I'm no gemologist, but I've read enough Orchid posts over the
years that I can't imagine wearing a natural emerald ring anywhere
but to the opera--and, even then, I wouldn't want it on my right
hand! I'm wondering, however, if a lab grown emerald might hold up
better. I have a friend who uses Chatham emeralds in her work and
they are quite lovely.
Lisa,
Emeralds are indeed sometimes fragile to work with, since internal
flaws and feathers and the like can make them more prone to break.
Equally, they have to be handled carefully in cleaning. But for the
consumer, once they are set without damage, they actually are not
that bad. While still more prone to damage from hitting them against
things like the kitchen sink, beryl (emerald is beryl) is actually
relatively hard, at 8 on the mohs scale. You shouldn’t be too worried
about reasonable wearing practices. If you never take it off, of
course like most gems, it’s gonad get scuffed and dinged, but it’s
risks are more exceptional from a jewelers point of view than a
consumers. Chathams and Gilsons and other hydrothermal synthetic
emeralds are indeed generally more reliable from that fragility point
of view, simply because they generally don’t have the quantity of
inclusions many natural one have. But other than that, they should
wear about the same.
As to other gems that can compete with emerald, if you really want
that intense emerald green, I’d say there are only two that come
close.
One is the best grades of tsavorite garnet. it’s a slightly different
shade of green many times, with a slightly greater amount of yellow
in it, but it can be also an intense and stunning green, and the
higher refractive index of the garnet means a well cut one can often
show more lively optics than most emeralds will. Plus garnet, though
slightly softer than beryl, is often a bit tougher too, and since
most good tsavorites are fairly clean, durability is often improved
over many emeralds. And for similar quality color, the garnet is less
costly.
The other green that comes time mind that’s similar intensity to top
quality emerald is chrome diopside. Wonderful look. And comparatively
inexpensive. Unfortunately, diopside is softer and considerably more
fragile than emerald. You can put it into a ring if you like, but I’d
say it’s better in pieces that don’t take the abuse of a ring.
The finest chrome tourmalines will not likely be mistaken for an
emerald, since the color tends to differ a bit from that of emerald,
and the optics of the stones differ as well. But when fine quality,
they too are amazingly pretty gems as well, and worth your
consideration.
And if you really want a durable green gem, lets not forget the
irradiated green diamonds… Treated yes, and the color is not that
of an emerald. But they can be quite pretty.
Green sapphires too, as you mention, are an option, and have the
advantage of considerable durability, but frankly, most of the ones
you see on the market, while often pretty, simply can’t hold a
candle to the intensity of colors you can find in a fine emerald or
tsavorite. The green sapphires you commonly see tend to low
saturation of color, not the intense green you can get with the
others.
Peter