20-4-2021
The Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF) latest edition of Journal of Gemmology points out that Afghan emeralds have two inclusion features “quite similar to” Colombian emeralds.
With GemTOF instrument, the research team analysed and compared over 100 gem-quality emeralds from the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan from a carat to more than 30 carats, with hundreds of emeralds from different origins, namely Colombia, Zambia, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Davdar.
Observations revealed that Afghan emeralds are characterized by spiky to tubular fluid inclusions and very fine parallel hollow tubes, both are similar inclusion features that can be found in Colombian emeralds. Chevron growth pattern and gota-de-aceite, common inclusions in Colombian emeralds have relatively less presence in the tested emeralds from Afghanistan. Speaking of chemical composition, the major difference between Afghan and Colombian is the former tends to contain a higher iron concentration.
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