Seeking Loose Emerald for Engagement Ring

[segk415]

Hello,

I am helping my brother source a loose emerald for an engagement ring he plans to have made. I am very new to Emeralds and I'm not sure where to start. Does anyone have a suggestion for who are the most reputable emerald dealers online (or on instagram, etc)? Any guidance on what to look for when searching through lists of Emeralds for sale is greatly appreciated as well!

 

[Avondale]

I am very new to Emeralds

In that case maybe I should throw out a word of caution before your brother proceeds with the project - emeralds aren't generally considered to be suitable for setting in an engagement ring.

Engagement rings are usually worn all the time during all manner of activities. So they need sturdy stones, which is one of the main reasons why diamonds are considered the go-to gem - they're very very durable and can withstand decades of abuse.

Emeralds, on the other hand, are significantly softer (about 7,5-8 on the Mohs scale). Furthermore, they're such a type of gem that is very often highly included and thus fragile. You can easily knock them into something accidentally and chip or break them as a result.

If your brother is expecting that his future fiance won't wear the ring all the time and will mostly keep it safe in her jewelry box, then it could work. But otherwise he should consider that there's good chance the stone will need to be repolished at some point or even entirely replaced if they're less lucky.

 

[VBottoms891]

In that case maybe I should throw out a word of caution before your brother proceeds with the project - emeralds aren't generally considered to be suitable for setting in an engagement ring.

Engagement rings are usually worn all the time during all manner of activities. So they need sturdy stones, which is one of the main reasons why diamonds are considered the go-to gem - they're very very durable and can withstand decades of abuse.

Emeralds, on the other hand, are significantly softer (about 7,5-8 on the Mohs scale). Furthermore, they're such a type of gem that is very often highly included and thus fragile. You can easily knock them into something accidentally and chip or break them as a result.

If your brother is expecting that his future fiance won't wear the ring all the time and will mostly keep it safe in her jewelry box, then it could work. But otherwise he should consider that there's good chance the stone will need to be repolished at some point or even entirely replaced if they're less lucky.

Are there any alternative green gemstones you recommend?

 

[emmy12]

Sapphires come in various shades of green and teal and are suitable for engagement rings (hardness of 9). You can also find green diamonds (hello J.Lo!) but they're very pricey for anything of size. Sapphires are more affordable.

If he is dead set that it must be emerald, a high quality lab grown emerald could be a compromise on price vs beauty vs "able to wear it through everything with less guilt". Emeralds are not a "tough" stone and are prone to fracture because they have many natural inclusions. Lab growns ($) do not have the same prestige as a natural emerald, but they do have fewer inclusions (therefore less likely to be damaged, crack) and won't be treated (no need to re-oil etc to fill in fissures) so they will have better toughness than a natural emerald. I'd feel far less guilty wearing that through everything (eg daily hand washing, hand lotion, etc) than I would a natural emerald. Precision Gem has very nice lab grown emeralds that are close to blueish-green Colombian emerald colour (considered the most valuable) rather than the dark saturated yellow-green that you see in most jewelry stores. Lab grown is not for everyone, and is not a recommendation I'd make for an engagement ring without discussing it explicitly with the partner ahead of time.

 

[goldnsilver]

Are there any alternative green gemstones you recommend?

Quick reply here as it's late here for me and I'm typing on the phone (which I shouldn't be doing lol), but in addition to what's been suggested above, tsavorite garnet is one green gemstone that's often recommended for green gem engagement rings, as it's usually more durable and stable than emerald, and stones with good hue and saturation can be found. I remember several threads here where tsavorites were used for engagement ring projects, and will look for these tomorrow. I'm sure others will chime in too!

(Edit: typo)

 

[Avondale]

Are there any alternative green gemstones you recommend?

Well, aside from emeralds, the pretty greens are mostly garnets (demantoids, tsavorites) and tourmalines. But they're all of similar hardness, although there's the advantage that if the stone is mostly clear of inclusions it would also be more stable. In any case, all of these would need to be babied.

As mentioned above, sapphires are suitable in terms of durability, but sapphire greens are nothing like emerald greens. They're more earthy, foresty, dark greens. Some lovely teals, though, especially when one can find a stone with more open colour.

There's a lot to be considered when choosing a centre stone, not just hardness. Different stones display different greens and the tastes of your brother's girlfriend need to be taken into account as well.