Does my emerald need re -oiling?

[Bron357]

Hi, I have a lovely emerald ring which I haven't worn for like 7 years. It's kept in a ring box in the wardrobe. Anyway, the weird thing is I swear it looks different, more cloudy, than it did originally. I know that mostly emeralds are oiled, and I'm wondering if my emerald has "dried out" and needs re-oiling? I don't mind the look so much but wonder / worry that it might be made more brittle. And no, this ring hasn't been in any cleaners or otherwise. I just use a silver cloth for the gold and leave the all the gems alone. Is the emerald removed from its setting to re-oil? I'm just wondering about the cost. I don't really have the opportunities to wear it these days, it's only a special occasion ring. The second photo is with a flash - what a weird colour ! I'm just using my phone.

 

[chrono]

Yes, after several years, emeralds usually need to be re-oiled. And yes, flash photography will distort the pictured colour of coloured stones.

 

[pregcurious]

Nice ring!

 

[Bron357]

Thanks, I love it much it's pretty big on the finger so it's only for "best". I treat it with care. As a child I remember a South African lady (mother of one of my friends) who had the biggest emerald I ever saw. Huge. Anyway, she accidentally hit the side of the emerald hard against something and the stone literally broke into two. Devasting.
One thing I noticed after posting my question, how could anyone buy an emerald just looking at an online photo? In person my emerald looks quite a different colour to how it the photo looks. I think emeralds are tricky to photograph.

 

[Jajabis]

To answer your question in buying online. If the place doesn't have a review period for full refund, then i wouldn't shop from there "Normally 5-10 day's after receiving it". Also, just trust that the seller is accurate with the coloring. They are losing money and time by sending you a poorly described stone.

 

[minousbijoux]

To answer your question in buying online. If the place doesn't have a review period for full refund, then i wouldn't shop from there "Normally 5-10 day's after receiving it". Also, just trust that the seller is accurate with the coloring. They are losing money and time by sending you a poorly described stone.

Think you posted to the wrong thread. The OP in this thread is asking about re-oiling an emerald she has owned for a very long time...

 

[lambskin]

I am curious too about the cost of re-oiling and where is it done? Does the oil just evaporate? Does it leech out? What kind of oil is now used? is it applied with pressure? What is considered the best? Finally, does the stone need to be taken out of the setting-especially if it has diamonds?

 

[minousbijoux]

Lambskin, now you have me curious as well! It requires certain equipment to re-oil an emerald, as it is done in a vacuum under pressure to make the stone absorb the oil/resin. Beyond that, I'm not certain who would customarily undertake the procedure other than emerald purveyors. Taking the stone out of a setting would be easier and less messy, but in the case of a bezeled emerald, I can't imagine that they would insist on taking the emerald out to re-oil it knowing that in the process, they'd be ruining the setting. Hmm...

 

[Jajabis]

To answer your question in buying online. If the place doesn't have a review period for full refund, then i wouldn't shop from there "Normally 5-10 day's after receiving it". Also, just trust that the seller is accurate with the coloring. They are losing money and time by sending you a poorly described stone.

Think you posted to the wrong thread. The OP in this thread is asking about re-oiling an emerald she has owned for a very long time...

OP said "One thing I noticed after posting my question, how could anyone buy an emerald just looking at an online photo? In person my emerald looks quite a different colour to how it the photo looks. I think emeralds are tricky to photograph"

 

[minousbijoux]

To answer your question in buying online. If the place doesn't have a review period for full refund, then i wouldn't shop from there "Normally 5-10 day's after receiving it". Also, just trust that the seller is accurate with the coloring. They are losing money and time by sending you a poorly described stone.

Think you posted to the wrong thread. The OP in this thread is asking about re-oiling an emerald she has owned for a very long time...

OP said "One thing I noticed after posting my question, how could anyone buy an emerald just looking at an online photo? In person my emerald looks quite a different colour to how it the photo looks. I think emeralds are tricky to photograph"

Got it!