are popular emerald regions that offer beautiful gems. A good quality emerald will have a vivid green hue with excellent transparency and minimal inclusions, while a lesser quality emerald may look more opaque with various undertones and intrusive inclusions present.
What is a Sapphire?
Sapphires belong to the corundum mineral family, and are best known for their durability and stunning blue hues, however they do in fact come in a wide array of colours including teal and green. Known as the sapphire capital of the world, Sri Lanka is the most famous sapphire source, with many other sapphires coming from regions in Australia and the United States. A good quality sapphire is characterised by its intense colour, eye-clean clarity and brilliance.
Emerald (left) vs Green Sapphire (right)
Colour:
Emeralds are known for their intense green colour, varying from light and translucent to vivid dark hues, with bluish or yellowish green undertones depending on the quality and origin of the gem.
Sapphires are renowned for their brilliant blue hues, as well as a spectrum of other colours, including teal, peach, yellow, purple, and even colourless (known as white sapphires). More recently, sapphires have gained popularity for their unique teal and green hues, with bi-coloured Parti Teal sapphires being the most sought after, especially from Australia and Montana.
Durability and Hardness:
It is a very important factor to consider when choosing a gemstone, since engagement rings are intended to be worn daily and last a lifetime. The Mohs Scale measures a gems hardness on a scale of 1 - 10, with emeralds ranking 7.5 - 8. This places them just below sapphires at 9, and diamonds at 10.
The recommended hardness for a gemstone you intend to wear daily is around 7.5 and upwards, meaning both emeralds and sapphires are durable enough for an engagement ring. Like any piece of fine jewellery, taking good care of your ring, and choosing the right gemstone will ensure lasting durability.
Clarity and Inclusions:
Emeralds are renowned for their natural inclusions, which is part of their overall charm and appeal. When choosing an emerald for your engagement ring it is important to prioritise excellent clarity, in order to ensure the gem is less prone to damage and doesn’t impact the overall brilliance and appearance of the stone. When buying an emerald, even one with excellent clarity will have slight inclusions visible to the naked eye. Striking a balance between desired colour, clarity and price is challenging, but achievable with an experienced jeweller.
Sapphires by nature have fewer inclusions, and hence they are a really popular choice for an engagement ring, as you will be able to achieve your desired colour, clarity and size for a more affordable budget of approx. $4,000 - $10,000.
Rarity and Price:
Emeralds and sapphires are both precious gemstones and are both equally rare. If you are looking for eye-clean clarity emeralds, as these are extremely rare, they can cost upwards of $20,000 or more. Sapphires on the other hand, while rare in their diverse spectrum of colour, are a lot more of an affordable gemstone.
Due to the nature of the gem itself, a sapphire with no visible inclusions to the naked eye, and intense vivid colour, will cost less when compared with the same quality emerald, making it a fantastic choice if you do not wish to compromise on clarity or colour.
Emeralds on the other hand, have a colour that simply cannot be matched. If you have your heart set on their intense green hue, and adore their natural inclusions, then it is possible to find a stunning emerald if you have a higher budget.
Which one is right for me?
No matter if your special piece is intended as an engagement ring or one-of-a-kind anniversary gift, both emeralds and sapphires have enduring beauty and unique visual colours and brilliance, making them fantastic choices for heirloom jewellery.
Go for an Emerald if: You simply cannot pass up an emeralds unique colour, and have a budget that allows for this gem.
Go for a Sapphire if: You are looking for a centre stone with fewer inclusions, high colour saturation, mixed tone gems, and at a more affordable price, we see a lot of people consider teal and green sapphires.