The fluid composition, δD of channel H2O, and δ18O of lattice oxygen have been determined in beryl and emerald from a variety of geological environments and used to constrain the origin of the parental fluids from which beryl has grown. Step-heating analyses performed by quadrupolar mass spectrometry were used to quantify the composition of the fluid phases in beryl from granitic pegmatites and greisens and emerald from Brazil, Colombia, and Afghanistan. An important conclusion is that beryl and emerald have a similar fluid composition, with concentrations of H2O being greater than 90% of the total water in the mineral irrespective of the age of formation (2.0 Ga to 32 Ma) and tectonic settings. However, the Brazilian Santa Terezinha shear-zone emerald deposit contains abundant CO2, up to 13 wt% of the total fluid. A second conclusion is that the channel H2O content for some Brazilian emeralds is higher than the range defined for beryl in the literature, especially for those related to the shear-zone type (2.99 lt; H2O < 3.16 wt%) and the pegmatite type from the Pombos, Pela Ema, and Pirenopolis deposits (2.78 < H2O < 3.01 wt%). Colombian emeralds have very low H2O contents (1.30 < H2O < 1.96 wt%), among the lowest in the world. Brazilian, Colombian, and Afghanistani emeralds have contrasting and restricted ranges of δ18O values. In Brazil, emeralds related to pegmatites have a systematic δ18O inter-deposit variability (+6.3 < δ18O < +12.4‰). The calculated δ18O of the fluid was buffered by the host ultrabasic rocks during fluid-rock interaction. Emerald and cogenetic phlogopite related to shear-zone-type deposits have a quite restricted δ18O range (+12.0 < δ18O 7lt; +12.4‰); the calculated is interpreted to represent the original isotopic composition of the hydrothermal fluid. Relative to Brazil, the δ18O of Colombian and Afghanistani emeralds shows strong enrichment in 18O (+13.4 < δ18O < +23.6‰), and the high calculated δ18O of the fluid suggests extensive reaction with 18O-rich sedimentary or metasedimentary rocks. In Brazil, the δD composition of channels in emerald and the calculated δ18OH2O for phlogopite are compatible with both magmatic and metamorphic origins. A magmatic origin is supported for emeralds associated with the pegmatitic Socotó and Carnaiba deposits (mean δD = −37.8 ± 8‰) and a metamorphic origin is suggested for the Santa Terezinha shear-zone type (mean δD = −32.4 ± 3‰). A metamorphic origin is proposed for Colombian emeralds. Afghanistani emeralds have a δD composition of channels (mean δD = −46.3 ± 1.3‰) that is compatible with both magmatic and metamorphic origins.