Columbian and Zambian Emerald

Emeralds are, without a doubt, one of the most sought out gemstones and have been popular for centuries. There are several different sources for emeralds around the world, but Colombia, in South America, has been considered the primary source for a long time. Notwithstanding, Zambian emeralds are a strong competitor and are the second largest producer of emeralds.

 Colombian Emeralds are greener, while Zambian gemstones tend to have a slight hint of blue, adding depth to the stone. Zambian Emeralds have a better clarity and few insertions. Zambian Emeralds are lower priced than Columbian emeralds, better for buyers on a budget.

Colombian emeralds are known to be a more pure-green hue and are similarly renowned as more vibrant, when compared to Zambian emeralds. Depending on where in Colombia an emerald was found, however, it may show off different tints or tones.

However, despite this lack in vibrancy, Zambian emeralds are known to be slightly higher in clarity, as compared to Colombian emeralds. In fact, Zambian emeralds were so clear and clean when they first arrived on the market in the latter half of the last century, that dealers claimed that they had to be fakes. It was only when Tiffany & Co. began using Zambian-sourced emeralds that the gemstones became more widely accepted.

Known for their high quality and beautiful bright color, Colombian emeralds have always been known to be in steady demand. The novelty of Colombian emeralds is their origin and that their value has been constant with time. Most people know of only Colombian emeralds because of their perennial monopoly on the market, but there is more to emeralds than that, and they can be found in other places like Brazil, Ethiopia, or Zambia.

Moreover, an emerald gemstone from Colombia is higher in price than an emerald gemstone of similar quality and size sourced from another country. Today, Zambian emeralds are catching the eye of the top tier of designer for their stunning color, clarity and most importantly, for being sustainably sourced. In this article, the world of Zambian emeralds will be explored in detail. 

In conclusion, Zambian emeralds are known to be a little bit more affordable than Colombian emeralds. Typically, Zambian emeralds tend to have a much higher iron content than other emeralds, resulting in a stronger structure, often measuring higher than Colombian emeralds on the Mohs scale of hardness.