I hate asking this in a forum that is full of experienced
professionals. I have no lapidary experience at all. I haven’t had a
chance to take any classes, nor have I run into someone locally who
wouldn’t mind taking on an apprentice.
I have some Brazilian emeralds,in the raw. Some look to be pretty
good specimens.
Can someone point me in the right direction of what to do with these
emeralds? I want to tumble them immediately, but I would also like
to see them eventually become used in jewelry. I don’t want to do
anything to ruin them and prevent them from being used in jewelry
later.
If your ‘bag o’ emeralds’ contains stones that look to be pretty
good, why on earth would you tumble them? I would think that would be
the express train to making emerald dust! Emerald pretty much falls
apart under this kind of torture due to its ‘Jardin’, or, as I call
them, ‘cracks’.
You don’t explain how you acquired the emeralds, nor do you describe
them.I vaguely recall having seen come-ons which claimed to be able
to send you a large quantity of emeralds for a pittance. If this is
the kind of thing that you are talking about, you might just as well
chalk it up to experience. The old something for nothing gimmick is
totally worn out ! Good natural emeralds are exceedingly rare and
valuable, whereas greenish beryl, the mineral that is emerald when it
is a rich green in color, is more rare than diamonds !
The biggest pitfall in gemstones is to ASSUME that when a stone is
technically verifiable as being a given gemstone, and, therefore
valuable, is an open invitation to fraud ! Gemstones come in wide
variations of value and quality. Many of the diamonds that are used
in jewelry today are not at all valuable. They are the stones that
would have been used for abrasive purposes when diamond mining
relegated bottom quality stones to industrial applications. The
people who sell bags full of "for a pittance are sucker
mongers…they are scum who parasitize the innocent !
Please do not even consider tumbling your emeralds. If indeed they
are the beautifully colored ones from Brazil or other beautiful
colors from other “wherevers”, tumbling could destroy them. Emeralds
are brittle, often full of inclusions that can lead to damage or even
shattering. They require special handling.
Try to find a lapidary skilled enough to see the potential in your
emerald or a trusted jeweler who also like to teach. There are
thousands on this list! I’ll bet that someone who lives near you will
be of tremendous help. Just let them know your general location.
I’ve been away from the list for a while, but I know that this is
the greatest and most generous source of help in the world. Nope, I’m
not overstating the meaning of the Orchid List.