How to set an oval emerald?

[Cabochon1]

Hello Pricescopers,

not surprisingly I am a longtime lurker But this is my first post.

Instead of a ring, I was given an oval cut emerald for our engagement by my future husband. And now I am looking for a setting.

The setting will be yellow gold because it suits me better than any kind of silver colored metal and is my personal preference for emeralds anyway.

Up until sometime today I had one preference which was this one

http://www.krikawa.com/jewelry/body-of-work/details.aspx?style=23&view=3

but then I discovered McTeigue &McClelland

http://www.mc2jewels.com/gallery/McTeigue-McClelland-Bridal-Collection/8077_G

or

http://www.mc2jewels.com/gallery/McTeigue-McClelland-Bridal-Collection/8349_G

all would need to be in yellow gold.

anyway I don't know how to decide. I need your help

I also attach photos of the stone. It's columbian, very beautyful color, very sparkly and eyclean but impossible to photograph.

Anyway any opinions on the settings?

 

[T L]

Beautiful stone, let me caution you that you should be very careful who sets it, as emeralds can chip easily when set. If setting in platinum, you have to be doubly careful. Emeralds look beautiful in buttery 18K YG.

Congratulations on your engagement!

Also as an e-ring, I probably wouldn't wear it every single day, as beryl is not durable enough for everyday wear. Just to caution you as I would hate to see anything happen to that gorgeous gem.

Also, I would love to know how you managed to capture the great color AND the glow in your photo. I can't get a good photo of my emeralds to save my life.

I would probably avoid bezeling it as it could chip the stone unless the jeweler is amazingly careful. I like the McTeigue rings best. However, the setting of the stone in that form of head would need to be so carefully done. I would think you would be safer with double prongs.

 

[m76steve]

Beautiful stone, let me caution you that you should be very careful who sets it, as emeralds can chip easily when set. If setting in platinum, you have to be doubly careful. Emeralds look beautiful in buttery 18K YG.

Congratulations on your engagement!

Also as an e-ring, I probably wouldn't wear it every single day, as beryl is not durable enough for everyday wear. Just to caution you as I would hate to see anything happen to that gorgeous gem.

Also, I would love to know how you managed to capture the great color AND the glow in your photo. I can't get a good photo of my emeralds to save my life.

I would probably avoid bezeling it as it could chip the stone unless the jeweler is amazingly careful. I like the McTeigue rings best. However, the setting of the stone in that form of head would need to be so carefully done. I would think you would be safer with double prongs.

iv got some pics of similar emeralds & they photo almost as nice as cabochons' stone-u gave hime some good info but the quality of his pic is already in the stone-all u have to do is capture the image under the right light-steve...

 

[Cabochon1]

thank you for your comments tourmaline_lover.

I am still not satisfied with the photos, but I am glad you like them. I have no comparison, so I don't know what you do when you photograph your stones? I just put the stone on various surfaces and either natural or artificial light and wait what the pictures looks like- more or less.

I know that the emerald is not as hard as a diamond or even ruby or sapphire so I will sometimes wear the promise ring my bf gave me a while ago. Maybe there is also the need for an extra ring in the future to protect my emerald. Who knows?

The funny thing is that the emerald dealer, the gemmologist and a goldsmith all agreed that a bezel was the best setting for an emerald as it would protect the stone. But I will not forget your advice. And yes you are right about the yellow gold, the pictures are platinum but I want yellow gold!

 

[Treenbean]

Your stone is a beauty! I love McII and that is one of my favorite settings! I think it would look lovely with an oval center stone. I have never contacted them myself, but I have heard they will customize. Budget wise, I know they are pretty pricey too, is that a factor? I love the blueberry earrings they make.

Congrats on your new stone and the engagement.

 

[Cabochon1]

Thank you Treenbean. I hadn't thought about cost yet really, just looked at the setting and wanted to have it.
Money is not the only issue, I live in Europe and I don't want to ship the stone to the US to be set. Nor let them ship a setting and have the stone set by a goldsmith here. But will need to find a solution.

