Help with this emerald(!) engagement ring

[kick]

Hey all, so it’s definitely time to propose to my girlfriend. I’ve never bought nice jewellery before (except a few watches) and I’ve had a wonderful time diving into this previously unknown rabbit hole via this community

Green is a preferred colour for my girlfriend, and since emeralds are not recommended for daily wear, I was all prepared to hunt down more suitable green gemstone rings.

(Record scratch) Then I found this -
http://carolefranks.com/Antique-Rings/Stunning-Columbian-Emerald-And-Diamond-Engagement-Ring/4238

But I know *nothing* here, except that I like this, and I think my GF would too. Which would ordinarily be enough, were it not a whole heap of money, and something to last the next x decades.

So some questions:
1) is this a truly terrible idea for an engagement ring - being vintage emerald will it be guaranteed not to last?
2) thoughts on the valuation and the price?
3) thoughts on the stones - the cut/inclusions?
4) what am I missing here? What am I not thinking about? What else do I not know that I should?

Thanks in advance guys. Sorry for the waffle!

 

[rockysalamander]

1) is this a truly terrible idea for an engagement ring - being vintage emerald will it be guaranteed not to last?
If she will wear her ring daily, not just for special occasions, and you want this to be "the" stone for life...an emerald engagement ring is a truly and honestly a terrible idea. Its terrible because emeralds are just too fragile. Assuming that stone is original to the setting, which is unlikely, it was not designed to be worn daily.

2) thoughts on the valuation and the price?
I'd post this over on the Colored Stone board. But, you need to be prepared to replace/recut a emerald several times over the life of wearing. Every recut loses weight and they sometimes cannot be saved.

3) thoughts on the stones - the cut/inclusions?
The stone looks windowed in the one photo. There is no certification or explanation of treatments. NO NO NO.

4) what am I missing here? What am I not thinking about? What else do I not know that I should?
See above. Emeralds are too fragile. They are too fragile for such an exposed setting. They need to disclose the treatments. There is no perfect substitute, but if you don't mind heat treatment than green sapphires are quite pretty.
http://www.earthstreasury.com/product/1-83-carat-forest-green-montana-sapphire/
https://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-montana-12-768
https://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-fancy-15-1253

Garnets come in a more sutured green and are likely to be damaged over time, but they generally cost less than sapphires so the replacement is less problematic in a simple setting.
https://gemfix.com/gems/tsavorite-21-232-2
https://gemfix.com/gems/tsavorite-21-250

Here is the what the future of that emerald looks like. I can't tell you how many chipped abraded and sad emeralds used to walk into my grandmothers shop.



http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2012/08/no-no-no-emeralds-in-engagement-rngs.html

Sorry to not have better news...

 

[Alexiszoe]

As @rockysalamander said, it is not as hardy for daily wear so I would be very cautious about using it as an engagement ring. Speaking from personal experience, I scraped my hand against a wall once (not hard) while wearing an emerald ring, and one of the corners was chipped!

 

[rockysalamander]

If it has to be an emerald, it needs to be in a protected setting. It won't help the top facets, but will protect the girdle.

 

[rockysalamander]

As @rockysalamander said, it is not as hardy for daily wear so I would be very cautious about using it as an engagement ring. Speaking from personal experience, I scraped my hand against a wall once (not hard) while wearing an emerald ring, and one of the corners was chipped!

My mom hit/scraped her hand on a concrete wall wearing her Kashmir sapphire. It was abraded and chipped. The sapphire had to be repaired and she lost some weight in the stone. And...it was bezel set. That was a very expensive day.

 

[rockysalamander]

This is a much better way to use emeralds. Find a setting where they are caliber cut or rounds even in a halo. The halo around the emeralds should be bezel set, but this brings in the emeralds without the huge damage risk.

 

[kick]

Thanks for the real talk people. Rockysalamander you spent an age on that, thanks for every word. And the reinforcement (with personal experience) of the no emeralds rule from Alexiszoe.

And another post from RS! Thanks for digging up those examples. Not a fan of the protected setting, but the halo rings after were interesting.

Seriously appreciate it.

Back to plan A, and something more durable. Thanks again, this forum is awesome. You’re all awesome!

 

[rockysalamander]

We are very good at helping to find diamonds in budget here .

If you want a colored stone, maybe head over and post on the Colored Stone board.