Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire?

[T L]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

Come on emerald...you are falling behind...you can do it........
Time for a pep talk or maybe even a pep rally

I took my one prize emerald out of the bank vault today, and some trillion mahenge spinel side stones. I haven't seen the stone in a very long time, since it's hidden away, but *sigh* it took my breath away, literally. I'm thinking of doing a three stone with them. I think there is a huge sapphire craze right now due to the Diana/Kate ring, and they can be very beautiful, but they just don't do it for me like a fine emerald. As for rubies, 99.999999% of them on the market, even at gem shows, don't do much for me. The old material is the finest, and it's rarely on the market except in auctions of old and wealthy estates, like Elizabeth Taylor's upcoming auction.

 

[cookies]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

I somehow don't care for blue sapphires. It is a tough one between ruby and emerald. I love both gems' glowing factor. I slightly prefer red to green, so I voted for ruby.

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

Wow, Amguy, you have a way with crystals, you know? I'm starting to think I better get myself quickly to somewhere where I can see top quality emerald, cause up to now, I've been a sapphire hound, but I must find that glow...

 

[Justin_Cutter]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

Come on emerald...you are falling behind...you can do it........
Time for a pep talk or maybe even a pep rally

I took my one prize emerald out of the bank vault today, and some trillion mahenge spinel side stones. I haven't seen the stone in a very long time, since it's hidden away, but *sigh* it took my breath away, literally. I'm thinking of doing a three stone with them. I think there is a huge sapphire craze right now due to the Diana/Kate ring, and they can be very beautiful, but they just don't do it for me like a fine emerald. As for rubies, 99.999999% of them on the market, even at gem shows, don't do much for me. The old material is the finest, and it's rarely on the market except in auctions of old and wealthy estates, like Elizabeth Taylor's upcoming auction.

TL: I would love to see pictures! Sounds absolutely amazing!

About 2 weeks ago I was over at my local gem cutters shop in Scottsdale (who is truly a master) and he showed me some Emeralds that he was currently cutting. The material was older... I think I remember him saying something to the tune of 25+ years and it was from Colombia. One stone he showed me was very large. Its hard to say by just looking at it, but I would not be surprised if it was over 15ct. I wanted to ask him so badly what he thought the stone would be worth but I didn't want to be rude. I was just honored he let me hold the stone. I am not sure if it is on par with Elizabeth Taylor's emeralds but I was spellbound by its beauty! I have only seen Elizabeth Taylor's emeralds in pictures, but oh what I would give to see them in real life!

Admittedly I am a sapphire man, but the glowing power of the emerald simply will not leave me alone. The emerald I saw in that shop rivaled and possibly surpassed any high-end sapphire I have seen to date. I fear for my wallet that I will need to have one in my life... hopefully in the not to distant future!
~Justin

 

[T L]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

Jason,
That sounds like an amazing gem. An emerald dealer took a look at this stone and told me it had minor treatment and that it was probably Muzo Colombian (the best mine in the world for emeralds). This is the best photo I have of it, sitting atop a CZ/gold setting, but no photo can really do it justice at all. Emeralds are a pain to properly photograph. The Mahenge trillions are super super saturated hot pink. I adore pink and green together.

 

[chrono]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

Difficult choice between a ruby and emerald (assuming equal quality size and all, both untreated), but a fun and delicious choice, nonetheless. Probably an emerald might have the edge for me even though I dislike green as a colour in general. The reason likes more in the look of an emerald more than anything else.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

Jason,
That sounds like an amazing gem. An emerald dealer took a look at this stone and told me it had minor treatment and that it was probably Muzo Colombian (the best mine in the world for emeralds). This is the best photo I have of it, sitting atop a CZ/gold setting, but no photo can really do it justice at all. Emeralds are a pain to properly photograph. The Mahenge trillions are super super saturated hot pink. I adore pink and green together.

Oh awesome! I would love to own a emerald with the most probable origin of Muzo Colombia! Congratulations on that find! My fiance is from Colombia. I keep telling her that we need to take a trip just in case I could stubble across some nice rough material!
I am imagining the colors together and how beautiful the contrast would be! I absolutely love the idea of the Emerald with the Mahenge Trillions!
I can tell that picture simply can not do the stone justice. I am not claiming that I am the best photographer in the world but I would love to take a crack at capturing the beauty of that Emerald! I agree, green can be difficult to capture.

I sincerely hope you set it as you have described someday! I have no doubt that the combination would be a heart stopper!

