19+ Emerald Earrings from Stunning Natural Stones

Emerald earrings are a unique pair of jewelry. They are an ideal gift because aside from giving a precious gift with exquisite beauty, you are also giving jewelry that carries tons of meanings. Emerald is the birthstone for people who are born in the month of May. Not only is this gem beautiful, many people see it as a lucky gem, it also features a vivacious green color.

If you want your emerald earrings to have an extra twist, you can combine it with diamonds. The two stones match each other when combined in a piece of jewelry. They are the perfect winning combination when it comes to sparkle and color. When it comes to the designs, sizes, and cut, the possibilities are simply endless.

Given that there are tons of possibilities for the design, a person planning to purchase an emerald earring should be aware of the many options in the market. You will need to have familiarity with things like different earring styles, gems, shapes, settings, types, and metal. You may also need to have a few knowledge on the face shapes that a specific earring style suits. This way, you are sure that the earring you pick will be perfect.

Beautiful Natural Emerald Earrings

Emerald Earring Styles

Emerald earrings come in numerous varieties of designs: from the small delicate stud emerald earrings to the dramatic dangling emerald pieces. You can surely pick any design you like as long as it suits your individual style and taste. You can also base your decision on choosing the earring with the knowledge on how formal or informal the clothes you gonna wear it with are. You will also take into consideration the shape of your face because certain styles go well with some face shapes while some don’t.

Stud Emerald Earrings

Stud emerald earrings sit on the earlobe. They can feature a small, medium, and large pieces of emeralds. Small stud earrings are simple and delicate. They require careful handling. A person can easily lose tiny pieces.

Larger stud earrings may feature huge emeralds and bolder designs and patterns. The good thing about stud earrings is their versatility. You can wear them with casual wear, professional attire, and formal dresses without any problem. They are also perfect for all face types. If you want to be safe in buying a gift for someone, stud earrings are the best way to go.

Hoops

People usually wear hoop earrings on the lobes too. When worn, they form a loop under the earlobes. Their sizes vary from small close-fitting loops to large flirty circles. The design may also vary.

Some hoop earrings feature the gems embedded along the loop while some feature a hanging a pendant below the hoop. If you are skeptical about getting hoop earrings, take a look at your face shape. Hoop earrings typically look good on angular face shapes like square and diamond face shapes.

Drop Earrings

Drop emerald earrings have one of more drop-shaped emerald gems. Variations that feature only one drop-shaped gem may either place it hanging just below the earlobe or hanging at the end of a long metal setting.

Short drop earrings are perfect for casual events while long drop earrings are an excellent accessory option for dressy and formal occasions. Check out how Emily Blunt wore the Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie Modern Art Deco Earrings in Emerald in the recent Cannes! Drop earrings typically look good on heart-shaped faces.

Chandelier Earrings

Chandelier earrings are a type of dangling earrings that features tiers that look similar to a chandelier. If you are going to wear the earring for a formal elegant event, then this is the perfect design for you as it goes well with elegant dresses. Aside from being a highly elegant choice of earrings, these earrings also go well with face shapes that are rectangular and square.

Cluster Earrings

Cluster earrings may either be a dangling earring or a stud. It features several smaller stones or gems tightly packed together to form a larger pattern or design. The designs and patterns possibilities are endless, The most common design are flowers, stars, and hearts. Cluster earrings look perfect on diamond face shapes and oval face shapes.

Emerald Earring Settings

Another important variable in considering the emerald earring is its setting. There are three main types of setting used in emerald earrings: claw setting, bezel setting and pave setting.

Claw Setting

Three or more metal prongs hold the emerald in place in a claw setting. Claw setting or prong setting is best for sparkling gems as this setting allows more light to enter and pass through the gem which results in a maximized brilliance. If you want your emerald earring to be the fairest of them all, then go for an earring that features claw setting.

Bezel Setting

In a bezel setting, the metal surrounds and frames the emerald gem. Although the bezel setting limits the light that passes through the gem, it also has a good effect on the gem. It makes the stone appear larger than it really is.

If you are on a budget and you can only get a small gem for your earring but you want it to look bigger, then go for an earring with bezel settings. Bezel setting provides more security as it can hold the stone better than claw which minimizes the chances of losing the stone. 

