Can Emerald Go In Water? (ANSWERED)

For a short answer, yes, Emerald can go in water.

But you have to be cautious about how long you keep the gem in the water and clean it carefully.

When it comes to your jewels, to make them last, you’ll have to learn how to care for them.

Below you will find out more about putting emeralds in water and caring for the beautiful green gem.

Can Emerald Go In Water? (EXPLAINED)

What Is an Emerald Gem?

Green emeralds are varieties of the mineral beryllium.

The mineral’s crystalline lattice structure contains tiny amounts of chromium and vanadium, which gives it a green color.

Now let’s discuss the toughness of the beautiful gemstone.

The Mohs scale measures gems and minerals by their hardness.

These numbers are presented based on how easy or difficult it is for one mineral to scratch another.

Many may mistake the gem for being fragile, but the Mohs Scale will tell you otherwise.

Based on the Mohs Scale, the mineral emerald has a hardness between 7.5 – 8 out of 10, which means it’s pretty durable.

Although about 90 percent or more of emeralds are fracture-filled.

The procedure of fracture-filling involves filling internal fractures with a foreign substance to improve the appearance of a gem.

In other words, there have been modifications made to the gem to enhance its beauty and features.

Emeralds are classified as type 3 gemstones and have visible inclusions.

These natural inclusions help make minerals unique and give them special characteristics.

Emeralds often go through an oil treatment to help improve their clarity, so many consider the gem fragile.

It also means you’re going to have to be extra careful when you clean your beautiful green gems.

If you ever need to clean an emerald item, you can safely put it in warm soapy water and gently scrub the gem.

But you can not steam the gem or put it in a cleaning solution containing any organic solvent.

The steaming and cleaning solution is not compatible with the oil treatment and can remove it.

How to Clean Emeralds in Water

Now that you know that you can put emerald stones in water but have to be careful, let’s discuss how to clean the gem.

Below are the correct steps to take on how to wash an emerald gem in water:

Step one: wipe dirt and oil accumulated on the emerald gemstone with a soft micro-fiber cloth.

Step two: fill a bowl with lukewarm water and put mild soap in it. Next, place the gem in the bowl.

Step three: brush the gemstone with a soft toothbrush and make sure to brush the hard-to-reach areas to make sure it’s clean.

Step four: fill another bowl with lukewarm water and put the gemstone in the bowl for no longer than 5 minutes. After five minutes, check the jewel for leftover soapy residue.

Step five: dry the gemstone with a clean microfiber towel.

Once the gemstone is dried, you can set it out for a moon ritual, or if it’s a fashion piece, you can put it back on!

There are also some vital care notes when it comes to caring for your emerald jewels.

As follow, always remember to clean your emerald gemstones only a few times a year.

You should also never wear emerald jewelry while sleeping, showering, or swimming.

Lastly, don’t forget to store it away from other jewels, as emeralds can be easily damaged.

What Else Should You Know About the Mohs Scale and Emerald

The Mohs Hardness Scale is a valuable tool for identifying minerals’ hardness.

It is a measurement of the resistance of a mineral to scratching.

The calculation of scratching the mineral against another substance with a known hardness.

The scale assigns each mineral a value between 1 and 10.

Minerals ranking closer to ten are the hardest and most resistant to scratching.

While minerals ranking closer to one are least resistant to scratching.

There’s confusion about a mineral’s hardness equals to its sensitivity to damage as a whole.

Remember, gems can be vulnerable to wear in different ways besides a scratch.

For example, some gemstones are prone to easily breaking, deforming, and crumbling.

This means the gems that rank higher on the scale can break when subjected to stress.

Minerals go under another scale to categorize for their lack of toughness.

For example, Emerald ranks with a hardness of eight, but it often contains many inclusions and fractures.

What does this mean? It means the emerald gemstone is resistant to scratching, but it is not very durable in a setting.

So if you want your emerald stones and jewelry to last for years, make sure to take special care of them.

Wrap Up

Now you know you can put an emerald in water and not worry about ruining it when you do. Remember never to add a cleaning solution to it or steam as you could do damage to the material.

But if you don’t want to clean the stone, you can always take it to a jeweler to clean it instead.