Cheap emeralds from Bogota (probably)

[paul_]

Hi all

I've been lurking for a bit after catching the gem bug and really learned a lot from this forum. I was hoping to ask for some advice but before I do I thought it would only be right to share a story and some pictures of why I'm here in the first place.

A little while ago I took a trip to Colombia. I was just in Bogota for a couple of days for business. A colleague mentioned that it was a good place to buy emeralds so we headed off to a shop in the emerald district armed with perilously little knowledge. He was planning to spend a few thousand dollars on a couple of stones for his wife. I on the other hand was just after a little memento and a chance to buy a present for wife, mother and sister.

It was quite a high end shop and most of what they sold was over $1k per carat. But they had a smallish selection of cheap loose stones which I dug into. I ended up with a range of stones, mostly fairly pale colors but quite pretty. I had them set into a variety of small Christmas gifts. According to the shop these are oiled only. I don't think they are glass but who knows!



This one is approximate 10x6mm and was $200. Pretty clean face up and like all of the stones is quite a bright light green. You can see a very big window in the middle but actually when worn this tends to turn a dark green color so doesn't detract too much. In daylight and evening lights it shows a quite strong and bright green. The setting is diamond and 18k white gold and was about $350.




This one is an oval about 7x5mm or so. I think I paid about $40 for it. Very light color from the side on. But set in this ring and face up it's much darker. Again a very bright stone in all the lighting I've seen. Setting was about $350 again.



I picked out a couple of very closely matching round stones about 6mm diameter that were about $30 each and had them set into diamond and 18k white gold stud earrings (again for $350 for the pair).



It's a bit hard to explain how they look in real life. But this picture is representative I think.

Anyway, on getting back home and enjoying the process of picking which stones to set (I have a few loose ones left over) I delved online and have learned a lot about gemstones and I'm now a bit hooked on learning more. I'm planning to get a couple of blue sapphires for stud earnings (similar to above) but need a bit of advice on where to get them. But I think that's best in another thread.

Hope you like seeing some pictures and if you have any questions just let me know of course.

Cheers
Paul

 

[AGBF]

Hi, Paul-

I, also, have light green emeralds from Bogota. Mine, also, are, supposedly only oiled. It is funny that I was just talking about these with someone (I am trying to remember with whom) the other night. It may have been last night, Christmas night, because I do not get out much but I was with my extended family yesterday and actually stayed out until 10:15 PM at my cousin's house talking with family!

Yes, it was last night! Because my aunt was one of the people who stayed late at her son and daughter-in-law's house! And she had accompanied me to Colombia. That is how we started to talk about the emeralds! Back when we went, in 1992, I knew I nothing about gemstones. I had taken a geology course in college, but that hardly teaches one much about gems. It may teach you what a garnet crystal looks like, but not what makes an emerald valuable!

At any rate, under the supervision of the woman with whom we were staying a small group of us went emerald shopping. The result was that I bought some emeralds that, as I told my aunt last night, had absolutely no inclusions (even under a microscope), but that were quite light in color. No one had told me that color was the most important thing to look for in a colored stone. Not that it would have mattered a jot to me. I loved the color of each stone I chose or I wouldn't have bought it. I dislike yellow stones and none was at all yellow. All the stones are very pretty. I got them for sentimental value since I was adopting my daughter there. I wanted her to have jewelry from the country where she was born. Her grandmother paid for her to have a ring and necklace made in a size appropriate for a child. I also got myself two small emerald pieces of jewelry. All four are currently in the safety deposit box. They are all mementos my daughter can keep.

Deb/AGBF

 

[chrono]

Overall, not too shabby for the price paid and you did the right thing by playing it safe and not spending too much on stones that you weren't sure on how to evaluate for quality.

 

[partgypsy]

I think you did well for yourself, considering that you purchased stones you were able to view in person, and were appealing after being set. The main criteria for emerald is the intensity and saturation of the stone, which is what makes the ones you selected affordable. But I think you did a good job with the settings (my favorite is the emerald cut) and they will make lovely gifts