Emeralds

Recently one of our customers has shown a particular interest in using an emerald in an engagement ring that he would like to commission. When many people think of green gemstones they automatically think of emeralds but there are other beautiful green gemstones out there. For instance sapphires and tourmalines, which come in wonderful shades of green, and we would highly recommend using these gemstones as an alternative to an emerald, particularly when it is to be set in an engagement ring.

Important information about emeralds

This is because as beautiful as emeralds are they are actually a very brittle gemstone, despite the fact that they measure 7 on the Mohs scale, and can often not withstand the day to day wear and tear that engagement rings regularly endure. However some people can be very fortunate with their emerald engagement rings and have them for years and years without experiencing any problems. This recent commission had a sentimental story of history and transformation.

Tessa had been given her Grandma’s engagement ring that held a central 6.2 x 5.5mm emerald cut emerald, she loved the way the diamonds and emerald were laid out in the original ring but the yellow gold band and claws had worn very thin. Tessa also preferred the colour of white metal so we made a new palladium band and set the stones in a much more secure palladium all round settings, this is particularly important for the emerald.

Emeralds are part of the beryl family (along with aquamarine and morganite) this beautiful green associated with them comes from the presence of chromium and vanadium in the stone, different impurities such as iron also found within the stone cause the different shades of green.

The brittle nature of the stone is due to the way in which the crystalline structure is formed, and it is because of this brittleness that the step cut (or commonly known emerald cut) was designed as it is the corners of the stone that are most fragile.

Alternative Greens

Depending on the shade of green that you are looking for there are a few different options, however for durability purposes we would normally recommend either a sapphire or a tourmaline to be used in an engagement ring.

Green sapphires are actually made up of layers of blue and yellow sapphire thus sometimes causing flashes of either colour when viewed from different points.

Tourmalines have a similar hardness to emeralds, at 7 – 7.5 on the Mohs scale, but because they are not brittle it makes them a much more durable choice. Green is one of the more common colours found in tourmalines, however emerald-green is much rarer and valuable. In fact until the 18th Century green tourmalines were often confused with emeralds.

Another popular choice for a green gemstone is a peridot, not quite as hard as the previously mentioned gemstone measuring 6.5 – 7 on the Mohs scale. Peridot has a much more olive to lime colouring to it.