Hi,
I’d like to ask about this emerald on liveauctioneers.com: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/81173757_igi-certified-722-ct-emerald-colombia
It has been certified by IGI. So, no doubt, it is a natural emerald. However, I’m not sure how much should I bid on it.
The price estimate is $8000 – $12 000. Is it really worth that much?
Andy,
here is what I see:
1. It’s a natural emerald – good
2. It’s IGI certified – good
3. Origin: Colombia – good
4. Size: Big but nothing extraordinary
5. It has significant clarity enhancement – not very good. Almost all emeralds are clarity enhanced by colorless oil, that’s perfectly ok. However, there are 3 enhancement levels: minor, medium, and significant. The more enhanced, the lower the price.
6. Color – bad to very bad. This emerald is rather light green, color is not saturated. This is significant because the most important thing is color when it comes to emeralds. In addition, color distribution is uneven.
7. Clarity – bad to very bad. It has really severe inclusions. Almost all emeralds have inclusions and other growth features (unlike diamonds), but this one is heavily included. Note that so many inclusions can also compromise how durable it is. This is why jewelers don’t love emeralds with too many inclusions – they can break into pieces while being placed in the setting. This can also cause problems if you accidentally drop your piece of jewelry.
8. Cut – bad to very bad. It is very deep and uneven. This not only makes it less attractive and less valuable but also makes it more difficult to work with (for a jeweler, I mean).
9. It has nicks and chips – bad
Conclusion: an emerald of inferior quality worth maximum $500. The price estimate is heavily inflated and has nothing to do with the stone’s quality and true market value.
Perfectly explained, Freddie! Cheers!
I think Freddie has provided an exhaustive and high-quality answer here.
I’d like to add a few thoughts about the price. First of all, the price estimate of $8000 – $12 000 is simply ridiculous. As Freddie rightfully notes this is a rather low-quality emerald.
Frankly speaking, I like these low-quality emeralds because of their impressive sizes and low price. I have been buying them many times before and will buy in the future.
I attach two of my PayPal invoices here (merged in one). Judge for yourself what the true market value of this 7.22 ct emerald is. Note, all the emeralds in the invoice are of approximately the same quality as the emerald in question (or even a little bit better as none of them has significant clarity enhancement). And they all are at least 50% bigger than this one.
Thus, I’d say its true market value is no more than $250 – $300 (including price of the certificate).