When did Emerald Prices get so High?

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I love emeralds so I read the threads about them but have not followed so much on the prices. Lately I have looked at the emeralds suggested by other and am quite startled at the prices. I followed one thread where the emeralds were not high quality and they were so expensive compared to where they were several yrs ago. They now beat Sapphires? I gave away, as a gift a lovely emerald cut emerald of decent quality some yrs back. I didn't pay anything like the prices now.

I have 8 matching emeralds , minor treatment, not the best color, in the world, but in a necklace, ring and earrings they are very pretty. I was going to wear my neckace to Las Vegas for the holidays. Its not insured, but it seems it may be worth more than I thought. When did all this happen.?

I don't have a camera to take pictures.


Annette

 

[partgypsy]

Well I think for a while that emeralds went through a period of being unpopular due to instability. I think there were a couple famous cases of large emeralds cracking, that really scared people away.
Myself I've been informally looking for awhile, have no idea if my personal experience is reflective overall what was going on. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right places, but it seemed to be a choice between high prices with well regarded established vendors, and vendors with good prices and often nice looking stones, but question marks regarding reputation and type of treatment on stones. I experimented and purchased a couple stones that were sold as lightly treated, and in both cases in person the stones were lighter than the photos suggested and I returned them.

So I don't know if my perception is accurate, it seems like there are more stones out there now, than there was say 10 years ago (maybe Colombia more stable for business)? but at the same time there are more treatments being done to emeralds than ever before (maybe the perception of supply is misleading). In any case as with all stones one does have to pay more for guaranteed stones with less/lack of treatment than pretty stones with unknown treatments.

If there was a bigger supply of quality emeralds, it was definitely before the past 10-15 years or so.

 

[T L]

I noticed prices on the rise the last five years or so.

 

[chrono]

A slow rise over the years, nothing like the seemingly doubling of blue sapphire prices overnight.

 

[lambskin]

Aren't emeralds from Zambia cheaper than Colombian emeralds? As a colored stone snob, I discounted Zambian emeralds because then were not from Colombia-Muzo Mines. I visited Bogota's emerald center and checked out both wholesalers and retailers gems. The premium for a high quality Muzo is understandable-the color is spectacular. However, I was shown other incredible emeralds from mines other than Muzo which were more reasonable-but still pricey. Back in the USA I have seen some high end-jaw dropping Zambian emeralds that were gorgeous for far less. Diamonds mined elsewhere in the world (USSR, Canada, Africa etc) seem to have no premium as to location of mines, why colored stones? If you think emeralds have gotten high-rubies seem to have become really pricey. Now we see rubies from Africa as Burmese rubies are more difficult to acquire. I do understand that certain areas produce different colors-i.e. Imperial Topaz from Brazil and the different colors of peridot from Pakistan vs Arizona which are a matter of personal choice or preference. But I am now of the opinion to buy the prettiest stone as budget dictates.

 

[minousbijoux]

Yes, it is true that there are beautiful emeralds from many parts of the world. In my limited experience, the one time I had the opportunity to compare a large quantity of Colombians with those from Zambia, I was struck by the beautiful color and clarity of the Zambians, but the glow from the Colombians was unrivaled. This might not be a generalization, but it was the case in this particular instance.

As for price increases, like TL, I have seen a general trend upward over the last 5+ years as so many in the economic downturn ran to hard assets for protection, and as demand in Asia increased for fine goods.

 

[kenny]

... Diamonds mined elsewhere in the world (USSR, Canada, Africa etc) seem to have no premium as to location of mines, why colored stones?

Just thought I'd mention that Pink/Violet/Blue diamonds from the Argyle mine in Australia have a premium tacked onto the price.
Also white diamonds from Canada cost more as they brag about being 'conflict-free'.

Then there is the old legendary Golconda mine in India.
Here's a snip from Wikipedia, "The region is universally famous for the mines that have produced the world's most famous and coveted gems, including The Hope Diamond, Idol's Eye, The Koh-i-Noor and Darya-i-Noor.".

