Wherefore art thou...emerald ans rubies???

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efleon

efleon

LVoe
O.G.
Jul 30, 2008
509
998
#1
IMG_3476.PNG Does anyone know why Tiffany discontinued emeralds and rubies???
They tell me they "can get them" if I special order but that they are from "conflict areas" so they no longer carry them in their regular lines.
My local jeweler says that is a bunch of hooey and they dislike emeralds (especially) and rubies because they are so soft they are difficult for modern consumers to take care of.
I tend to agree with him but wow what a bummer!
Women have coveted these precious gems for centuries so why now?!?
Elizabeth Taylor certainly wasn't scared away...her famous emerald suite was closest to her heart!!!!!
 
#2
The use of conflict stones has been highly scrutinized since the early 00s, so companies avoid it to avoid the bad press. I know there's something like one mine for lapis controlled by a warlord, which is why it's nearly impossible to find at VCA anymore. They don't shy away from MOP, so it's not like they're too concerned about care. The import of rubies from Myanmar was actually banned, but buyers from other countries enabled the trade.

The pursuit of these coveted gems have funneled money into many wars, caused massive violence, and slave labor is used for much of the mining. I'd much rather have jewelry that was ethically sourced. Just my two cents.

For reference:
https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/278429/
http://www.ajsgem.com/articles/ban-burma-ruby-and-jade-latest-news.html
 
#3
Emerald is my dream stone. I tried it and totally fell head over heals. Check out the price tag on the ring. lol

My SA said they could source the stone for me whenever I am ready, Sigh, one day! emerlad is way more expensive than diamonds so not very many people are interested in them. I thought my Tiffany SA was just giving me bunch of BS so I checked at Birks (very well known Canadian store) and got the same info. Anyone could get emerald but it's extremely hard to find a beautiful stone. I have seen some really emerald looking stones at few jewelers, seriously it hardly even looked green :amuse:
 

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#4
Rami00 said:
Emerald is my dream stone. I tried it and totally fell head over heals. Check out the price tag on the ring. lol

My SA said they could source the stone for me whenever I am ready, Sigh, one day! emerlad is way more expensive than diamonds so not very many people are interested in them. I thought my Tiffany SA was just giving me bunch of BS so I checked at Birks (very well known Canadian store) and got the same info. Anyone could get emerald but it's extremely hard to find a beautiful stone. I have seen some really emerald looking stones at few jewelers, seriously it hardly even looked green :amuse:
Click to expand...
That is 8.24ct Emerald, and really a masterpiece. And the price $61.3K is "amazing" too:angel::amuse:
 
#7
It's occurred to me that one reason precious colored stones may be disfavored is the difficulty in obtaining a supply of uniformly consistant appearance/quality. Diamonds are so precisely graded that a chain such as Tiffany and Co wouldn't have a problem stocking, say, 5,000 VVS2 0.25 carat DBTY necklaces, or color/quality-match enough tiny diamonds to create a variety of standardized pave pieces. Admittedly, it must be easier to obtain a standardized supply of tiny colored stones than larger stones, but surely not to the degree of diamonds. (And since diamonds have more sparkle than colored stones, tiny diamonds must, generally, be more in-demand for jewelry "accents" and pave.)

(Alright, so all of the above is a guess on my part....curious to see if anyone can confirm/disprove.)
 
#9
You're right. It's hard to obtain uniformity on rubies and emeralds. There are all sorts of variations to the reds and the greens it's nearly impossible to obtain a steady supply. So usually some select customers buy one of a kind large ruby and emerald pieces (if they can afford them).
 
#11
Emeralds are not that soft - 7.5-8 on the Mohs scale (diamonds are a 10). But they can be heavily included which makes them more fragile/susceptible to breakage. And rubies are a 9. I think it's probably more because it's hard to obtain them from conflict free areas, and to find uniformly coloured stones.
 
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