help! Emerald price check (report included)?

[briggysmalls]

Hi all!

First off just a massive thanks in advance to anyone who reads this, and offers any advice! This forum is so amazing for people like me.

TLDR;
I'm very inexperienced.
I'd really appreciate advice whether this price is appropriate.

Overview/pictures
Quoted price: £9,000
Purpose: Purchase a stone to be set in an engagement ring
Note: the pictures show the gem in a ring with 2 other stones. I'm only considering the purchase of the emerald on its own.

https://briggysmalls.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F735264763346583552

Details
The emerald comes with an SSEF certificate which states:

• 1.426ct
• octagonal, step-cut
• 7.17 x 6.12 x 5.43 mm
• green of medium strong saturation
• EMERALD (variety of natural beryl)
• The analysed properties confirm the authenticity of this transparent emerald
• Indications of clarity modification. Minor amount of oil in fissures at the time of testing
• Origin: Colombia

A separate report elsewhere for the same gem said:

"some surface reaching and a fracture to the girdle"

Thoughts
After reading around on this forum a little my thoughts are:

• In general, "minor oil in fissures" is not perfect, but pretty good. I think I'm happy not paying the "no oil" premium
• I understand it's hard to evaluate colour from videos/pictures. Any tips for when I next see the stone?
• I think the stone looks very clear? Considering only minor clarity modification? This would be considered "good"
• Might there be quite severe "windowing" in the centre? Is this a problem?

I do appreciate there's a lot of subjectivity to whether a gem is "good".
I'm not purchasing this gem looking to flip it for profit, it will be kept, and sentimental. So I don't need the price to be a bargain.
However I've been told that this is a very good stone that is worth the money, unlike others I might consider. I'm willing to pay a bit extra if that is indeed the case. But most gems for the same weight seem cheaper, so I've come here to those with more knowledge.

Thanks once again!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

That is an exorbitant price!!! Please reach out elsewhere and continue your search! I know you’re not looking for a bargain but that is an epic rip off. Even if you are happy to pay a premium that is beyond a rip off!

Stone is clean but it looks like there might be a window? Then because emeralds are fragile there’s a risk of unmounting that stone as well since it’s attached to a ring already.

 

[briggysmalls]

@mellowyellowgirl I'm so grateful for your message, and you taking the time to answer. To help me more can I ask some questions to better understand that verdict?

So in summary:

Headline is: the price is way out of line with the "going rate".
It seems the stone could be "decent" (clean/minor oil - good, but windowed - bad).
There's a risk of damaging an emerald when removing it from it's setting.
Note: Assuming I would not be liable for payment if it was damaged in the removal. Does that change anything?

For my learning:

I'd really appreciate you sharing some of your expertise. How did you evaluate the price as not matching the quality of the gem? I promise I won't make hasty decisions based on this advice alone, nor would I hold you to account for sharing your thoughts!

I'm trying to get a good feel for reasonable price ranges. A lot of the sellers recommended here are on IG and don't advertise their prices.

Looking at Leibish today, if filtering to treatment=minor, weight=1.1-1.6, origin=colombia I see a range of:

- max price £18k
- min price £3.2k
- median/middle price £6,134
- mean/average prices £6,688

Does that tally with your expectations?

In which case your conclusion was £9k was "exorbitant". So by those numbers, it's not to be considered an "above average" quality gem. Would you mind breaking down for me why? Would you guess it's "average" quality, or "below average"?

We've mentioned the window as a downside. As a novice I think the clarity seems good? So is it just the window? Or perhaps your best assessment of the colour too?

Any answer is really appreciated, and generous of your time! I've not got an agenda here, or emotional about it. Just trying to learn from the expertise on this forum!

Thanks ever so much.

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

1. Agree that the price seems astronomical for that stone. Some emeralds may be at that price point but this one isn't one of them.

2. Fracture on the girdle would be a no go for me as well. Say it survives the removal from it's current setting fine and you purchase it. Fine. It is extremely risky to then have it reset. It could break while being set in your setting and you are out your investment. Emaralds are relatively fragile anyway, then add a fracture to the girdle, it is begging for trouble. Your beloved is at high risk of knocking it and breaking it during wear as well, if it survives setting. If you read threads here you can find examples of even diamonds breaking during wear.

I won't lecture you about picking such a soft stone for an engagement ring, I will just say I don't believe a stone with a known girdle fracture is one to pick for every day wear for a half century and beyond.

 

[Avondale]

My initial impression was also that you might as well be paying the no oil premium at that price tag. I imagine a chunk of that price is the cost of the SSEF certificate, but still...

Here are some scattered thoughts.

An emerald can definitely command such a high price tag, but that is dependent on a number of factors which I doubt are present here.

On one hand you have the colour. This is a tough one to judge. If you can't see it with your own eyes, you have to trust the seller, and that's difficult enough. If you can see it, you have to trust your ability to distinguish between colours of higher and lower value. It's quite difficult for us here to make a call based on photos and videos. From what I see, the colour of this particular one, although very pleasing, isn't that close to trade ideal. So it shouldn't cost as if it was trade ideal.