As to why mine location increases price I say, "follow the money".
If sellers can create a brand out of location they will, Burmese ruby, Kashmir Sapphire, Cuzo emerald, Paraiba Tourmaline, etc.

It's not all hot air.
Some gems from these locations are arguably the best example of their species.

I often read here that the more knowledgable claim gems of location X should not cost more.
I don't understand this.
It seems unreasonable to me.
Price is the result of supply and demand, and yes, obviously not every sapphire from Kashmir looks as good as the best ones.
But sellers know buyers will pay the Kashmir premium on even blah examples that GIA or AGL will bestow the coveted Kashmir blessing/brand on.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Thanks to all for your answers. Its funny, I came to find pricescope looking for prices on spessertite garnet. I couldn't believe the price quotes on that gem and now I'm just as surprised at the cost of emeralds. The emeralds I have were purchased in 2004-2005.
They are zambian but my ring has that nice glow to it. Maybe, it was because I went to the Richard Wise website and looked at his emeralds. I got a shock. I know hes overpriced but wow.

Well, now I have to rethink my plans. I have had it appraised, but we all know how that goes, and that was in 2005. Now I know.


Annette

 

[iLander]

Yes, it is true that there are beautiful emeralds from many parts of the world. In my limited experience, the one time I had the opportunity to compare a large quantity of Colombians with those from Zambia, I was struck by the beautiful color and clarity of the Zambians, but the glow from the Colombians was unrivaled. This might not be a generalization, but it was the case in this particular instance.

As for price increases, like TL, I have seen a general trend upward over the last 5+ years as so many in the economic downturn ran to hard assets for protection, and as demand in Asia increased for fine goods.

Agree with all posted and this especially. All the fine auction houses have their big jewelry auctions in Hong Kong now. The best pieces go there first, then the lesser pieces go to Geneva, London and then the US, in that order. Almost nothing goes to France anymore, which used to be big back in the '80's.

I'm kind of a big auction voyeur, for many years. Never bought anything, but like to look.

 

[partgypsy]

Smith It wouldn't hurt to have an up to date appraisal. I don't have anything like the collection of some on here, but for me it is worth it to have a jewelry rider added to my house insurance for a few of my pieces. It's worth the money for my peace of mind and I think jewelry was meant to be worn!

 

[diagem]

Interesting conversation...
I will greatly appreciate if anyone participating in this thread could perhaps show price comparisons on these price changes?

Thanx,

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Yorum,

I am going to look at the newsletter of Robert Genis. Its called the Gemforcaster.com or Gem Forcaster.com and he has a graff of gemstone prices for sapphires, emeralds, spinels, and diamonds. I forgot that. He is a reputable dealer and I find his newsletter helpful to me.


I'm going to look now.

Annette

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

No, its the Gemstone Forcaster. www.preciousgems.com

Annette

 

[minousbijoux]

Interesting conversation...
I will greatly appreciate if anyone participating in this thread could perhaps show price comparisons on these price changes?

Thanx,

I'm sure you could mine this info yourself by reading back through threads here on emeralds - I'm sure you quite quickly would get a sense of prices over time...

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I looked and a top 1 ct ruby unheated runs about $44,000 per carat. An emerald runs $32,000 per ctw. A top sapphire 1 ctw runs 14,000. TL was right, the price on emeralds went up beginning in 2005. All stones are AGL graded and of course top color.

Spinels came in at 6,000-- and fancy diamonds off the charts 1975-2012. Very interesting. I must have looked at it before but it didn't sink in until I began looking at the posts/.


Annette

 

[diagem]

Hi,

No, its the Gemstone Forcaster. www.preciousgems.com

Annette

Thanks Annette, but unfortunately the link doesn't forward me to the right place...

 

[diagem]

Hi,

I looked and a top 1 ct ruby unheated runs about $44,000 per carat. An emerald runs $32,000 per ctw. A top sapphire 1 ctw runs 14,000. TL was right, the price on emeralds went up beginning in 2005. All stones are AGL graded and of course top color.

Spinels came in at 6,000-- and fancy diamonds off the charts 1975-2012. Very interesting. I must have looked at it before but it didn't sink in until I began looking at the posts/.


