Emerald engagement ring?

[macrac]

I''m in the process of shopping for e-rings for my GF of 3 years. We''ve discussed diamond options on a number of occasions, and she''s expressed an interest in emeralds. While information on diamonds is plentiful (eg. this forum), I''ve been able to find very little on emeralds. I''m wondering how you can determine the quality and clarity of an emerald. I''m also wondering if emeralds can be brilliant and beautiful enough to work as an e-ring gemstone?

I''ve found a few web sites, but I''m skeptical about them. It seems that emerald ring pricing is very reasonable, so that makes me wonder if I''m looking at less-than ideal candidates.

We are both currently college students, so the budget is very tight (~$2000). I''m more interested in quality over size, and am not opposed to the idea of a ring w/ diamond accents (as long as I can afford it).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shay]

http://www.antiquejewelrymall.com/anemenrianem.html

Some pics of emerald rings

http://www.israel-diamonds.com/geminstitute/emerald.asp

info on buying an emerald

http://www.24carat.co.uk/emeraldframe.html

More info

http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/emerald.html

etc

There''s lots of info out there you just gotta keep looking and learning.
Congratulations on your upcoming engagement and good luck in your research.

 

[windowshopper]

i think you would be making a big mistake. emeralds are very soft; they scratch, crack and abrade easily. they are usually best as special occasion jewlery not everyday wear. as a matter of fact very fine emeralds are often used for earrings and necklaces where they are safer. have you considered a sapphire. they can be quite affordable , come in an amazing array of colors and are very durable

 

[valeria101]

So... it''s not as durable as diamond and sapphire, especially if the piece has allot of inclusions (which is nearly always the case).

But I did see emerald engagement rings being worn every day - at least in an office.

All other gems but diamond are expected to get buffed down with wear: sapphire is the next hardest and in a few years stones worn every day may well need repolishing. Which is not such a big deal to do anyway.

There were a few threads about emeralds around here recently. HERE Richard Sherwood volunteered a small pricing guide for emeralds near 1 carat. Thought you might find these useful.

 

[bar01]

A fun site showing a "honker" emerald engagement ring - The Bride Wore Green

 

[Libster]

I absolutely love emeralds. I also am very hard on jewelry. Hubby often refers to me as "a bull in a china shop". I didn''t get an engagement ring, we just had wedding bands, but on our 5th anniversary hubby gave me a 3 stone ring with an emerald center stone. I wore this ring daily for 10 years and never had a problem with it. The center stone is a .60 emerald with .15 diamond sides. Apparantly colored stones weight is different than a diamonds and this emerald is more the size of a 1ct princess cut diamond?!

Personally I''d do the emerald stone all over again. If she loves emeralds, then she will love having this stone for her engagement ring. I''m posting a pic of my ring and a loose stone I have in dreams of making a 3 stone right hand ring, emeralds flanking either a cushion or asscher cut diamond. The setting is 14k yellow gold that I had rhodium plated because I thought I wanted the look of white gold. That was a mistake, and one I can not easily undo. I now know, that to me, emeralds look their very best in yellow gold.

I''m not an expert on emerald quality, but the fewer inclusions and deeper green, the more expensive the stone. We were lucky and found both of these stones in St. Thomas for a steal. The original stone is an untreated emerald and actually appraised for 4 times more than we paid. Hopefully some of the experts will ring in on where you can purchase a nice emerald for a good price.

I found this website after joing Pricescope, but am unsure if this is a retail website where the general consumer can purchase? They have excellent prices and some beautiful stones. www.emeraldelegance.com

Please keep us posted on what you decide and we must see pics of what you choose. Good luck in your search

 

[widget]

I think an emerald would make a wonderful engagement ring! I think that with some care, (removing it before doing sports, gardening, etc), it should last forever. Consider all the antique emerald pieces that are around.

Here's one that's ninety years old!

I does make sense to me that a less included stone would be more durable...

widget

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I too love the idea of an emerald--but considering durability issues, could some settings be "safer" than others? (e.g. bezels, set lower, etc).

cheers--Sharon

 

[innerkitten]

There was an emerald engagement ring on this site a while back. Very pretty.

