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Trapiche emeralds: which should I keep, which should I return, which should I set?

glitterata

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
4,255
I bought three trapiche emeralds from an etsy seller. She told me she bought them at auction, and that they came from a jewelry store that was closing. The labels say they are natural and untreated, and the auctioneer said so too. The seller doesn't usually take returns, but I proposed keeping one of them, with the option of keeping or returning one or both of the other two, and she agreed. I would like to mount one of them in a ring. Please help me decide which to keep and which (if any) to return, and also how to set the one(s) I keep, to make the pattern as visible as possible.

One is 1.5ct, 8mm round, with a high, flattish dome. It's greenish gray and translucent, on the opaque side, with a very clear, centered, fixed six-ray pattern. It's the lightest looking of the three. The pattern is clearly visible in most light.

One is .80ct, about 6mm roundish, with a lower dome. It's a much intenser green than the other two--more what I think of as "emerald green." One of the six segments is black. It's reasonably transparent, but it looks very dark in most light, which makes it hard to see the pattern.

The last one is 2ct, oval, about 7x9mm, with a tallish, flattish dome. This one is the most transparent. It has a clear, centered spoke pattern. It's the lightest in color. In some lights it looks very dark, and in some it looks pretty light. The color is grayish and not very saturated. The transparency gives it a light-and-dark pattern when you rotate it, depending on which way the light is coming from.

I took a bunch of pictures in different light:

Living-room lamp with LED bulbs:

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Halogen spotlights:
CU3jd0FpReuuXNTEmjgDUw.jpg fullsizeoutput_65aa.jpeg fullsizeoutput_65b0.jpeg

Fading afternoon daylight:
fullsizeoutput_65bb.jpeg fullsizeoutput_6591.jpeg The backs:

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O+ARKg2yTTyaSqA5KTb7rQ.jpg fullsizeoutput_659d.jpeg fullsizeoutput_659e.jpeg fullsizeoutput_65a0.jpeg fullsizeoutput_65a4.jpeg

Backlit, sitting on a glass box lid on top of my tablet:
 

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voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
What do you like the most about trapiche emerald? Is it about the pattern or the color? In terms of color, I'd only call the 6mm one an emerald; the others are green beryl to me. The pattern would show the best in all lighting for the 8mm one. I guess the oval is a compromise between color and pattern, but I'm really not digging how that stone goes dark when lighting is uneven, worse than the half and half effect that turns a lot of people off from loving elongated cuts.
 

glitterata

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
4,255
What do you like the most about trapiche emerald? Is it about the pattern or the color? In terms of color, I'd only call the 6mm one an emerald; the others are green beryl to me. The pattern would show the best in all lighting for the 8mm one. I guess the oval is a compromise between color and pattern, but I'm really not digging how that stone goes dark when lighting is uneven, worse than the half and half effect that turns a lot of people off from loving elongated cuts.

Thanks, Voce--you've laid out the basic questions/considerations.

The most important thing to me in the case of these three stones is the pattern. None of them is all that appealing for its color anyway, since the emerald one is dark enough that it just looks like a greenish black smudge, and the other two are too gray. If what I cared about most were color, I wouldn't be considering any of these stones.

I actually like the half-and-half effect of the oval, which seems to me analogous to the milk-and-honey effect of a cat's eye rather than the half-and-half darkness of an elongated cut. To me it shows off the pattern. The round would show that half-and-half effect too if it were transparent. It's the effect of the "dividers" blocking light from half of the stone when the light comes in at an angle. Also, I prefer the transparency of the oval to the translucidness/opacity of the round because it shows the 3D nature of the trapiche--you can see how it goes deep, whereas with the round it looks like a surface pattern.

On the other hand, I like rounds much more than ovals generally.

I think you've helped me talk myself into rejecting the little emerald green one, so that's a good start. Thanks! Now I need help choosing between the two green beryls (or keeping both).
 

LemonMoonLex

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 13, 2018
Messages
2,061
If all that matters to you is the structure or pattern I'd pick the tall oval & send the others back. You even seem that you fancy it more than the others. I also like the color much more than the bigger circle and the half and half is somewhat interesting.
 

glitterata

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
4,255
Thank you, GarnetGirl--that's what I will do. The tall oval also looks best in direct sun, as I found out when the sun came out today.

You have all been so helpful.
 

canuk-gal

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
25,644
Glitterata!

Hello old friend! No suggestions for settings for thee cool gems, but nice to see you!

cheers--Sharon
 

glitterata

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
4,255
Glitterata!

Hello old friend! No suggestions for settings for thee cool gems, but nice to see you!

cheers--Sharon

Back atcha, Sharon!
 

Hetoldmenottodoit

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 16, 2019
Messages
33
Hi Glitterata - are you still happy with your Sunny Girl? Is it a practical ring to wear? I loved your pictures so much that I have a ring which will be quite similar, arriving this week. Sorry that my request is off subject but I didn't know how else to contact you.
 

glitterata

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
4,255
Hetoldme, do you mean my I1 S in the Argentium sterling silver bezeled setting? Yes, I continue to love it. The stone did fall out of the setting (my carelessness--the stone got a bit loose, and then I put it through the laundry!), and the etsy jeweler who made it seems to have vanished from the face of the earth, but I found another jeweler to repair it. It's very comfortable and doesn't catch on things. I wear it a lot.
 

Hetoldmenottodoit

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 16, 2019
Messages
33
Thanks for your response. I'm surprised that a stone could become lose in a bezel setting - I thought it was the optimum setting for safety. Guess you keep your jewellery out of the laundry nowadays!:-o
 

glitterata

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
4,255
Thanks for your response. I'm surprised that a stone could become lose in a bezel setting - I thought it was the optimum setting for safety. Guess you keep your jewellery out of the laundry nowadays!:-o

I thought so too! But it turns out they need to be checked regularly and tightened when necessary, like any setting.

Also, if you take off your ring, put it in a safer place than your pocket. And check your pockets before you do laundry. I was so scared when I found the empty setting rattling around in the dryer! Fortunately, the diamond itself was safe and cozy, nestled in the lint filter.
 
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