Pave Setting

Pave setting embeds the small emerald gem in between beads of the metal setting that makes it look like a continuous surface of emeralds.

Precious Metal Settings

The next step in choosing your emerald earring is deciding the metal. Here are the most common metal settings you can find: Gold, Platinum, and Sterling Silver.

Gold Earrings

The purest gold in the market is 24 karat. However, it is too malleable. Gold is alloyed with other metals so it can be more durable. Jewelers create a more durable metal for daily wearing. The ideal gold purity is 18 karat but if you are on a budget, 19 karats or 9 karat gold is also a great option but more affordable. Gold comes in different colors like yellow, rose, and white. Gold mixes with different metals to achieve these colors. Pure gold mix with zinc and copper to achieve yellow gold, alloys with silver and palladium to achieve white gold, and alloys with copper to achieve rose gold.

Platinum Earrings

Platinum is more expensive than gold. It is highly durable and hypoallergenic. The metal has an unbelievable luster. Platinum mixes with small amounts of iridium. Platinum is often ninety to ninety-five percent pure.

Sterling Silver Earrings

Pure silver is also a malleable metal like gold that is why it mixes with other metals to achieve a more durable form ideal for daily jewelry wearing. The most popular alloy of silver is Sterling Silver. You can identify sterling silver in 925, .925, 92.5 or “Ster”. Pure silver mixes with 7.5 percent of copper. Sterling silver has a brilliant luster but it is less expensive than most precious metals like gold and platinum. Sterling silver has an ideal malleability to form simple and intricate designs. Sterling silver is also prone to tarnishing. Silver requires regular polishing and proper storage.

Evaluating Emerald Earrings

You can evaluate a precious gemstone like emerald using four major criteria: cut, color, clarity, and carat weight.

Emerald-Cut Earring

Cut refers to the way the stone has been shaped. Ideally, a cut should maximize the stone’s innate color and clarity. The shape of the gem plays a big role in the style of an earring. Emerald earrings come in many different shapes like rectangular, square, oval, pear, marquise, triangle, and heart. Most commonly, emeralds feature a step-cut. In a step-cut, emerald facets are broad and flat. Step-cut emphasizes the color, depth, and clarity of the emerald. You can evaluate cut according to symmetry, evenness, and proportionality.

Emerald Color

The color shows the presence or absence of minerals in stone. People treasure emeralds for their green color. Emeralds achieve a green color because of the presence of chromium and vanadium. When evaluating an emerald, there are three things you should consider: hue, saturation, tone, and saturation. When looking for the hue or the general stone color, you may see green and other color tints that are not green. Tone refers to the depth of the green emerald color from light to dark. On the other hand, saturation refers to the purity of green and the number of other tints that are present on the emerald. Vivid green is the most highly valued emerald color.

Emerald Clarity

Clarity indicates the amount of internal and external marks. Internal marks refer to the inclusions inside the gem while external marks refer to the blemishes outside the gem. Emeralds are naturally highly-included. Everyone would agree that inclusions contribute a lot in achieving their trademark vivid green color.

Since emeralds are a natural product of nature, expect to see fissures and cracks on them. You do not have to worry because emeralds undergo a special oiling process to improve their strength and to add protection to the stone. You can base your grading on diamond clarity grades because emeralds do not have a standard grading option yet. You need to choose the most conflict-free emerald. This ensures that the gem was obtained in an ethical manner.

Emerald Carat Weight

Lastly, carat refers to the weight and size of the emerald. People measure the weight of the gem in karats, where one carat is equal to 200 milligrams. Jewelers divide karats into 100 points where the weight cited for earrings is the total weight of all the gems in both earrings.

Getting your Emerald On

Regardless of the style or design, you are looking for, emerald earrings are classic jewelry you can try. It combines rich color and sparkle that makes them perfect for casual attire and evening gowns. Before getting one, you should equip yourself with the knowledge about them. Be more familiar with the styles available, the metal setting, and the best ways to evaluate an emerald stone. Overall, we hope that the knowledge of earring styles, stone settings, metal settings, and four c’s of emerald will help you make an informed decision in getting your earrings. You may also like other emerald jewelry lists like emerald rings or other precious gem earrings like opal earrings.