Emerald has no published price. Two stones of the same weight can sit a few dinars apart or several thousand, and the difference is always something that can be named. This guide sets out what moves the price of an emerald per carat, shown on stones we hold now. Every price is in Kuwaiti dinars, as it appears on the stone's own page.
How much is an emerald per carat?
Across our emeralds today, the price per carat runs from about 27 KWD for a cabochon to about 1,470 KWD for a vivid green faceted stone from Muzo, in Colombia. That is a spread of more than fifty times within one species. The sections below explain where a given stone lands in that range.
Why is colour the first question?
Emerald is bought for its green before anything else. The most valued colour is a pure green to slightly bluish green, strongly saturated, and not so dark that the stone closes up. Softer and lighter greens are still emerald, and they are priced to match. When the word "vivid" appears in an emerald's name, it is doing real work: it marks the strongest saturation, and it moves the price more than any other single term.
Does origin change the price?
Origin appears on the laboratory report when it can be determined, and a few names carry weight of their own. Colombia is the historic benchmark, and Muzo is its best-known mine. Colombian emerald also forms differently from almost every other source, in sedimentary rock rather than the metamorphic settings of Zambia, Brazil or Russia. Russian emerald comes from the Ural Mountains, where the first find is credited to a charcoal burner who saw green crystals in the roots of a fallen tree. Origin shapes the price, but within any origin, colour decides it.
What does "minor oil" mean on an emerald?
Most emeralds are treated after cutting with a colourless oil, which settles the fine surface-reaching fissures that are part of how the crystal grows. The trade accepts a minor amount of oil as standard. Our product pages record the report's finding in fixed terms:
- Untreated — the laboratory found no treatment.
- Treated - Insignificant — a treatment was detected and judged insignificant.
- Treated - Minor clarity enhancement (oil) — a minor amount of oil, the trade standard.
- Treated - Moderate clarity enhancement (oil) — more oil than a minor amount.
- Untested — the stone has not been to a laboratory, so treatment was not examined.
An untreated emerald is priced well above a comparable treated one, because very few crystals come out of the ground clean enough not to need oil. Two of our Russian emeralds of about a carat show the gap plainly. The Russian Emerald · 1.05 ct, untreated, is 1,100 KWD, about 1,048 per carat. The Russian Green Emerald · 1.33 ct, Treated - Insignificant, is 650 KWD, about 489 per carat.
How much does size add?
More than the weight alone suggests, and in steps rather than a straight line. Below about a carat and a half, the price per carat of a given quality stays fairly level: our Colombian Vivid Green Emerald · 0.79 ct is 220 KWD, about 278 per carat, and the Colombian Vivid Green Emerald · 1.55 ct is 380 KWD, about 245 per carat. When size, colour and a named mine come together, the step is steep. The Muzo Vivid Green Emerald · 2.55 ct is 3,750 KWD, about 1,470 per carat. Large emeralds with good colour are far rarer than small ones, so each carat costs more, not only the total.
What is the jardin, and does clarity matter?
Emerald is expected to have inclusions. The trade calls them the jardin, French for garden, for the way they branch through the green. They are read as the signature of a natural stone. What affects the price is not their presence but how much they take from the brightness of the colour. An emerald that looks clean to the unaided eye is rare, and it is priced accordingly.
Where does the cut come in?
A good cut spreads the colour evenly and holds the weight without leaving a dark or washed-out centre. The step-cut octagon is so closely tied to this stone that it carries its name: the emerald cut. A cabochon, polished as a smooth dome, shows the colour in the body of the stone rather than in its sparkle, and it is the most accessible way into the species. Our Emerald Cabochon · 1.67 ct is 45 KWD.
What should the laboratory report tell you?
For an emerald at any serious price, the report is what makes everything above checkable. It confirms the stone is natural emerald, states the treatment, and gives the origin where the laboratory can determine it. On every certified stone we sell, those findings are transcribed into the specification on the product page, together with the report number.
Emeralds are best judged in daylight and in the hand. Viewings are by appointment in Kuwait City: book a private viewing, or see all our emeralds.