Engagement Emerald Stone- Thoughts Please!!

[LemonMoonLex]

Hello Again!
A few of you may remember my original thread ever about my mothers sapphire ring and how I originally wanted to use it as my engagement ring; Well after thinking about it I think itd be beautiful to have a brand new ring, a symbol of a fresh start for our relationship.

Since the diamonds that I love are all 8-9mm, rosecut, and 11k (which right now we cannot afford) I have decided upon a colored stone engagement ring which is totally representative of who I am. I'm a little strange and different so it fits me perfectly.
The meaning of emeralds is also beautiful.
They represent successful love, infinite patience, unity, compassion, and above all else unconditional love.

Also, I'm very aware that out of the colored stones used for engagement rings that emerald is the weakest. I plan to bezel set this baby, if we actually go through with the purchase and I'm also very aware and careful of my rings at all times. Plus if something happens I'm a big believer in it happening for a reason and so ill have to find another emerald that I love

So while were not ready yet to have the setting made (I know exactly what id do for this stone), I found this stone and have fallen in love. I didn't want to pass up the opportunity as ive been looking at untreated emeralds for a while now with no avail. Alas, I'm pretty much a newbie and since this would be a pretty big purchase with even bigger and more important symbolism, I want to make sure that others think its as lovely as I do or let me know if this isn't a good deal or if something is fatally wrong with the gem.

So the purchase is contingent upon a GIA report, and if it comes back with any treatments I am able to get my $120 that I paid returned from the report.
The stats:
-Its from Zambia (he also included the name of the mine).
-its carat weight is 1.47cts
-it is 8 x 6.7 x 4.5mm
-He claims that the stone is completely untreated and unoiled.
-Price total is $1,848.00

For me personally the color is stunning, I am in love and only want a blue/green emerald.
So if the report comes back with zero treatments other than heat, do you think we should pull the trigger?
Thoughts? Considerations?

 

[voce]

I think you should! It looks extremely clean for an emerald, so as long as it's a natural stone and not a lab stone that price is totally fair.

 

[chrono]

No straight on close up of the emerald (not tilted or off centered)?

 

[LemonMoonLex]

Well the first photo is straight on just not super close!
Let me ask him for a closeup!

 

[peacechick]

The cut seems slightly wonky but the color is absolutely amazing and so is the clarity,

 

[LemonMoonLex]

So hes going to take a few more photos of the gem close up and also send me a video of the gemstone but its going to take him a few days. I will post both here when I get them!

@chrono Do you have any immediate thoughts or do you need to see more photos first?
What do you think about the price tag for the gem if the report comes back and is in alignment with what he's described it as?

 

[chrono]

It’s very promising!

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Well the first photo is straight on just not super close!
Let me ask him for a closeup!

The hand shot is the one that has me slightly worried because it looks like there's possibly some half and half extinction happening. I'd want to be sure that's just a reflection before buying...or find out what's indeed happening.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I think the Emerald looks beautiful. Pretty rare to have an untreated emerald of that clarity.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

The hand shot is the one that has me slightly worried because it looks like there's possibly some half and half extinction happening. I'd want to be sure that's just a reflection before buying...or find out what's indeed happening.

I'm trying to think about how comfortable I'd be if it does end up having extinction on those two ends.
I think the video and only seeing it in person-extinction or not- will cement or dissolve my love for the stone and decision to use it in my engagement ring.

Also if it does have extinction yet i find it to be particularly stunning then I wouldn't chuck it based on that alone. If the color and clarity is as nice as it is in photos, I think I'd be willing to forgo that aspect.

It is nice to know exactly what may be going on though and I appreciate your thoughts very much! Also since I'm not greatly well versed in cut gemstone specifics id love to have you come back and give me your opinion again after video and close ups.


@LisaRN I agree and thank you for your comment Its not the largest gemstone that I wanted (I wear 70% silver and everything is HUGE) but the size is very nice and I can see it in a beautiful bezeled setting with decorative claws. The color is probably whats most important to me and of course before that is having an untreated stone. (Other than heat- which is almost possible to escape.) I can't wait to get back the report already even though it hasnt even been sent yet! Ugh the wait

Also since I'm such an emotional person I just wanted to say, that as a long time past lurker who's read many many gemstone engagement threads- while I dont know any of you personally- I see the fact that you're willing to help a stranger out and share your gathered expertise, I see that as a gift and so kind. So far I've found this platform to be filled with kind hearted, warm, and loving women who just love gems. Its especially nice to be able to share in my passion (my partner is so not into them) but to have your help when it comes to the most symbolic ring of my life- wow. I'm moved!