~Justin

 

[T L]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

Jason,
That sounds like an amazing gem. An emerald dealer took a look at this stone and told me it had minor treatment and that it was probably Muzo Colombian (the best mine in the world for emeralds). This is the best photo I have of it, sitting atop a CZ/gold setting, but no photo can really do it justice at all. Emeralds are a pain to properly photograph. The Mahenge trillions are super super saturated hot pink. I adore pink and green together.

Oh awesome! I would love to own a emerald with the most probable origin of Muzo Colombia! Congratulations on that find! My fiance is from Colombia. I keep telling her that we need to take a trip just in case I could stubble across some nice rough material!
I am imagining the colors together and how beautiful the contrast would be! I absolutely love the idea of the Emerald with the Mahenge Trillions!
I can tell that picture simply can not do the stone justice. I am not claiming that I am the best photographer in the world but I would love to take a crack at capturing the beauty of that Emerald! I agree, green can be difficult to capture.

I sincerely hope you set it as you have described someday! I have no doubt that the combination would be a heart stopper!

~Justin

Thank you Justin. It's not just the color green that's difficult to capture, but the camera mucks up the satiny glow of the emerald, and makes it look fuzzy and just plain nasty. It's much easier to photograph a tsavorite than an emerald, and they're both green. I bought it from a Colombian dealer a long time ago. I have several others from him, but this one is my favorite. I have another with similar color, and slightly larger, but it's nicked and chipped from an improper setting job. This one is slighly cleaner though. Bad photo of all three. The Mahenges are much more neon and hot pink than in this photo and the emerald looks like fine green satin IRL

 

[Black Jade]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

All three are now very rare in stones of fine quality. That is why all the heat and other treatments go on. I love stones like garnets (beautiful color) but they are readily available and don't cost much (which makes people disregard them). While, as a regular person, TRY to get hold of a really beautiful ruby, sapphire or emerald. Diamonds are much more doable.

Even high end jewellers are making more and more jewelry with what used to be called 'semi-precious' stones. I saw a spread in Forbes of the up and coming jewellers and none of them were using emeralds, rubies or sapphires.

It used to be the big FOUR --didn't it? Topaz was very valuable. I haven't seen yellow topaz now in years. I think the November birthstone has changed to citrine because of the unavailabily of beautiful topaz. Of couse those heat treated blue things are all over the place, and if you can afford fine quality topaz, you can get the pinks--the imperial topaz. But I see beautiful yellow topaz now ony in books with photos of estate jewelry.

It's true that it takes quite a jewel to look beautiful unfaceted. I love to look at the historic pieces with cabochon gems and the rich, rich high carat gold also. And also at the ancient pieces, when gems like sardonyx were extremely valuable--beautifully cut into the classic cameos from imperial Rome.

I don't count pearls because they are organic and so, although also jewels, not the same thing as a 'precious stones' to my mind. Though of course historically they WERE the most valued and rare jewel of all.

I am going to vote for ruby--I love red.

If you had allowed us to vote for Ceylon sapphires, it would have been hard to choose between them. But I don't like the dark blue stones at all.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

TL: Excellent point regarding the capture of the Glow! That picture is much better. I am sure they are stunning IRL! That is a excellent emerald, I love the clarity. Very rare.

Black Jade: Regarding all of the heated blue things readily available.

Yesterday my fiance and I were bored and decided to go check out some "high end" jewelry stores out in Scottsdale. The 2nd store we visited was a very large and reputable franchise that if I dropped the name everyone would know it.
We walked in and to our surprise they had a excellent stock of blue sapphire. I began talking with one of the clerks who had noticed my fiances ring. I allowed him to examine the ring upon which he kept asking where did you get this stone and who made the setting. I explained that the setting was custom and that I had sourced the stone myself.
He offered to clean the ring for me... they had a clear glass room that I could easily keep a eye on the ring so I agreed. It was so cool to see the room quickly become crowded with 5 other associates.

Once the ring was cleaned they all came out together and bombarded me with questions of origin, clarity, and color. I eventually said, "ya know that stone is unheated" to which everyone was in disbelief. One of the sales associates even said that's not possible... all blue sapphires are heated!!! Ha ha this gave me a laugh. They began holding the ring up to all of there sapphire pieces. They simply could not believe that a good colored sapphire existed that was not heated. It was encouraging to see the stone its own against so many heat treated counterparts.

At the end of the day we had seen hundreds of sapphires from different stores including a 15ct $100k+ stone, and every single one of them was heated.
The unheated sapphire is truly on the endangered list in my book.
~Justin

 

[mrs taylor]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

well, here. I don't have any emeralds, but you can view Elizabeth Taylor's ruby!

(yes, it really is my name-lol.)

 

[threegraces]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

Sapphire - my favorite color is blue, I'm a September baby and my e-ring is a sapphire. I'm not partial to the "oily" look of emeralds. I haven't really seen enough rubies IRL to fall in love with them. I can stare and stare and STARE at my sapphire and get lost in the blue.

