Opinions on these 3 emeralds

[Bojambles]

Hi,

Looking for opinions on these 3 emeralds - any opinions are welcome and appreciated.

They're already set in jewelry (earrings + ring) and will have good lab reports (minor oil).
Am trying to figure out:

1. The colour irl

2. Will the windows in the earrings be noticeable irl

3. Will the more sizeable inclusions in the earrings be a problem? They're already set though.

Thanks very much!

The first set of photos are blown up ones from the listing. The colour looks horrendous but it seems that emeralds never photograph well (I have a tiny GRS vivid green that is metallic bluish green but photographs a grey green), but at that magnification I can see the inclusions. They mostly don't bother me except for the long dark lines running throughout -> potential stability issue?

Earrings:



Ring seems okay:




Below are a couple of stills from videos, which hopefully represent more accurate colours?

Am not expecting a GRS vivid green (can't afford) from this and if the colour is as in the video at its worst, I'd be happy

Earrings (diffused light / shop window):



Ring (diffused light / shop window):



Ring (sun:

 

[Autumn in New England]

I've found emeralds to be the most difficult gem for me to give an opinion on here. As you said, the color rarely photographs accurately. Ask a lot of questions of the vendor, and if everything sounds right, get them home to evaluate in person (and make sure you have an appropriate return/refund policy). The same goes for the clarity. I would need to loupe the stones to determine if any of the inclusions pose a threat to the stone's durability. You can start by asking the seller if any of the fissures are surface-reaching. With regard to the windowing, the ring doesn't look too bad. I see what I believe to be more sizable windows in the earrings. But they may perform much better in person, since they're already set. Again, I think you may need to see these fellas in person, if you're seriously interested in them. Good luck!

 

[LilAlex]

We have no idea how big the stones are (in mm or cts) and we are only seeing a cropped view so there is no way to give an opinion on whether the inclusions will be visible. None seem like deal-breakers but we also do not know the price-point.

There is no way to "compare" color across random photos. iPhones and the like terribly torture saturation and contrast even in the "unedited" view. For example, look at how the iPhone 13 ruins photos with an un-toggle-able kooky default contrast and sharpening that makes everyone look like a bitmoji. We have become so spoiled with phony IG pics that we now "expect" a hyper-real, hyper-vibrant image from our humdrum scene and Apple is happy to deliver.

I think the colors are fine. I prefer the blue-green of the lower ones to the yellow-green of the upper images -- but I have no way to know if that reflects the actual gem colors.

 

[Autumn in New England]

We have become so spoiled with phony IG pics that we now "expect" a hyper-real, hyper-vibrant image from our humdrum scene and Apple is happy to deliver.

 

[Bojambles]

We have become so spoiled with phony IG pics that we now "expect" a hyper-real, hyper-vibrant image from our humdrum scene and Apple is happy to deliver.

Thanks LilAlex, this made me laugh but is true.

My post was a bit too vague, but both sets of photos are actually the same stones, the first, washed out set is the listing photo and the second set are stills taken from real life videos I requested.

They're all about 2cts each. I'm not fussed about the appearance of inclusions, just worried that they pose issues to long term stability.

 

[Bojambles]

Okay, posting some more photos... please talk me in or out of them!

Price is a little over US$15k for the entire set.

The settings are 18kt in ballerina style, ~11.5tcw and supposedly G-H, VS. While I don't think returns are possible, I can pay via credit card, and the emeralds will all have Gubelin reports. Emeralds are all slightly above 2ct each (~ 2.1 / 2.2 ish)

Some considerations:
- I really like the ballerina settings on these for some reason. They undulate so it seems more... dynamic. I know it's not a popular style at the moment, I can barely find any nice ballerina settings
- I don't like designing my own jewelry
- Am quite scared of setting emeralds and prefer to buy them already set

The emeralds' colour looks best here:







Earring colours don't look quite so good here (though I appreciate it's very very hard to capture Emerald colours)

 

[LilAlex]

I like them!

Not sure I would advocate for wearing them all together -- a bit matchy-matchy for me -- but individually they are very cool, imo.

