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Colombian Emeralds?

Greetings, I have a question about Colombian Emeralds? While I was in Colombia the last trip. A friend down there wanted to pay me for contacting his family in the U.S. when I returned home. He works a small shop for a friend of his and really does not have any money. The day I was leaving. I stopped by the shop to say good bye. He handed me a small packet of what he said were Emeralds. They looked like the remains of a broken Heiniken beer bottle to me. That evening I was on the PBH website asking everyone if I would have to pay taxes on the Emeralds (if they were Emeralds) when I was leaving the country. Anyway,I stashed the pieces of the broken Heiniken bottle into my backpack for the trip home. When I returned home I had the Emeralds appraised. Bingo! They were honest to goodness real Colombian Emeralds. I met several seemingly poor people in Colombia that actually had Emeralds to sell for next to nothing. It seemed to be the underground currency. I understand that Emeralds are not controlled the way Diamonds are. Will someone please give me a crash course on Colombian Emeralds! Viva Colombia!

By b bruce on Oct 19, 2005, 17:15 in Friendly Talkzone.

untreated says on Oct 20, 2005, 09:35:

Colombian emeralds come in all grades. I have bought emeralds for $1, 2, 5, and 10 dollars, also for 100-200 per carat. Top grades go for $500 and up per carat.

Here's a good web site: http://www.esmerald.com

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oldbongo says on Oct 20, 2005, 11:34:

heiniken.... is a pretty good color for emeralds.
thats a good start.
they should also be transparent and sparkle.
the appraiser should have told you something of their quality.
if they are dull, the value is not great.
and of course,...untreated.

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zuan says on Oct 21, 2005, 04:42:

THE 4C's The 4C’s are used throughout the world as a standardized method of classifying the quality and value of gemstones. Originally developed for classifying diamonds, this standardized approach has subsequently been implemented in assessing the rarity and value of emeralds.

The value of any given emerald is based on a combination of attributes under each rating of CUT , CARAT , COLOR and CLARITY

RULE OF THUMB:
In general, when judging an emerald’s value, color is of paramount importance: the more vivid (deeper?) the green the more valuable the stone. Of course, there are attractive lighter green emeralds that are lively and vivid when set in jewelry, as well as darker green emeralds that make up for there lack of brightness in the richness of the color. Generally speaking, however, very light or dark emeralds are less valuable. And, as far as clarity is concerned, unlike diamonds a finely colored emerald is not significantly devalued by inclusions

1. CARAT WEIGHT
http://www.esmerald.com/carat_weight.shtml

2. Clarity
http://www.esmerald.com/clarity.shtml

3. Color
http://www.esmerald.com/color.shtml

4. Cut
http://www.esmerald.com/cut1.shtml

Feel free to contact me for further info

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oldbongo says on Oct 21, 2005, 10:10:

zuan.. spoken like a true esmeraldero...

but, bruce,...careful, it aint really so regarding clarity.

two stones identical in color cut and size, will have vastly different values depending on the inclusion situation.

the sellers would have you believe otherwise.

learn about fissures..

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b bruce says on Oct 21, 2005, 14:27:

Thank you! Thank you for the information. One of my jeweler friends who looked at the Emeralds said. Along with the Emeralds, Colombia is also known for the purity of it's gold. He mentioned "Santa Marta Gold" The Emeralds and the Gold are fine. But I believe the true treasure in Colombia is it's people. Thank you again for the information. Viva Colombia!

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LolaChantal says on Oct 22, 2005, 22:17:

Awesome emerald pictures I found this web page on the net.
Maybe these people can answer any questions you have about Emeralds.
The pictures they have of the emeralds are very nice, you can zoom them and they are very large (I saw a dark green one 74ct).
http://www.glfventure.com/ventanas.htm

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Bogota Gringo says on Jan 21, 2008, 17:27:

B Bruce
It definitely behooves you to know something about emeralds if you're ever going to buy them. I've seen synthetics, doublets, epoxy filled stones, etc... It shouldn't scare you away from buying emeralds, you just have to find a trustworthy dealer.

Here are two pages that have a great deal of both useful and useless information on emeralds... the second one is a wiki style encyclopedia on emeralds.

http://www.embassyemeralds.com/index.php?main_page=about_emerald

http://www.embassyemeralds.com/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Index

Good Luck!

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