 

[innerkitten]

https://www.pricescope.com/forum/show-me-the-ring/picture-of-e-ring-t16516.html

Here is the thread I was talking about.

 

[innerkitten]

Found this too.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/emerald-diamond-antique-ring.22267/

 

[macrac]

Wow, thanks for all of the replies.

I just need to do some searching around. I''ll let you know what I come up with. I''ve put so much time and effort into learning about diamonds, that it''s hard for me to start all over again. I''m still not totally sold on an emerald, but there''s some good info in here to help w/ my decision.

Libster, that''s a very nice ring. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Kaleigh]

If I were going to do an emerald for an engagement ring I would think about doing a bezel setting for the emerald to protect it a lttle bit better. Or what about emeralds for side stones?

 

[Hest88]

Does she like emeralds specifically, or does she like green stones? There are other stones--such as green garnets--that are more durable than emeralds and can be found in nicer colors at lower prices than comparably colored emeralds.

 

[partgypsy]

If your girlfriend loves emeralds, you should get her an emerald (that''s what my husband did!). There is nothing quite like the dreamy beautiful mystery of an emerald. Engagment rings are about dreams and everyone''s dream is not about having a diamond. It is true they are more prone to chipping than a diamond would be. But it''s not like they are going to shatter if you look at them. I have had mine for eight plus years and was sonically cleaning it before I found out I wasn''t supposed to and it still looks fine. Setting the emerald in a bezel or half bezel or diamonds on either side should provide protection. Because of fear of chipping I do not wear my engagement ring all the time. If she is someone who might not ever want to take it off once you give it to her, a harder stone may be more appropriate. It all comes down to what she would enjoy wearing most.

 

[movie zombie]

a co-worker of mine got the most beautiful emerald e-ring, it was simply gorgeous. she wore it to the office several times and then quit wearing it altogether. she said she was afraid of damaging it. her fiance spent lots of $$$ for a ring she doesn''t wear even now with her wedding band.

i think they are simply divine to look at but if its going to sit in a box, then perhaps the $$ would be better spent for a pendant that she can wear on her wedding day?

just some thoughts....i think the suggestion of looking at other green stones that are more durable might be worth doing if for no other reason that to reassure yourself that you are really getting what she not only wants but will wear.

peace, movie zombie

 

[innerkitten]

Hest mentioned perhaps thinking about a harder green stone. What about a tsavorite garnet?

 

[Hest88]

Tsavorites are lovely. Plus, unlike many emeralds within your price range, they''re clear and sparkly.

Most people have no idea there are so many alternatives. It''s just that when they think "green" they think "emerald."

A row of tsavorites, from the Palagems site:

 

[Matata]

Another compromise to consider is using emeralds as side stones, perhaps bezel set or burnished into the band to provide some protection.

 

[underhi2p]

" I think you would be making a big mistake. emeralds are very soft; they scratch, crack and abrade easily. they are usually best as special occasion jewlery not everyday wear. as a matter of fact very fine emeralds are often used for earrings and necklaces where they are safer. have you considered a sapphire. they can be quite affordable , come in an amazing array of colors and are very durable "

If she wants an emerald, get her an emerald.

Some of the advice on this forum is nuts.

According to the above quote in post number 3, you shouldn't buy anything with a hardness less than a 9.


Emeralds have a MOHS hardness of around 8.

So, I guess anything less than a hardness of 9 is unacceptable for everyday jewelry.

This would exlcude everything except Saphires, Rubies and Diamonds.

So spinels are a terrible choice. Tanzanite is out. Jade, opal out.

Coral out, Topaz out. Quartz out. Jadeite out.

Tourmaline, rhodolite out.

Tsavorite out.

Not much to choose from.

 

[macrac]

Date: 2/15/2005 7:54

0 PM
Author: Matata
Another compromise to consider is using emeralds as side stones, perhaps bezel set or burnished into the band to provide some protection.