Okay emotional spew of cheesiness over

 

[voce]

I do think that emerald is stunning. And I'd like to add that pretty much all cuts except for cabochon and round brilliants will show shadowing. How pronounced the effect is really depends upon how much light is around. At night (low light) my oval ruby e-ring shows half and half "extinction" as other PS ladies call it. However, during the day, in natural lighting (even in shade) I see only a slight shadow that only makes the tone of the red darker, not black, as the vividness of the color comes through, and I see red all over. If you live in a sunny place like California or Arizona, I doubt the half and half extinction would bother you. If you live in higher Northern latitudes like England, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, etc then this would be more of an issue.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

I do think that emerald is stunning. And I'd like to add that pretty much all cuts except for cabochon and round brilliants will show shadowing. How pronounced the effect is really depends upon how much light is around. At night (low light) my oval ruby e-ring shows half and half "extinction" as other PS ladies call it. However, during the day, in natural lighting (even in shade) I see only a slight shadow that only makes the tone of the red darker, not black, as the vividness of the color comes through, and I see red all over. If you live in a sunny place like California or Arizona, I doubt the half and half extinction would bother you. If you live in higher Northern latitudes like England, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, etc then this would be more of an issue.

Thank you! That is so nice to know that its near impossible to get away from in emeralds.
& You almost hit the nail on the head, I live in New Mexico, which is arguably more sunny than Arizona
So as far as price wise if it does check out do you think its fair, over, or under priced?
Also I just assumed that the emerald is heat treatrd and haven't asked him, but hes said and seems to be very confident that this piece has zero as he purchases straight from the mine....if it doesnt even have heat treatment does that make the price change at all?

 

[voce]

Thank you! That is so nice to know that its near impossible to get away from in emeralds.
& You almost hit the nail on the head, I live in New Mexico, which is arguably more sunny than Arizona
So as far as price wise if it does check out do you think its fair, over, or under priced?
Also I just assumed that the emerald is heat treatrd and haven't asked him, but hes said and seems to be very confident that this piece has zero as he purchases straight from the mine....if it doesnt even have heat treatment does that make the price change at all?

$1848/1.47ct is $1257/ct. I think that this is fair for untreated emerald. With emerald, heat treatment is not very common, as the inclusions in heated stones might fracture them when heated. Emeralds tend to have more inclusions, so heating them is really not common at all. What is common is oiling them to reduce the appearance of fissures, tiny cracks, etc. Many merchants say that miners in Brazil and Colombia automatically put oil on emerald rough as soon as it comes out of the ground. Another common treatment is using polymer fillers to fill up the cracks. If they use the right polymers, this is a stable and permanent enhancement that would make the emerald more beautiful and less fragile. However, the more the emerald is treated with these clarity enhancements (as GIA or AGL will tell you on their lab reports), the less it is worth per carat. I myself have not yet bought emerald because I'm not rich enough to buy untreated Colombian emerald, and for treated with fillers I'm not sure what the prices should be, since the degree of the treatment is variable.

For oiled only, Embassy Emeralds is selling a 1.84ct for $2576 or $1400/ct.
http://www.embassyemeralds.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=585

In comparison, they are selling this 0.98ct untreated emerald for more than double the price/ct.
http://www.embassyemeralds.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=687

And their stunner 2.02ct untreated emerald is selling for about $6000/ct.
http://www.embassyemeralds.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=615

I would not be surprised if your emerald came back as oiled. If it's untreated, the price is fair to low. If it's oiled, I would say it may be priced a little high at $1257/ct, as the Muzo oiled emeralds are $1400/ct and Muzo/Colombian emeralds carry a price premium.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

Thank you for the wonderfully detailed response!
I thouroughly enjoyed it and had no clue that oiling was more typical than heating. I just assumed that most expensive gemstones are heated to bring out color.