 

[JewelFreak]

Lovely emerald -- you don't give your photography skills enough credit! I'm with Treenbean, love the McTeigue 2nd setting, unusual, feminine, classical & elegant. Your emerald would be gorgeous in that if you can find somebody who can set it okay.

I don't know where you are in Europe but when we lived in Amsterdam I always went to London for jewelry stuff. Styles available are so varied & there are many experienced & skilled jewelers. Wish it hadn't been so long since I was there or I'd recommend someone.

--- Laurie

 

[T L]

thank you for your comments tourmaline_lover.

I am still not satisfied with the photos, but I am glad you like them. I have no comparison, so I don't know what you do when you photograph your stones? I just put the stone on various surfaces and either natural or artificial light and wait what the pictures looks like- more or less.

I know that the emerald is not as hard as a diamond or even ruby or sapphire so I will sometimes wear the promise ring my bf gave me a while ago. Maybe there is also the need for an extra ring in the future to protect my emerald. Who knows?

The funny thing is that the emerald dealer, the gemmologist and a goldsmith all agreed that a bezel was the best setting for an emerald as it would protect the stone. But I will not forget your advice. And yes you are right about the yellow gold, the pictures are platinum but I want yellow gold!

You're very welcome Cabochon.

The problem with emeralds, in particular Colombian emeralds, is that they have a multitude of surface fissures and cracks. Generally, these fissures are filled with resin or oil to mask their appearance, but if the setter isn't skilled at setting emeralds, these cracks can give way under the pressure of setting. A bezel is a very invasive way to set a stone, and although it may protect the edges in the long run, there should be extreme caution performed during the process of setting an emerald in a bezel. Oh, and make sure they NEVER EVER EVER put the finished ring in an Ultrasonic cleaner to clean it off from the residue of setting. That can make the surface cracks more evident by removing the filler. 99% of emeralds are filled, and this is an accepted practice in the trade. Another thing to consider is that If your emerald is oiled, and not treated with the more permanent and stable modern resins, it needs to be oiled every few years to retain it's beauty. Again, once set in a bezel, it would be impossible to retreat without destroying the integrity of the bezel if you have to remove the stone. Some emeralds with minor or faint treatment don't need such pampering, but I don't know the level of treatment and the type of treatment (oil or resin) in your stone. In order to properly care for the stone, if you don't know the type and level of treatment, you may want to find out.

As for your photographs, you must have a camera that loves the color green!! What camera do you own (brand and model) if you don't mind my asking.

 

[Cabochon1]

Hello tourmaline_lover I appreciate all your comments and I am keen to learn from you. The emerald was supposedly not fracture filled before or after cutting-no treatment with opticon or permacen or other resins. It is probably slightly oiled, don't know wether this translates to minor or faint oil treatment. (My info is in German) I will inquire wether reoiling it when bezeled would be an issue. I am not really a prong fan, so hopefully it won't.

I will take care to use only an experienced goldsmith or even let this be done by a stone setter, which is an apprenticed trade/profession in Germany.

For the photos I have used a simple digital Canon EOS 20D with a canon lens Canon EF 17-85mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM.
I am not using the proprietary Canon picture format but jpg and the pictures have a size of 1.6 to 1.8MB when I download them to my computer. They look pretty ugly when seen with the Windows picture viewer - wrong colors. So to crop and save them I use the freeware Irfanview which I think handles colors better..What program do you use to crop the pics?

As you like my pictures, I'll attach two more. This is in daylight (the others were in artificial light) unfortunately cloudy weather. Haven't seen the sun in months.
One is upside down.

 

[T L]

Beautiful emerald and it appears to be very clean too! Do you mind me asking the stats on it (carat weight)?

No wonder you take better photos than I do, you're using a much better camera. I use a cheapo point and shoot, and I crop in paintbrush, which is very archaic, and I'm embarassed to admit it . I wish I knew as much about photography as I did about colored stones!!

I love that face down shot, you can really see the green glow to it. Very beautiful. I own six Colombian emeralds, as it is one of my favorite gems.

