about emeralds?

[kurtwoodfork]

Hi!!

this is my first post at PS! thanks to all the great info here my fiance & I found a great diamond for our e ring!! <3 <3 we're not completely done with our setting yet (still looking/deciding) so can't share a photo yet! but....

i'm looking for an emerald for my mom! my mom always wanted to have a nice emerald ring and I really want to get one for her ...if possible. the emeralds are SO elusive for me! can anyone give me a basic education on emeralds? I tried to search for emeralds here but didn't find too much information.... would i be able to get a nice emerald ring for under...let say...2-3k? or is that just completely impossible i honestly have noooooooooooooo idea

thank you sooo much!

 

[iLander]

Andrew has some fabulous emeralds, they are hard to find, and even harder to photograph. The bottom right corner one has fabulous color.

http://www.gemfix.com/emerald.html

Gene at Precision Gem has one too, bad photo, but great emerald.

That's a fine budget, it can be done. The setting will determine a lot of the price. You can go inexpensive bezel with DanielM Jewelry on etsy or high end with ID Jewelry diamonds in NYC. Call ID Jewelry, most of their stuff is not on the website.

 

[T L]

Joshua at serenity diamonds has amazing high quality emeralds from Colombia at various price points. He is well versed in emeralds, as they are a passion of his, and he can obtain lab reports, which are important if you're considering an emerald of a significant purchase. If you want a great education about emeralds, you should by the book by Ronald Ringsrund, "Emeralds, A Passionate Guide." There's a lot to learn, especially about treatment and quality.
http://www.emeraldpassion.com/
http://serenity-diamonds.com/

 

[kurtwoodfork]

Oo thanks! so is it normal to have enhancements on emeralds? or whta does "enhancement: E" mean?

 

[T L]

Oo thanks! so is it normal to have enhancements on emeralds? or whta does "enhancement: E" mean?

Emeralds tend to have a lot of surface cracks which can go deep into the stone. They can affect the beauty of the stone, so routine filling of these cracks is done in 99% of all emeralds to make it look better, and it also gives the stone better clarity.

It can be done with cedar wood oil, which has been common place and a readily accepted treatment for hundreds of years, or it can be filled with resin. Oil can dry up after a few years, so some more modern resins are much more stable and permanent. I have a fine emerald with an older resin that has since dried up. I was told it wouldn't need retreatment because the degree of enhancement was minor and it was on the pavillion where it wouldn't be seen face up in a setting. Sometimes oiled emeralds, or those with older resins, need retreatment, so the modern resins can be a beneficial treatment for those not wanting to retreat their stone.

Enhancement can be categorized as faint, minor, moderate, or significant. I would not want a stone with more than moderate enhancement. The less the enhancement, the more valuable the stone, if all things are equal (size, clarity, color). Only a comprehensive lab report can tell you the type of treatment (resin, oil) and the degree of enhancement. Emerald enhancement of "E" isn't telling how much enhancement or what it's enhanced with. You need a lab report or an emerald expert to tell you.

A fine Muzo Colombian emerald with faint enhancement and top color is worth $$$$$.

Origin is important as well since the finest emeralds in the world come from Colombia, in particular the Muzo mine (there are various emerald mines in Colombia). African emeralds are more cost effective, but the color isn't as fine. They do tend to be cleaner though. The best color for emeralds, as denoted by the trade, is medium dark tone, with a very slightly bluish green hue of high saturation. Muzo emeralds are so beautiful that they appear to have a velvety glow about them, which cannot be described or seen in a static photo. You need to see one in person to get the idea.

Here's one of my emeralds which appears to be Muzo color and you can see the color in it. This is the most difficult stone in the world to properly photograph.

 

[m76steve]

to sweetietooth-this is one of my nicer emerald pendents-most of the stones were bought out of florida-columbia emeralds-i worked with seller & he was very up-front & very good to work with-most of the stones are good quality-only oiled-all appraised well-jeorge was a pleasure to work with-steve....

 

[Liane]

Joshua at serenity diamonds has amazing high quality emeralds from Colombia at various price points. He is well versed in emeralds, as they are a passion of his, and he can obtain lab reports, which are important if you're considering an emerald of a significant purchase.

+1 for Joshua, he's great. I'd get in touch with him, tell him your budget and what you're looking for, and let him ferret out some likely candidates for you.