Aloha Fellow Orchid List Members,
I have a question to pose regarding an item I purchased in Korea
nearly 3 decades ago. I was looking for jewelry and found a very
posh shop in one of the best hotels at that time. I peered into the
window and saw what looked like Emeralds in White Gold.
The person I bought if for, removed it from its box just recently,
and took a look with a 10x loupe. The white metal has not tarnished
even though there was no anti-tarnish strips in the box. After
peering into the vivid green stones, we both saw what looked like
natural inclusions. I asked if I could look at the bracelet, ring,
and matching earrings. What I saw made me want to jump 10 feet off
the floor. Comparing many of the Emeralds I see today to the
gemstones in these jewelry set, is different as night and day.
Today’s Emeralds, are lighter in some cases and also darker with
dark spots and inclusions in other stones, all visible to the naked
eye. Just by eye balling this set, the gemstones looked flawless,
but when I used the loupe, the inclusions could be easily seen,
greater in some pieces, and less in others. I looked further and
saw tiny 1 point nice clear gemstones which nestled next to the
setting. I believe these are diamonds of a lower quality and if
these are real Emeralds, my friend doesn’t know what she’ll do. I
have recommended that she get an appraisal pronto from a qualified
GG. I do believe she would be happy with what the appraisal brings.
Once she knows for certain that these are truly Emerald set with
Diamonds, we will probably sell it. In all these years, she has
only worn this set once, minus the earrings - never worn.
Having said all of this, as I was inspecting the metal, I saw a
stamp with a number of 16 on it. I don’t know if it is the ring
size or white gold. Is there anyone who has had the years of
experience to know what this number represents?
This was before a time when more universal standards to gemstones,
and metals is currently used. I know there differences throughout
the world, because Ireland sells gold jewelry stamped 9k, this is
why I left the original posting about “.835”. If Ireland uses 9k
and the US uses 10k to represent a metal as gold, then what does 16
stamped on the what metal represent?
Her Emeralds are richly colored a deep green with very little
inclusions seen by the naked eye. What would the current cost be per
carat today? I have checked out some wholesale sources, but I would
prefer to receive feedback from Orchid Members.
This leads me to another question about As you can tell,
I am not a Gemologist, so I must seek the advice of others in this
field. Several years ago I purchased quite a few Lab Grown/Created:
Tanzanite, Pad. Sapphires, Pink Sapphires, coloring changing
Alexandrite, natural Tanzanite with a violet, bluish hue in parcels
of 6x4 Ovals, 7x5 Emerald Cuts, 3.5 Trillions, etc., along with many
other items.
Does any person have an idea of what Lab Created Gemstones are worth
today? Most of these are either 5x5 Princess Cuts, to 26cts Emerald
Cut Lab Created Tanzanite that is so striking, it looks like the Gem
quality Tanzanite that sells for $300-$400 per carat.
Our company mainly wire wraps and makes designer necklaces at
present. This may change over the next few years. We thought we
would have them mounted, but now our viewpoints have changed. Is
there any person out there, who is interested in the items I listed?
Is there an Orchid Member who does quality bezel setting that might
want to work out some sort of trade for some Natural and Lab Created
Gemstones. We have some items we would like mounted, but we need a
setter with experience.
We would consider offers of a straight trade of goods. When we sat
down to discuss this matter, we came up with a value for the Lab
Created gemstones 1/10th or 10% of the wholesale price. We
apologize to the person who requested a quote on these Lab Created
Gem Quality Tanzanites. The price quoted to you has been lowered to
10% of what a true Gem Quality Tanzanite would cost today.
Some of you have asked for some photos of specific items. We are
working on this, because Hawaii’s Windward was hit a several severe
blackouts that fried our scanners, computers, and other items. New
items have been purchased, so for those of you who have requested
some images, we shall be setting up another scanner soon, and we just
purchased another digital camera to get some images to you. My
designer is the computer and image expert, but she is limited in her
capacity to do certain things because of a past injury.
As for the one person who asked about our 8x6 Oval Opals, we
respectfully ask you to reply again. We have a deal to present to you
that might place a large smile on your face. The Opals we have are
Ovals and Marquises, and can definitely fill your palm. Some do
look dead, while others have some sassy flash. So, I’ll wait for
your reply.
Orchid Members, can you offer some of your profound wisdom to the
various aspects presented above? Much Aloha, Barbara