 

[Cabochon1]

I am happy to talk about my emerald all day long ..

It's a 1.95 carat emerald and measures 10x6.8x4.7mm

I searched for photos of your emeralds and they seem to have a very beautyful and deep color. Have you ever set any of them?

Just one last artistic photo

 

[chrono]

If your emerald looks better than pictured, it’s a beauty! I wish I can capture even a fraction of the beauty of mine. Yours is amazingly clean, glowy and barely treated too. Congrats on the engagement and stone. McT is very pricey but I love the 2nd McT setting best. I concur with the rest that a high karat gold is best for emeralds and prong set too.

 

[serenitydiamonds]

Congrats on a very beautiful crystal emerald! I would also tend to point you in the direction of a prong setting. While a bezel will prevent edges from chipping it doesn't protect emeralds where they are most vulnerable, an impact to the table. It's important you find a setter who has set a lot of emeralds, they are actually the most vulnerable when being set. Naturally the final choice is up to you.;')

--Joshua

 

[Cabochon1]

Hello Joshua,

may I ask you what a 'crystal emerald' is? I tried to google this, but wasn't successful.

 

[T L]

Congrats on a very beautiful crystal emerald! I would also tend to point you in the direction of a prong setting. While a bezel will prevent edges from chipping it doesn't protect emeralds where they are most vulnerable, an impact to the table. It's important you find a setter who has set a lot of emeralds, they are actually the most vulnerable when being set. Naturally the final choice is up to you.;')

--Joshua

Very true. I remember the story of a lady who had a bezeled emerald, and she knocked the stone on her kitchen counter. A huge fracture appeared, so bezeling does not necessarily protect emeralds. In fact, I think the stress and pressure of a bezel tends to weaken their internal fractures, but I could be wrong.

 

[Michael_E]

The last two settings that you've shown are the best approach to setting an emerald. This is because the petals of the flower are extending above the edges of the stone and would help to reduce impacts to the top of the stone. Beautiful stone, it doesn't look like it has any internal fractures and so probably hasn't even been oiled. If that's the case, then this stone is as durable as any other beryl with few inclusions, (aqua, morganite, etc), and it can be treated as such, (meaning no special requirements for how it's set or cleaned).

People get all wound up about emeralds being sensitive and if they are clean with no surface reaching fractures they are definitely not sensitive and are actually fairly tough. Check in out under a microscope, oiled or filled inclusions are easy to see and if there are any, then you can start worrying about being more protective of the stone, (although that first setting you'd show with an open sided bezel is something that I wouldn't recommend for anything but a sapphire or diamond).

 

[serenitydiamonds]

Hello Joshua,

may I ask you what a 'crystal emerald' is? I tried to google this, but wasn't successful.

Sure, a crystal emerald is a lighter tone and saturation emerald that is bright and very clean internally.

--Joshua

 

[serenitydiamonds]

The last two settings that you've shown are the best approach to setting an emerald. This is because the petals of the flower are extending above the edges of the stone and would help to reduce impacts to the top of the stone. Beautiful stone, it doesn't look like it has any internal fractures and so probably hasn't even been oiled. If that's the case, then this stone is as durable as any other beryl with few inclusions, (aqua, morganite, etc), and it can be treated as such, (meaning no special requirements for how it's set or cleaned).

People get all wound up about emeralds being sensitive and if they are clean with no surface reaching fractures they are definitely not sensitive and are actually fairly tough. Check in out under a microscope, oiled or filled inclusions are easy to see and if there are any, then you can start worrying about being more protective of the stone, (although that first setting you'd show with an open sided bezel is something that I wouldn't recommend for anything but a sapphire or diamond).

Internal fractures will not give you an idea of the treatment level of the stone. The surface of the gem must be examined with a loupe or a microscope to check for filled surface fractures.

Because of the way an emerald is formed, even if you cannot see visible internal texture, it is quite unsafe to assume it is like another beryl and place it in an ultrasonic. Emeralds are a fairly hard material, but they are not a tough material. Only emeralds treated with modern polymers are deemed 'ultrasonic safe', but that is still discouraged.

