No I am not replacing a lost one. I would like to insert one on the inside of a band for birthstone/sentimental reasons. Being that I'm using it as a birthstone, I would prefer to use an emerald instead of the alternative but if I can't find the size that I want then I may not have a choice (unless I get a custom cut).
There's no doubt that I will be posting pictures of my final piece once finished. I am having Leon Mege work on my setting design and just spoke to him earlier today. He also recommended the alternative, demantoid, mostly because the last time he tried to find a small emerald, he said it was rather difficult and delayed the project much too long. I thought I would do some of my own preliminary research to see what I could find.
Thanks to everyone for their contribution. Any additional input is always appreciated.
Maybe try ebay? It is so small that I am not sure if the quality matters - as long as the color is nice.
I have two pink diamonds in my e-ring that are about 2 to 3 mm. They are so tiny that I can't even see them. I regret paying extra I should have listened to PS and got pink sapphires or something.
Leon said the last time he had to source a small emerald, he had such a difficult time sourcing one so small and it took him such a long time which ultimately delayed the project. So instead he recommend an alternative stone that looked the same (can't remember the name). Since emerald is my GF's birthstone I thought I'd try to get the real deal first. Although ultimately she wouldn't care if it was real or not and would mostly appreciate the gesture.
I ended up sending that gemhut link to Leon and told him I'll leave it up to him to decide.