Fake Emerald Names

Within the true names of any gemstone lies great significance. Mostly inherited from the local languages of Greek or Italy, these names carry great weight in the trade market. With very few exceptions, the name of a genuine gem always consists of only one word. The emerald's name is indirectly derived from the Greek word "smaragdos." A term ambiguously applied to several kinds of green stones which can be used to the fake emeralds’ advantage. Remember, no one ever names a real gem after any country.

Consider the title, Indian Emerald. Such names are market-created to boost the sale of the stone. Fake emeralds names are sometimes preceded with additional descriptive terms like “evening” and “eye clean.”

Labels like Tecla, Vanadium, Uralian, Cape, Prismatic, Night and Oriental emerald are just a few of the names that mask semi-precious gems as originals. Other misleading names include Chatham, Gilson, Broghto, Electric, Ferrer's, Medina, Endura, Spanish, Emeraldine, Lithia and Mascot emerald.

The most common fake emeralds on the market to day are Chatham Emeralds, Gilson emeralds and Oriental emeralds. Chatham emeralds and Gilson emeralds are synthetic stones. Oriental emeralds are green sapphires, a gemstone worthy of merit, but not an emerald.