--Joshua

 

[Michael_E]

Internal fractures will not give you an idea of the treatment level of the stone. The surface of the gem must be examined with a loupe or a microscope to check for filled surface fractures.

Sure they will. Internal fractures are either filled, or are not surface reaching, in a stone that's been treated. Looking for filled surface fractures may give you a good idea of the extent of fracturing and that's always handy to check before trying to set a stone which has some obvious problems. The point here is that a stone which has no fractures is MUCH more durable than one which has fractures, filled or not.

Because of the way an emerald is formed, even if you cannot see visible internal texture, it is quite unsafe to assume it is like another beryl and place it in an ultrasonic. Emeralds are a fairly hard material, but they are not a tough material. Only emeralds treated with modern polymers are deemed 'ultrasonic safe', but that is still discouraged.

You're right Joshua, I'd never recommend that anyone put their emerald in a hot ultrasound, not even one that's "deemed safe".

 

[T L]

it doesn't look like it has any internal fractures and so probably hasn't even been oiled.

It's very difficult to see internal fractures from a photo, so I would be cautious regardless. The lady that knocked her stone that I was talking about earlier in this thread had an eye clean gem, and after she banged it, one of the internal fractures appeared that had been filled with resin. These resins and polymers, as well as oils, are very good at hiding fractures. Cabochon, did you get a reputable lab report indicating the level of treatment? If faint or minor, I would probably not worry as much, but I would still exercise caution.

Here's a small article on that very very clean looking emerald that was filled with resin, and when she banged it, a huge internal crack appeared. I saw the photo of the internal fracture, but I can't find it now. Notice it was in a bezel.
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/emerald-case-ring.htm

 

[Cabochon1]

it doesn't look like it has any internal fractures and so probably hasn't even been oiled.

Cabochon, did you get a reputable lab report indicating the level of treatment? If faint or minor, I would probably not worry as much, but I would still exercise caution.

http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/emerald-case-ring.htm

Well I bought this from a very reputable dealer here in Germany and I chose it in person from a large number of ovals that he had. This one spoke to me The dealer guarantees that his stones aren't clarity enhanced or fracture filled apart from maybe oil.

Even so I have made an appointment to have it evaluated. It will be tested and microscoped. As this is only on the 29th I showed it to a small stone dealer here who said there was no indication of any treatment or fractures. The guy was really emotional about my stone when he saw and louped it and said one rarely saw such a beauty. So I am confident that the more elaborate testing will confirm this. If not, my dealer would be prepared to take the stone back.

 

[Lovinggems]

Just want to pop in and say your emerald is gorgeous, and welcome to CS!

 

[T L]

Even so I have made an appointment to have it evaluated. It will be tested and microscoped.

Very good!! Even though I'm sure you trust your dealer, it can never hurt to verify by a second party.

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

Oh I LOVE Emeralds!!!!
I can hardly wait to see which setting you choose and more more more pictures!!!!

 

[chrono]

Cabochon,
You are taking all the correct steps - trust but verify!

 

[Cabochon1]

A small update. The stone is indeed an emerald of colombian origin and untreated. But I am rethinking settings

If I decide to set it North South instead of East West I could make a three stone ring but it would be much more "dressy". Well I am sure I'll come to a solution at some stage.

 

[JewelFreak]

If your other 2 stones are harder than beryl they might provide some extra bit of protection for the emerald. But I surely do love that MC2 setting. Think I'll dream about using it for something myself! With so many beautiful choices, it's a tough decision to make, isn't it? Good luck -- want to see what you decide on..

--- Laurie

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Stunning, simply stunning! Leon Mege has some wonderful oval settings....

cheers--Sharon

 

[Pandora II]

Something similar to Harriet's amazing tsavorite setting design that LM made for her could work well with a N/S oval.

 

[LD]

If you're setting it N/S (and I think it would look gorgeous), I would be tempted to have a very classical 3 stone setting with a white oval diamond on each side. Personally I'd set it in Platinum but Emeralds look equally at home in white or yellow coloured metals.