 

[T L]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

TL: Excellent point regarding the capture of the Glow! That picture is much better. I am sure they are stunning IRL! That is a excellent emerald, I love the clarity. Very rare.

Black Jade: Regarding all of the heated blue things readily available.

Yesterday my fiance and I were bored and decided to go check out some "high end" jewelry stores out in Scottsdale. The 2nd store we visited was a very large and reputable franchise that if I dropped the name everyone would know it.
We walked in and to our surprise they had a excellent stock of blue sapphire. I began talking with one of the clerks who had noticed my fiances ring. I allowed him to examine the ring upon which he kept asking where did you get this stone and who made the setting. I explained that the setting was custom and that I had sourced the stone myself.
He offered to clean the ring for me... they had a clear glass room that I could easily keep a eye on the ring so I agreed. It was so cool to see the room quickly become crowded with 5 other associates.

Once the ring was cleaned they all came out together and bombarded me with questions of origin, clarity, and color. I eventually said, "ya know that stone is unheated" to which everyone was in disbelief. One of the sales associates even said that's not possible... all blue sapphires are heated!!! Ha ha this gave me a laugh. They began holding the ring up to all of there sapphire pieces. They simply could not believe that a good colored sapphire existed that was not heated. It was encouraging to see the stone its own against so many heat treated counterparts.

At the end of the day we had seen hundreds of sapphires from different stores including a 15ct $100k+ stone, and every single one of them was heated.
The unheated sapphire is truly on the endangered list in my book.
~Justin

Thanks again Justin.

This highlights the fact that to me, PS colored stoners are a rare breed. We often know how to source better material than most dealers. I can't tell you how many times jewelers try to get my sources.

 

[T L]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

well, here. I don't have any emeralds, but you can view Elizabeth Taylor's ruby!

(yes, it really is my name-lol.)

I'm not sure if that's part of Liz's collection, never saw it before. and I thought I knew all her pieces. However, she does have an amazing Burmese ruby that Richard Burton gave her in a halo. I think there's a photo floating around PS somewhere. There's a great photo of it in her "My Love Affair With Jewelry" book.

ETA: Here's Liz's ruby. Too bad she couldn't take it to the pearly gates with her.

The 8.24-carat ruby and diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels was a Christmas gift from husband Richard Burton in 1968. Estimate: $1 million – $1.5 million.

 

[mrs taylor]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

I was goofing around. that's MY ring and my name, legally, officially and in all other ways actually IS Elizabeth Taylor. I married into it.

 

[T L]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

I was goofing around. that's MY ring and my name, legally, officially and in all other ways actually IS Elizabeth Taylor. I married into it.

Oh, I see.

 

[Pandora II]

Re: Poll: Which is your favorite out of Emerald, Ruby, Sapph

All three are now very rare in stones of fine quality. That is why all the heat and other treatments go on. I love stones like garnets (beautiful color) but they are readily available and don't cost much (which makes people disregard them). While, as a regular person, TRY to get hold of a really beautiful ruby, sapphire or emerald. Diamonds are much more doable.

Even high end jewellers are making more and more jewelry with what used to be called 'semi-precious' stones. I saw a spread in Forbes of the up and coming jewellers and none of them were using emeralds, rubies or sapphires.

It used to be the big FOUR --didn't it? Topaz was very valuable. I haven't seen yellow topaz now in years. I think the November birthstone has changed to citrine because of the unavailabily of beautiful topaz. Of couse those heat treated blue things are all over the place, and if you can afford fine quality topaz, you can get the pinks--the imperial topaz. But I see beautiful yellow topaz now ony in books with photos of estate jewelry.

It's true that it takes quite a jewel to look beautiful unfaceted. I love to look at the historic pieces with cabochon gems and the rich, rich high carat gold also. And also at the ancient pieces, when gems like sardonyx were extremely valuable--beautifully cut into the classic cameos from imperial Rome.

I don't count pearls because they are organic and so, although also jewels, not the same thing as a 'precious stones' to my mind. Though of course historically they WERE the most valued and rare jewel of all.

I am going to vote for ruby--I love red.

If you had allowed us to vote for Ceylon sapphires, it would have been hard to choose between them. But I don't like the dark blue stones at all.

Not totally true - tsavorite garnets are 200 times rarer than emerald - one of the reasons that you don't see them in quantity is that there aren't the stones available especially in the larger sizes. Not cheap either!

Btw - Ceylon sapphires are stones from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) rather than a colour - although people tend to think of their stones as being a lighter blue for some strange reason as they actually span the whole range of blues.