I've been considering this as an option. I've found a B&M that has been very helpful and willing to deal. The guy is going get a hold of a couple of emeralds of varying size in my price range. That way I can get an idea of quality before I make any solid decisions. Right now I'm leaning more towards a diamond w/ a small emerald on each side. The only problem with this is that I might be relegating myself to a pretty small center diamond (around 4 points). I could get a bigger stone, but after spending time on here and in shops, I'm finding myself getting more and more picky about cut and clarity (and color to a lesser degree).

 

[movie zombie]

the center diamond with side emeralds sounds really nice and i like the looks fo those green garnets as well.

it was my understanding that while emerald is a 9 moh, it is ''fragile'' and has a tendancey to fracture. but jade that is a mere i think 6.5 or thereabouts moh and therefore ''softer'' is actually the ''stronger'' stone due to its internal chemical structure and how it can take hits and bangs.

please correct me if i''m wrong but it is my understanding that the moh chart is only one of many considerations regarding how a stone may or may not react to everyday wear. for instance, topaz checks in fairly high on the moh chart but is considered inappropriate for everyday wear due to a tendance to crumble.

and having lurked around pricescope lots to get some understanding of stones, i have found the advice very practical and accurate when i check it against other sources.

peace, movie zombie

 

[suchard]

I adore emeralds!

'');" alt="Insert smilie

" src="http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/20.gif" border="0"> I lived in Colombia for three years and spent the first year learning about emeralds and viewing loads before buying my first stone. I now have a fine collection of earrings, pendants and rings! I agree with the posts that advise a bezel setting, as it protects the stone more. This can come in any shape to suit the stone and can also help a lighter stone to look slighly deeper in colour. The best stones to my taste come from a mine called Muzo where the stones are a distinctive and beautiful blue green colour. Now the bad news. I have a 2ct Muzo emerald in a 4 prong setting with tapered side diamonds which I used to keep in the bank as it was valued at over £5k. I thought "what the heck is the use of keeping it in the bank!" and decided to wear it everyday. The ring was slightly too big and used to swing around on my hand and one day, as I was driving to work, I noticed a mark on my emerald. I took it to the jeweller who told me that I had cracked the stone, possibly on my desk, and even though it had not broken off, my emerald had now halved in value.

'');" height=15 alt="Insert smilie

" src="http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/8.gif" width="15 border=0"> I still love the ring but only wear it on very special occasions now. So after that long story, do think carefully about your choice of stone and the setting.

Good luck in your search.
Ann
P.S.I know how you feel about seaching for a diamond as I''ve spent the last month doing the same thing and there is so much information in my brain now and I am so fed up with looking that I''m exhausted!!!

'');" height=15 alt="Insert smilie

" src="http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/sad.gif" width="15 border=0">

 

[Matata]

Date: 2/16/2005 1:10:32 AM
Author: macrac

Date: 2/15/2005 7:54

0 PM
Author: Matata
Another compromise to consider is using emeralds as side stones, perhaps bezel set or burnished into the band to provide some protection.

I''ve been considering this as an option. I''ve found a B&M that has been very helpful and willing to deal. The guy is going get a hold of a couple of emeralds of varying size in my price range. That way I can get an idea of quality before I make any solid decisions. Right now I''m leaning more towards a diamond w/ a small emerald on each side. The only problem with this is that I might be relegating myself to a pretty small center diamond (around 4 points). I could get a bigger stone, but after spending time on here and in shops, I''m finding myself getting more and more picky about cut and clarity (and color to a lesser degree).

I did a quick search of PS vendors and found .25 diamonds ranging from $350 to $887. A quarter carat is quite a nice sized center stone. If you went that route with small emerald side stones, you could probably still make your budget and have a beautiful ring. Good luck. Keep us posted about your progress and of course, post pics when you have them.