That's very neat to think about, that this stone might not have anything at all.
That's my ultimate goal....fingers crossed!

If it comes back with oil I will reassess but most likely will pass on the gemstone.
He seems fairly confident that it has nothing though and has requested that I pay for the gemstone upfront with the GIA report, knowing fully that if it comes back treated that he will have to refund both costs.
So...well see!

I appreciate all of this info!

 

[peacechick]

Thank you for the wonderfully detailed response!
I thouroughly enjoyed it and had no clue that oiling was more typical than heating. I just assumed that most expensive gemstones are heated to bring out color.

That's very neat to think about, that this stone might not have anything at all.
That's my ultimate goal....fingers crossed!

If it comes back with oil I will reassess but most likely will pass on the gemstone.
He seems fairly confident that it has nothing though and has requested that I pay for the gemstone upfront with the GIA report, knowing fully that if it comes back treated that he will have to refund both costs.
So...well see!

I appreciate all of this info!

Almost all emeralds are oiled, similar to the heating situation with sapphires. This is because there are very few emeralds that do not have surface reaching fissures. So it’s the equivalent of looking for an unheated sapphire. Worth the hunt if it’s an e-ring since I assume you will wear it a lot and want a strong stone.

If it comes back as minor oiling, maybe you can ask the vendor to drop the price in order to reconsider it.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

So here is that video! I'm not sure if its clearer on a monitor/desktop but its very hard to see on my android.

Also I asked him about the extinction and his confidence about the treatment of the stone and he had this to say;

"No extinction in the stone, the A/B/ and C Axis of emerald is although dichroic never closed (as far as I know or have ever seen) and the closed axis is what will cause extintion. On a similar point, I always orient Zambian emerald down the A/B which ruins the yield and one rarely gets much more than a 1-2 carat stone but you end up with this fabulous color that's, in my opinion, about as good as emerald can get. If oriented differently it would be a much different, often larger but less exciting color, more yellowish and dull, not the brilliant bright green you see here.
Check out my Instagram, There's a few pics there of where this Zambian emerald came from. I start with huge pieces of quartz with emerald embedded that I purchase from the mine as is and very, very carefully break these down to recover the gem quality material. So I see the rough from the mine, extract it from the matrix and take it all the way to the finished gem, so I feel pretty good knowing what it's been exposed to!
Heat treatment is actually not a known treatment for emerald, so no worries about that."

Thoughts welcome!

 

[dk168]

I like the colour and the price for its size, however I am not an expert and can't comment on cut quality.

DK

 

[chrono]

I really dislike viewing a gem in its case since all I see is reflection of everything but the stone. Again, heat isn’t in question. Oiling or filling is. I’d request he hold the stone in his hand (over a padded surface). Not in the gem case and not over a hard surface (in case it drops).

The extinction he wrote about is related to the axis. The one we brought up here is related to cut angles and light source.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

Thanks for your replies!

To be honest I just need to see the stone in person and I need a clean GIA report showing zero treatments.

Once its back from the lab if it checks out ill see it in person, in which he gives me a 30 day viewing window where I can return it no questions asked.

All fingers crossed!

 

[voce]

I think that emerald has lots of potential and looks beautiful. The gem vendor seems to know lots about cutting, which is always good. I'm fairly sure the complaint other PSers have mentioned regarding "half and half extinction" in elongated ovals and cushions IS NOT recognized in the gem trade as extinction.

Extinction (as used and defined in the gem trade) refers to areas where there is no light reflected back no matter what the lighting situation may be, and is a sign of a bad cut, or a bad crystal in the gem itself. That's what your vendor was referring to about the axes in cutting and closing the axis.

Nonetheless, if the effect is that you can only see the color in half the gem at a time, it's understandable if people want to be more discriminating with their dollars. I believe the effect can in some situations look similar to extinction, making the gem look less valuable. However, just realize that the shadowing effect is not technically extinction, and no vendor will say it is extinction.