Annette

Do you happen to recall (approx) 2005 numbers?
It would be nice if we could gather some examples from old threads here, I would attempt at it but an too unfamiliar in this CS forum.
I hear Top Color are going brought the roof so I suspect this fact is pulling mid/low qualities upwards as well...

 

[pregcurious]

Hi,

No, its the Gemstone Forcaster. www.preciousgems.com

Annette

Here is the link:
http://preciousgemstones.com/gfspring12.html#6

 

[slksapphire]

annette,

the data you posted is very consistent with what i saw about 2 years ago when i started looking for my sapphire in terms of the relative difference between ruby, emerald and sapphire (though it seems all prices have gone up in the past 2 years). one other note: the per carat prices increase pretty dramatically at certain cut-off points like 1ct, 3ct, 5ct and 10ct, as well as for certain prized origins.

 

[partgypsy]

It's interesting, while I don't remember reading warnings about emerald prices going up, there was a period of time, where at least 2 vendors spoke up and said that sapphire supply is decreasing and due to demand in Asia demand is going up and that prices were going up. But I wasn't looking for a sapphire at the time so I didn't take advantage. Do you think that the trends are permanent or prices might decrease at some point ? It looks like at least for tanzanite prices went down, and historically for emeralds too.

Well, spinels I guess are still a "bargain".

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Thanks Pregcurious for correcting my link. I am not tech savey at all. The funny thing is after I looked at the trends I realized that Richard Wise was taking the prices from Richard Genis graphs. I will look for the 2005 price of emeralds.

Yes, I agree that "A rising tide lifts all boats. " Lucky me, I'm overweight emeralds.


Annette

I'm going to assume that Yorum read the graphs from Preg's link. It looks like in 2005 top emeralds were 15,000-20,000 per carat.
Amazing isn't it?

Annette

 

[diagem]

Hi,

Thanks Pregcurious for correcting my link. I am not tech savey at all. The funny thing is after I looked at the trends I realized that Richard Wise was taking the prices from Richard Genis graphs. I will look for the 2005 price of emeralds.

Yes, I agree that "A rising tide lifts all boats. " Lucky me, I'm overweight emeralds.


Annette

I'm going to assume that Yorum read the graphs from Preg's link. It looks like in 2005 top emeralds were 15,000-20,000 per carat.
Amazing isn't it?

Annette

Hi Annette,
Yes & thanx for those charts...
What seems to me like 2012-2013 were great inflation years for CS. I think I am noticing an explosion in prices for top quality natural non-enhanced material. Now I hear demand for basically the whole quality spectrum is going through the roof IF it's natural & not treated!

I am certain the continued devaluation of the US Green is adding fuel to this fire. It will be interesting to see how these market play out in the near future.

BTW, Yor(a)m is spelled with an a

 

[minousbijoux]

Hi,

Thanks Pregcurious for correcting my link. I am not tech savey at all. The funny thing is after I looked at the trends I realized that Richard Wise was taking the prices from Richard Genis graphs. I will look for the 2005 price of emeralds.

Yes, I agree that "A rising tide lifts all boats. " Lucky me, I'm overweight emeralds.


Annette

I'm going to assume that Yorum read the graphs from Preg's link. It looks like in 2005 top emeralds were 15,000-20,000 per carat.
Amazing isn't it?

Annette

Hi Annette,
Yes & thanx for those charts...
What seems to me like 2012-2013 were great inflation years for CS. I think I am noticing an explosion in prices for top quality natural non-enhanced material. Now I hear demand for basically the whole quality spectrum is going through the roof IF it's natural & not treated!

I am certain the continued devaluation of the US Green is adding fuel to this fire. It will be interesting to see how these market play out in the near future.

BTW, Yor(a)m is spelled with an a

Diagem: if you are really in the trade, why don't you just refer to your GemGuide as so many others do? You probably have your back issues laying around - or, if not, you can certainly access them through Gemworld International with your subscription...Just a thought.

