Contact Jason on this forum
He’s a Gemstone dealer/expert
JFW or similar if I remember correctly
It's my wife's birthday in April, and it is about time that I took advantage of our location and bought her some emerald jewellery. I know that I could do some research on the internet, but like any good TZer I'll seek advice here first. Actually I'm well aware that there are some members here that really know their gemstones.
I'll be buying locally in Bogotá, and should have little difficulty finding a reputable dealer. Passing off synthetics as the genuine article is very unlikely here, but hiking the price in the assumption that I'm an ill-informed tourist and misdescribing the quality is not.
I'm thinking of buying cut stones, either loose or set in gold (my wife will ultimately make the choice of setting, and that might happen back in the UK).
So I'm after an idea of what the best quality emeralds should look like to my untrained eye, and whether there are any obvious pitfalls to be aware of. Are there preferred cuts that bring out the colour and clarity or are best for the underlying structure of the mineral? I'm sure that it varies immensely but if possible a rough guideline of UK prices for good quality Colombian emeralds would be very useful for comparison.
Thanks, Matthew
Contact Jason on this forum
He’s a Gemstone dealer/expert
JFW or similar if I remember correctly
Last edited by GOAT; 18th March 2018 at 18:13.
They should be green.
Sorry!
Hi Matthew
Here's a emerald cut example....I think the colour is pretty good:
Best - Neil
Make sure they are real, and clarity is key. Beryl is quite soft.
1 Read this: https://www.gemsociety.org/article/emerald-enhancement/
2 Remember that all emeralds are imperfect - not least 'jardins' and surface flaws
3 Make sure your wife knows that emeralds are quite vulnerable - particularly to surface cracks and to chips
4 Pay the premium to buy from a trustworthy source - why would you risk the alternative?
5 Enjoy
My wife has green eyes and - surprise, surprise - emeralds are my favourite gemstone. I take my own advice (above) and then buy stones that suit her eyes.
Unless her eyes are brown. Brown gems of all kinds look ok like crap. Literally.