Ring size - stone softness??

[starabove3]

I was born in May so my birthstone is emerald. Over the past few years, I have been throwing around the idea of getting an emerald ring. About a year ago when I was looking at a ring, the jeweler kind of talked me out of it because she said that emeralds are very soft stones and I would have to be extremely careful with it so I did not damage the stone. I didn''t want to buy something that I would barely ever be able to wear so my search stopped there. Since then, I have talked to several people who own real emeralds (which is what I want; I figure if the money is going to be spent on an emerald, it might as well be real (and I think they look MUCH nicer and have asked them if they need to be extremely careful with their jewelry and they have said they have no problems and they wear theirs all day, every day. I''m going to grad school right now so I am subbing during the day and am a cashier at night. So my first question is, are emeralds really that soft that I would have to be extremely careful in whatever I do? I''m not planning on slamming my hand stone down on anything but I do want to know if it can be damaged just by day-to-day wear as I was initially told. I have recently begun to intently look for a ring again, which is very difficult because I have very small hands and fingers (my ring size is 5 3/4) and because I am looking for a setting in white gold (because I am not a huge fan of yellow gold). But looking around I have found some settings in white gold that I like and my parents have said they will get it for me for christmas and I want to make sure that I will be able to wear it on a regular basis before we actually go through with a purchase.

I have been sized as a 5 3/4 on my left hand and I do not think there is much difference in size between my right and left because I can switch the rings on my ring fingers and they fit the same on both hands. Looking online at various jewelry sites, I see that they have ring sizes in the halves (i.e. 5, 5.5, 6, etc). So my second question is, if I am sized for a 5 3/4 and 5 1/2 and 6 are the sizes that are available, which size would be better to go with? I am sure that it would depend on the ring, but if both sizes are comfortable enough for me to wear, which would be the better option? My first thought would be that a 5 1/2 would be better so I have less of a chance of it being too loose and falling off, but then I wonder if it would be too small once my hands swell. Any advice?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[C Smith]

Emerald has pretty good wearability and makes for fine jewelery. A ring should be no problem as long as the stone isn''t heavily fractured to begin with. Also, note that there are many treatments used nowadays to conceal common surface-reaching fractures such as oiling and the like in natural emerald. This is an accepted industry practice but should be disclosed to you by your jeweler.

A stone with many surface reaching cracks will be more subject to further damage by way of random knocks and the like. A nice emerald will wear long thanks to it''s relative hardness at 7 1/2, but it will never wear so long as a good Ruby or sapphire with their hardness of 9. Be sure to keep your emeralds stored carefully away from harder stones such as diamond which can cause scratching if both are thrown into a jewelery box drawer together haphazardly and their beauty will out-live you and several more generations besides.

One possibility is to choose a setting that is somewhat protective of the emerald. A big solitaire high up on prongs is more subject to damage that a halo set emerald etc. As a general note, all colored gemstones are more subject to abrasion and loss of polish during everyday activity than the much harder diamond. This is one large reason why many antique colored-stones need a repolish while old victorian diamonds often look good as new.

Good luck!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

And regarding the sizing issue, a jeweler can certainly size a ring to 5 3/4. That is not a problem unless the ring has stones all the way around the shank!

 

[movie zombie]

while emerald has a rather acceptable moh number, it is my understanding that it crumbles easily.......however, i have seen one worn 24/7 for years that still had a lovely color even though it had lost all its faceting.


info re emerald treatments:
http://www.faceters.com/properties/beryl/emerald.shtml

movie zombie

 

[starryeyed]

Hello Starabove3 and WELCOME to Pricescope! You ask an excellent question and I hope the gemstone experts here will answer all of your questions about emeralds.

C Smith brings up a good point about the setting. If you are worried about damaging the stone accidentally, perhaps a half or full bezel setting would offer protection if you plan to wear it regularly. Diamondseeker is right that a ring with a plain shank can usually be sized as needed. The only thing I would add is you may want to ask about the return policy for 1/4 sizes - some retailers will do the sizing, but then you can''t return the ring if you aren''t happy with it.

Please post pictures when you get your special ring!

 

[starabove3]

Hello. . .first I would like to thank everyone for their help in answering my questions. I greatly appreciate all of your knowledge and information.

A couple of days ago, I was able to find the ring I''ve been searching for. It is a 10K white gold band with 3 emeralds (two smaller ones on each side of a larger one). And I lucked out even more because the jeweler was in the store that day and I was able to have my finger sized and the ring resized for me that day in about an hour! I was so excited. My finger was sized at a 5 1/2 with my fingers being a little swollen from me being warm, but I think it could''ve actually gone down to a 5. . .but. . .that little bit of extra room gives me some room to grow. It is a christmas gift from my parents but I haven''t taken it off since they gave it to me. . .they didn''t give me a box or anything with it so what else am I supposed to do with it BUT wear it???

I''ve attached a picture of my ring on (sorry, it''s not the clearest :-/) and one from the website so you can see it a little clearer.

Thanks again for all of your help!