Then you have cutting. This particular stone has a window big enough for me to fall through. It shouldn't be priced as if it's almost precision cut.

The level of treatment is where this stone has the advantage. It's identified as both oil and minor. I recently read that traditional cedarwood oil is used less and less (on the etsy page of JR Colombian Emeralds, a known vendor on PS). When you combine that with the fact that many labs do not bother to identify the type of clarity enhancement, buying emeralds is starting to become a minefield not unlike the situation with rubies.

Clarity is also a huge driving factor of price. A clean emerald will be significantly pricier than an included one, and while this one appears clean, I fully agree with @Mrs_Strizzle - a fracture on the girdle is a potential risk for the structural integrity of the stone.

And while we're on the subject of structural integrity, you should keep in mind the inherent fragility of emeralds makes them a less than suitable option for an engagement ring, unless the recipient plans to be quite gentle with their ring. If we're talking daily wear, then you should choose an emerald only if you're prepared that it will need to be repolished down the line or potentially even replaced entirely.

 

[elle_71125]

Honestly, I think you could do better for that price. The color looks very pretty, but the window is really large and that would be a deal breaker for me. I don't hate windows, and I have a few gems with small ones, but this is going to be VERY noticeable on your hand. The fracture on the girdle is also quite worrisome. Emeralds are already more delicate so any damage to the stone is just asking for trouble.

If you post what you're looking for in an emerald and your budget, you'll likely get quite a few good options.

 

[LilAlex]

I agree with others. You could pay $9K for a really fine minor-oil emerald of that size. I can not tell if there is a window but it sure looks like there may be. Color looks nice but no way to tell if it is "pretty" or "superb" from a few snapshots or videos; you need a vendor you can trust.

Odd, imo, that it went to SSEF and was weighed (unless it's an older report) -- so it was out of the ring -- and now being shown in the ring. If this were eBay, I'd say it may not be the same stone. If this were a reputable B&M shop or trusted vendor, I'd feel better. The "medium-minus" saturation and maybe-unexciting (but precision) cut make this not a $9K stone, imo.

Girdle fracture is a concern -- it's either in a place you can hide with a prong and therefore a risk with mounting or a place you can not...

So much of the value is in the color (could vary several-fold) and photos are so tough to gauge, especially for emerald.

And am I the only one to think that the "SSEF x Tumblr" collab is hilariously incongruous?!? Is the vendor by any chance an angsty time-traveling middle-school girl...?

 

[briggysmalls]

I’m really ever so grateful for everyone’s contributions here. I’m definitely going to reassess.

And am I the only one to think that the "SSEF x Tumblr" collab is hilariously incongruous?!? Is the vendor by any chance an angsty time-traveling middle-school girl...?

sadly it’s more boring than that. I actually uploaded that video (notice the same username). As I didn’t know the best way of sharing a video on this site

Odd, imo, that it went to SSEF and was weighed (unless it's an older report) -- so it was out of the ring -- and now being shown in the ring.

The seller purchased the ring from an auction which is where the certificates are from. Link here

Anyway! Thanks folks. Enough of that. I’ll move on. Learn from this forum, and keep searching.

My dream is to set an emerald in a ring like the following. Although possibly in a more “bezel” like setting;



I’m now looking at the sellers mentioned in this forum, for example gem_factor.

Once again, can’t thank everyone enough for being so generous with their time and thoughts. Really helped me dodge a mistake there!

 

[LilAlex]

^ I love that ring! Love a colored step-cut with a baguette halo a la Oscar Heyman. Would prefer white metal for the halo and more "invisibly"-set baguettes/traps, though, so it is less broken-up-looking.

Sorry about all the SSEF and Tumbr snark.

 

[briggysmalls]

Ha! Please don’t apologise. It really made me laugh

Yes I’ve had similar comments from a setter I approached regarding the metalwork around the baguettes. So I’ll be asking to remove that in the design.

Oh yes I see Oscar Heyman examples. Thanks that’s a great reference for me to look at!

 

[LD]

Finding an eye clean emerald can be challenging and if that stone didn’t have issues I would have said if you could negotiate waaaaay down it might be ok. HOWEVER the surface reaching and girdle fractures make this a no no. One smack of your hand against something and it could end up in pieces.

Also have you considered that an Emerald is really not suitable for an every day engagement ring unless you’re a huge risk taker. Emeralds have to be treated very gently.

 

[LilAlex]

Oh yes I see Oscar Heyman examples.

Yes! I think they call it a frame ring or picture-frame-style. One of my all-time favorites. I have a bunch of screenshots saved for no apparent reason other than every time I see one I feel compelled to preserve it!

 

[Megan Hill]

I think the stone has a beautiful crystal but is pricey considering the window and its color (not very saturated). Also, it is a second-hand stone and I think you could get a new one at a better price. Have you asked on other IG accounts (brightgreen, gemfactor, etc.) about those types of stones? In this way you can compare qualities.