It's good that you'll be checking out the stone in person and that the vendor's return policy is good.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

Well this thread taught me two new things:
-Emeralds are never usually heated
-The difference between extinction/half and half extinction; "shadowing"

I'll post some shots of the gem in hand as close as I can when I receive it!
I love hearing all of your input into the quality of the gemstone

Overall regardless of its imperfect-ness (yes I just made that word up!) If I love it, I love it!
The hand shot, that's my favorite photo of it and if it looks like that in person, then I'm going to be a very happy woman. I've admired this stone since the lapidary has opened his shop and have always felt a calling to it like it was destined to be my engagement stone.
I'm just hoping that its completely untreated as he's described!

Thanks for all of your input everyone!

 

[LemonMoonLex]

Alright, its paid! I purchased it this morning!
I hope that its as described, completely natural just straight from the ground and faceted.

I also hope that my gut and my intuition is right and that its as stunning to me in person.

Hes sending the gem out to GIA today and said that lately instead of the usual 2 week wait that the lab has been taking closer to 4 or 5 weeks so it'll be a little wait!

Thank you for all chiming in!
I will again, try to post some closeup handshots when I receive the gem!

 

[icy_jade]

So exciting! Fingers crossed for you. It does look stunning from the pics you have posted.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

One more thing!

So, regardless if this stone ends up being the one (hopefully!!!) Or not I will still end up using an emerald/retangular emerald.
While I know exactly what setting I want and by whom, I'm not sure about the color.
For this particular stone I was thinking that it could be set beautifully with yellow gold or platinum.
My understanding is that yellow-green ems look best in white gold/platinum and blue-green can go either way but many set with yellow gold.

Can you ladies give me your personal tastes if you were to set a blue-green emerald? What about this emerald?

Also for years ive been trying to decide if I'm warm or cool toned but I honestly have no idea....my hair is a light brown with very intense grey undertones...meaning its an ashy brown (so cool undertoned hair) but I have a yellow undertone in my fair skin and green eyes with a bit of amber to them.
I prefer to wear silver but, when it comes to prescious metals am completely torn between platinum and yellow gold.

Ive tried holding up both to my skin....natha
To me they both look good with my complexion and I cant see a major difference. Yellow gold seems to bring out my eyes while platinum brings out my hair and an odd greyness to my eyes.

Thanks!

 

[icy_jade]

Maybe you are lucky and both colors work for you? I’ll always go with WG/platinum as YG looks terrible on me.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

I think you are right as it should be easier to tell which one suits a woman more.

Maybe disregard my physical traits/complexion and tell me what you think a blue-green gemstone would look best in!

If anything id want to make the gem look even more blue

Thanks!

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

I would have said the exact opposite. To set a blue-green emerald in WG/plat and a yellow-green in YG. If it were mine and judging by the hand shot, I would say platinum, but I am very partial to it.

That said, you could always do a mixed metal ring. Yellow prongs, WG/plat shank or switched. Best of both worlds! A touch of rose gold could also be absolutely stunning as well. Not to complicate matters, lol.

 

[chrono]

I know it’s not as fun but I’d wait until the emerald arrives then nest it in both yellow and white metal to decide.

 

[voce]

My preference would be mixed metals in the band/shank as opposed to getting the band in one color and the prongs in another. I've always liked the idea of twisting different golds together, like Cartier's trinity ring. I don't know about your setting plans or about the costs/skills required to make a mixed metal twist band, but I would go for a YG/platinum twisted shank with very gentle curves; that way, the two golds melding together would be symbolic of me and my beloved embracing and joining our lives together. With an emerald cut, I'd go with a 3-stone design with trapezoid or half moon diamonds or white sapphire for side stones (YG prongs). Depending on the specs of the diamonds that you get, they might be as expensive as your center emerald. I think getting halo diamonds is cheaper, but I also think that emerald and cushion cuts look spectacular in 3-stone designs. Pairing diamond and emerald is like juxtaposing hard and soft, while white sapphire would be more about setting off the color of the emerald with less sparkle, more glow. I'd try to get pure white sapphires with a little bit of natural silk inclusions. But sapphires that are exactly right requires more searching, and diamonds are more readily available.

 

[Arcadian]

I'm in agreement with @chrono. the stone looks very promising. On my screen I see blue modifer which is highly desired.

Price sounds good though an the cut is ok (wish it had a bit higher crown)

As an emerald however, I am always highly sceptical of clean stones no matter where they come from. When these guys you have to worry about dyes, oils, (usually not heat), so glad you're getting a lab report on this.