Custom making emerald jewelry- any tips when selecting loose stones and jeweler?

[LVoeletters]

Hi all,

I’ve been looking into purchasing an emerald set this past month. But I’m a little unsure if I am doing this right. I found some inspo pieces. I.e. emerald cut emerald bezel set tennis bracelet, emerald oval band, and either a toi et moi necklace or studs.

I’ve used google image to find sensibly priced premade items or loose stones and it’s starting to get a little overwhelming. I found a couple of jewelers but their estimated prices are a little all over the place when I come them to each other. Any guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[GraffS]

You need to make sure you know what quality of emeralds you buy. There are emeralds of alllllll prices depending on the quality and origin. They can be rechrystalized, oiled, filled with glass and it would reduce its price significantly on a market. But some unethical stores can sell you jewelry with these stones for elevated price and not explaining you the poor quality of the stones.
Make sure each stone comes with certification and you would understand how the stones have been treated. Minor oil is ok. Major glass or recrystalized is ok if you want to reduce the price significantly.

 

[papertiger]

@GraffS has given great advice on quality. Most emeralds of any notable size will have some visible flaws.

Also mote, emeralds can be lab grown and will test as Emeralds. Get them seen under a microscope. GIA can evaluate (but not grade).

Check whether a stone is heat treated (most are but it'll affect the price).

Also, if someone tells you (or written) 'green beryl' and makes out emeralds are the same. They are and they aren't. All Emeralds are Beryls, but not all green beryls are emeralds. Like a ruby (corundum) has to be red, an emerald has to be a specific green to be classed as an emerald.

 

[LVoeletters]

You need to make sure you know what quality of emeralds you buy. There are emeralds of alllllll prices depending on the quality and origin. They can be rechrystalized, oiled, filled with glass and it would reduce its price significantly on a market. But some unethical stores can sell you jewelry with these stones for elevated price and not explaining you the poor quality of the stones.
Make sure each stone comes with certification and you would understand how the stones have been treated. Minor oil is ok. Major glass or recrystalized is ok if you want to reduce the price significantly.

THANK YOU! One of the jewelry places I reached out on Etsy had said that they don’t do certs for smaller emeralds when I asked about the cut. Felt funny about that. Thanks for confirming

@GraffS has given great advice on quality. Most emeralds of any notable size will have some visible flaws.

Also mote, emeralds can be lab grown and will test as Emeralds. Get them seen under a microscope. GIA can evaluate (but not grade).

Check whether a stone is heat treated (most are but it'll affect the price).

Also, if someone tells you (or written) 'green beryl' and makes out emeralds are the same. They are and they aren't. All Emeralds are Beryls, but not all green beryls are emeralds. Like a ruby (corundum) has to be red, an emerald has to be a specific green to be classed as an emerald.

ah good to know thank you! There’s an expo coming to my city in October. I’m wondering if I should wait for that to be able to see the emeralds in person

 

[lill_canele]

I know nothing about customizing jewelry in general but I believe @Christofle has some experience in getting stones and gems customized into jewelry pieces.
Good luck!

 

[forgetmenot301]

I love Jemma Wynne and the work she does with emeralds. Here is my Jemma Wynne emerald bracelet. She is not cheap by any means but I know she does custom work and I have a few pieces from her and they are amazing.

Emeralds

Jemma Wynne

jemmawynne.com

 

[Christofle]

THANK YOU! One of the jewelry places I reached out on Etsy had said that they don’t do certs for smaller emeralds when I asked about the cut. Felt funny about that. Thanks for confirming

ah good to know thank you! There’s an expo coming to my city in October. I’m wondering if I should wait for that to be able to see the emeralds in person

It’s pretty common for jewellers not to bother with certs for smaller stones.

As @GraffS mentioned there’s a lot of potential treatments that emeralds can be subjected to and some of them are like the good old landlord paint special. (By this I mean that some enhancements are only temporary and can “fool” the buyer into buying something that it isn’t)

I always suggest seeing the gems in person when feasible as spec preferences can be highly subjective.

Also be careful with what you plan to use the emeralds for as they are a pretty delicate gem since most have pretty crazy inclusions.

It’s one of the few gems that if you plan to have it subjected to repeated abrasion you’d be almost better off going with lab grown since they tend to be far more stable than natural emeralds. However, I find that these inclusions actually provide a lot of visual interest (it can look like an interesting crackling effect) whereas lab grown nearly just look like green glass. (Again where subjective preferences come into play)

Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[LVoeletters]

I love Jemma Wynne and the work she does with emeralds. Here is my Jemma Wynne emerald bracelet. She is not cheap by any means but I know she does custom work and I have a few pieces from her and they are amazing.

Emeralds

Jemma Wynne

jemmawynne.com

Stunning! Thank you for the reccomendation!

 

[LVoeletters]

It’s pretty common for jewellers not to bother with certs for smaller stones.

As @GraffS mentioned there’s a lot of potential treatments that emeralds can be subjected to and some of them are like the good old landlord paint special. (By this I mean that some enhancements are only temporary and can “fool” the buyer into buying something that it isn’t)

I always suggest seeing the gems in person when feasible as spec preferences can be highly subjective.

Also be careful with what you plan to use the emeralds for as they are a pretty delicate gem since most have pretty crazy inclusions.

It’s one of the few gems that if you plan to have it subjected to repeated abrasion you’d be almost better off going with lab grown since they tend to be far more stable than natural emeralds. However, I find that these inclusions actually provide a lot of visual interest (it can look like an interesting crackling effect) whereas lab grown nearly just look like green glass. (Again where subjective preferences come into play)

Good luck and have fun!!!

I was thinking an everyday bezel bracelet. Do you think that it won’t be good for an everyday bracelet? Do you know if I went with lab, what to look out for in terms of cost and cut? Maybe I should be doing lab for the bracelet and natural for the earring or pendant?

 

[Christofle]

was thinking an everyday bezel bracelet. Do you think that it won’t be good for an everyday bracelet? Do you know if I went with lab, what to look out for in terms of cost and cut? Maybe I should be doing lab for the bracelet and natural for the earring or pendant?

Going with bezel set is going to protect them from most minor knocks.

It’s really personal (but I find all the charm in emeralds comes from the imperfections).