 

[Hest88]

Date: 2/16/2005 3:50:25 AM
Author: movie zombie

please correct me if i''m wrong but it is my understanding that the moh chart is only one of many considerations regarding how a stone may or may not react to everyday wear

Exactly. It''s not just the Mohs ranking. Emeralds have a crystalline structure that make them more prone to cracking. Emeralds can last for hundreds of years, but those that do were worn my kings and nobleman and noblewomen who did nothing more strenuous with her hands than picking up a teacup.

The diamond flanked by sidestones idea is a good one, if you don''t mind sacrificing size.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 2/16/2005 11:36:45 AM
Author: Hest88

Date: 2/16/2005 3:50:25 AM
Author: movie zombie

please correct me if i''m wrong but it is my understanding that the moh chart is only one of many considerations regarding how a stone may or may not react to everyday wear

Emeralds have a crystalline structure that make them more prone to cracking.

Do you guys wear e-ring cooking, gardening... everywhere ?

Even the big ones ?

Anyway, there''s a bit of a story with Mohs and gem endurance. This thread seems perfect to bring it up. Here goes:

Please feel free to add to the gem endurance saga. Only some factors are mentioned below: resistance to scratching and blows, clarity, cut and setting. In each piece of jewelry all of these come together to determine how resistant to wear a piece is. The Mohs scale just happens to be 100 times more often talked about for some reason. A bit about the hardness (resistance to scratching), toughness (resistance to blows), clarity,

Mohs scale ranks materials according to which scratches which. It just measures this kind of durability: resistance to scratching and nothing more ( say, not the all important resistance to blows ). Sand is about Moh 7 (quartz)... so don''t bring opal rings to the beech ! Anyway, scratching happens no matter what and it is not too hard to have gems repolished slightly every couple of years if you so whish.

Sapphires would need it too after daily wear - I know mine did after about a decade of ~24/7 wear. Repolishing the table may not even require taking the gem off the setting and it is quite satisfactory. Repolishing the entire upper side (crown) of a faceted gem may shave off a few points (=hundredths of a carat) each time - annoying if your piece is just over some critical weight point, otherwise... not that bad.
As is, the Mohs ranking hides absolute differences in actual hardness of these gem materials. The distance between Moh 9 and Moh 8 is not the same as between 5 and 6. Another metric (the Knoop numbers below, there are others) of absolute hardness reveals this:

( Source: Diamond Web Exibit at the American Museum of Natural History)


But "hardness" as above only means resistance to scratching. It does not mean resistance to blows! That''s where cleavage comes into play... Some gems crack easily if hit at just the right angle. And there can be several such critical angles for the same crystal species (="directions of cleavage"). They make hard gems brittle. For example, the very hard diamond is relatively brittle with 4 such angles. Beryl (emerald, aqua) may get scratched more, but doesn''t break (imperfect cleavage). Take your pick

Worse is possible: Sphalerite has it all: it is relatively soft and brittle has six directions of cleavage.

None of the above takes into account inclusions and structural defects of the crystals. Those do change everything... If not, emeralds would be as durable as aquamarine since they are both beryl. But in practice this is no so because of the inclusions. A clean emerald would be as durable as aquas, but... good luck finding one. It may well happen that a relatively clean looking emerald to be more brittle than one hazy with myriads of inclusions - the usual clarity treatments are more effective hiding larger and opened clean cracks (the worst durability problems that is) than hay stacks of small internal feathers that may not be quite as big a problem even if they still show after clarity enhancement.

Again none of the above takes into account shape and setting - both determine how enduring the gem and the piece of jewelry will be. Taking that hypothetical big, oil filled crack again: with some luck (really) it may have been arranged perpendicular to the gem''s table. This is one desirable thing for the cuter to do and the buyer to have because the flaw shows allot less, but this doesn''t mean it ain''t there. A bezel setting would hide such a crack almost completely, but would not keep it from making two emeralds from one at the first blow.

I am pretty sure this is not all. Just enough to say the Mohs scale is not the ultimate arbiter for jewelry choices - I hope.