 

[diagem]

Diagem: if you are really in the trade, why don't you just refer to your GemGuide as so many others do? You probably have your back issues laying around - or, if not, you can certainly access them through Gemworld International with your subscription...Just a thought.

Thanx for the heads up MB...

 

[smitcompton]

Hi All,

I would just like to add that Yoram is a diamond cutter. I understand one of the best in the world. He is located in Israel. Colored stones are not his forte, and I regard it as a privledge to have him on our boards. So, yes Yoram is in the trade and many of us would love to have a diamond cut by him. I believe he cuts the AVR's ,ACC's and perhaps even the Octavia.

Please welcome Yoram to the CS board.


Annette

 

[ChristineRose]

Smitcompton, that link is awesome! I have been looking for a set of charts like that for years. I don't have any real use for them but I am curious as I work in finance and keep running into gem investment scams and have always wanted to see something like that from an objective source.

 

[minousbijoux]

Hi All,

I would just like to add that Yoram is a diamond cutter. I understand one of the best in the world. He is located in Israel. Colored stones are not his forte, and I regard it as a privledge to have him on our boards. So, yes Yoram is in the trade and many of us would love to have a diamond cut by him. I believe he cuts the AVR's ,ACC's and perhaps even the Octavia.

Please welcome Yoram to the CS board.


Annette

Welcome Yoram! Annette and Yoram: I realize that by placing a thoughtless "really" in the sentence, I gave the impression of being patronizing and doubting Yoram was in the trade. I knew from Annette's warm welcome that he had some background here, but wasn't sure because typically when someone is in the Trade, it says so in a banner across the top of their post. So sorry about that.

 

[LD]

Over the past 20 years Emeralds haven't increased in price much. The price was pretty stable - perhaps increasing a tiny bit. Production is not limited and fine examples are found all the time so the value of the gem reflects that. For example, I had a valuation done in 2000 and then again in 2008 for the same Emerald piece and the valuation hadn't changed much.

Having said that, and this is nothing more than gut feeling, there has been a resurgent interest in coloured stones (mainly due to some high profile coloured gemstone rings) and people have been looking at sapphires which have crazily gone through the roof in price! I wonder if this increase in Emerald prices is rising on the back of that?

Very nice Zambian Emeralds are for sale quite liberally now and I know many collectors like this green compared to their Colombian counterparts. If I were you, I wouldn't discount Zambians because I beautiful one will almost certain rival a Colombian. To me they have a quite discernible difference in colour so you need to see some to compare.

In terms of location Kenny - you cannot compare coloured diamonds/location to coloured gemstones/location. It just simply doesn't work that way. Richard Hughes has been quoted as saying ..."The best blue Kashmir sapphire I have ever seen was from Madagascar"! In certain gemstones, pricing will add a premium but not many.

 

[kenny]

So, yes Yoram is in the trade and many of us would love to have a diamond cut by him. I believe he cuts the AVR's ,ACC's and perhaps even the Octavia.

Yes, Yoram cuts the Octavia, and kudos to him.

We have two Octavias and they are miracles of light performance, especially for a step cut.
And this is coming from a guy who is spoiled by two ideal-cut rounds for almost 10 years, a Solasfera and an ACA.

Shout out to KarlK too, the designer of the cut.

 

[diagem]

Thank you all for the welcome. Although I don't feel entirely new.
I am genuinely interested in info in the colored gem dept.
I do have some experience in the higher end antique world of the three RSE (Ruby, Saphire & Emeralds) but am lacking in the more general fields such as commercial and smalls.

I actualy own quite a large collection of RSE's (and some garnets, opals, some tourmalines etc...)
The interesting part of my story is the CS gems I own have been locked up in our family safes for about 5-6 decades.

I am thinking of airing them in the near future and so am trying to learn. Although treatments existed back then I am certain my collection has been avoided by most treatments applied since the 50's. A rather large portion of my collections is in smalls (e.g. Rounds, marquise, pears, ovals, straight edge etc...).

I have a few ideas running through my mind but no set plans as of yet, so I am learning and where better than from you wonderful folks.

If I do sound a bit like a novice please excuse me and bear with me patiently.

Thanx,