Gubelin is great -- but what will it say? If heavily treated, probably not worth the Gubelin fee. I do not know how granular Gubelin gets for emerald grading whereas GIA will give you degrees of treatment, etc. Hopefully others here will know. A simple yes/no for treatment would not be enough reassurance for me.

I bought a thing or two like this that were not "our style," per se, but just worked together so well and it ended up being the most cost-effective way to get the center stone... One I bought to break up but I just didn't have the heart.

 

[Autumn in New England]

I'm not sure if this is what you want to hear, but that is a really beautiful set, now that I'm seeing the entire picture. I'm an incorrigible enabler though, so I'm not likely to talk folks out of anything. lol But the color looks very fine in the first 2 photos of your recent post, and it seems the white balance is properly calibrated. We discussed the windowing a bit already in the earrings (the ring looks great). But other than that, if the emeralds are certified as natural/minor oil by Gubelin and you'll have some sort of buyer protection should anything go awry (I'd feel better with an outright return/refund policy), then maybe you should consider them. Clearly you love the design (I do too)!

 

[Bojambles]

Thanks @LilAlex @Autumn in New England !

The ring has come out as minor by Gubelin, the seller thinks the earrings will be the same but will send them for lab testing first. Gubelin does do ranges for treatment.

The vendor was happy to confirm the diamond melee tcw and quality, but on emerald colour - they don't want to say as they say that they're not sure how it appears on my device except to say that it's greener than the last 2 pictures in the above post.

But at the same time they're also saying that they're guessing it looks closer to this irl, which I don't like as much (although the white balance seems to be off? sorry am not good with visuals and photography!):








I prefer the bluish green to this rather yellowish green so will have to deliberate a bit

 

[Autumn in New England]

Naturally, I can't be sure, but I don't think these stones are going to lean yellow in person. I understand the seller not wanting to get too much into the particulars of hue, because it's so subjective. But as emeralds are concerned, they should be able to tell you if the stones have a yellow or blue modifier. Emerald is just one of those things where you can only learn so much through questions and photos, etc. The color is so nuanced (and priced according to subtle differences in that color), that you really have to evaluate them in person. Do keep us posted!

 

[LilAlex]

I prefer the bluish green to this rather yellowish green so will have to deliberate a bit

I agree with @Autumn in New England that the white-balance looks good to my eye in those appealing photos above on the (presumably) gray faux suede. I checked in Lightroom and it looks pretty accurate, assuming that those are true neutrals.

In contrast, that set of photos right above looks way too yellow; this is what I see when I white-balance on the (presumably) white diamonds:


If anything, this now looks too cool to my eye. Maybe they had to tweak the color to "get" the emeralds accurately represented.

Almost impossible to buy anything with no return policy. If that's the case, I would never spend that amount

 

[Bojambles]

Thank you both again! I learnt something new now (Lightroom app).

Yeah the lack of a return policy is making me uncomfortable, but it's because I'm not US / Europe based and there aren't many options locally sadly.

 

[T L]

No return policy negates the purchase for me, especially for a $15k item.

Emeralds are one of the most synthesized or imitated gems, and although you are stating there are Guebkin reports, I much rather have the loose stones, or buy them from a dealer I know very well and trust. Doublets are very common, and look very authentic.

A credit card won’t hellp much either if the seller explicitly states no returns or refuses return. I would check their policies before thinking a credit card is going to do that. Find out, in writing, what the actual return policy is.

 

[VividRed]

No return policy negates the purchase for me, especially for a $15k item.

Emeralds are one of the most synthesized or imitated gems, and although you are stating there are Guebkin reports, I much rather have the loose stones, or buy them from a dealer I know very well and trust. Doublets are very common, and look very authentic.

A credit card won’t hellp much either if the seller explicitly states no returns or refuses return. I would check their policies before thinking a credit card is going to do that. Find out, in writing, what the actual return policy is.

Cannot agree more

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

- I really like the ballerina settings on these for some reason. They undulate so it seems more... dynamic. I know it's not a popular style at the moment, I can barely find any nice ballerina settings

I love ballerina settings too! I found one on eBay that I’m changing out the center stone.

 

[Cinders]

I'm another fan of ballerina settings---they are so lovely & not seen often these days. I don't have any advice about purchasing vs. not purchasing but I am casting my vote in favor of this beautiful set, in general.