Given my limited knowledge and patience, there must be allot of room for corections, detail and clarification above. Hopefully better help is under way. My own conclusion from all this is that professional advice for buying something that valuable and memorable is irreplaceable

 

[aeli]

Just a picture of a beautiful emerald ring I saw on the Leon Mege website.

 

[movie zombie]

ana/valeria 101, thank you for saying what i was trying to say! and with even more info.

all this is exactly why i''m finding that the more i learn, the more i need to learn because, unfortunately, when i speak with ''sales people'' i don''t always get the same answer to the same question. and i''m finding that in some instances i know more than they do.

as with everything: let the buyer beware.

i was originally lurking around pricescope to get educated re diamonds but then started looking at color stones as well. i find all this simply fascinating but certainly complicated. sometimes i wish i was the kind of person that could just walk in and buy anything, but i want to KNOW what i''ve got and that it was fairly priced.

i want to be able to wear my ring pretty much 24/7 with timeout for gardening being about the only exception...and if i can find the right stone in the right setting, i may not even take it off for that.

also, the point re the bezel making the stone look darker: so going a lighter and perhaps less ideal color would be better than going with the ''ideal'' color for a particular stone? wouldn''t it also make a difference as to what color the bezel is? i recently saw a diamon in a pink/red gold cone bezel and it was awesome. but i''m not sure how a color stone would look........

peace, movie zombie

 

[macrac]

Date: 2/16/2005 3:58:29 PM
Author: movie zombie
sometimes i wish i was the kind of person that could just walk in and buy anything, but i want to KNOW what i've got and that it was fairly priced.

I'm the same way. I was really close to getting a ring at Shaw's when I realized that I'm an internet nerd, and should be looking for resources like this before I pull the trigger. I'm definitely glad I did. Otherwise I'd be stuck w/ an overpriced, lack luster ring right now.

Anyway, I've decided to go w/ the diamond center stone, with emerald side stones. We're working on doing a pronged diamond with half bezels for the emeralds. It sounds weird, but I found some examples and really like them. The guy has been very helpful and reasonable with price, but I'm concerned about his attitude towards diamonds. He was saying that it's rare for him to get a small stone (under 75 points) w/ a "certified" grading report. So, what I'd be getting would be graded, but probably wouldn't have papers. How much of an issue is this?

The guy mentioned his lack of trust for some graders (EGL especially) and said that his wife took GIA classes and almost always under grades EGL (as well as others) diamonds. He basically said I'd get an honest grading from them. I obviously get to look at any stone I'm going to buy, and I'm getting pretty good at identifying clarity and some assymetry differences. If I'm happy w/ what I see, shoule I be that concerned w/ a grading report? My biggest concern is not knowing the quality of the cut, and the dimensions of the stone.

I'm leaving the option open to get the stone from a pricescope vendor, but I'd like to get it through him if possible. Worst case, I'll get the setting and emerald from him, and get my own diamond.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 2/16/2005 3:58:29 PM
Author: movie zombie

also, the point re the bezel making the stone look darker: so going a lighter and perhaps less ideal color would be better than going with the 'ideal' color for a particular stone? wouldn't it also make a difference as to what color the bezel is? i recently saw a diamon in a pink/red gold cone bezel and it was awesome. but i'm not sure how a color stone would look........

The emerald ring above is a bezel no ? If it is not a completely closed metal box - the open frame is still a bezel.

It is not hard to see how each stone would look sunk into a bezel: you can always drop the culet between two fingers and see what the piece looks face up.

This may be wrong, but I think bezels just add contrast: and that in turn brings up color and brilliance if they are there. Better stuff looks better than in prongs and worse allot worse. Lack of saturation lets metal color show through, overly dark tone gets black, deep cut pieces get dark when sunk into the metal box. Perhaps hazy clarity (like the silk in sapphire and splinel) looks better in bezels than prongs. I don't think light tone would be favored off the bat: pastel colors get lost in the strong contrast and metal color.

You might have heard that one "test" of quality for colored gems is how well they "hold color" in different lighting conditions. Bezels are an even harsher test of quality... IMO at least.