Green Fever

RAPAPORT… At Seventh and Jiménez in Bogotá this September, the emerald market was active as dealers and buyers prepared emerald inventory for the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. “In one office, there was a set of four stones of 12 carats each, for an astounding $20,000 per carat,” says Ron Ringsrud of Ronald Ringsrud Co., Saratoga, California. “In another, a 3,000-carat parcel of almost 1,000 stones. Both sold the week before the Hong Kong shows. It’s the finest stones that seem to sell the quickest.”

The emerald market has proved to be remarkably resilient this year. Emerald prices have been stable despite the economy, with some categories even a bit stronger than 2008. “Prices have not come down because production is not there,” says Michael Gad of Michael Gad Emerald, New York. “Emerald is stable.”

“Overall, business is about 50 percent less but emerald is holding value better than other gems,” says Ashok Sancheti of Pioneer Gems, New York. “In Colombia, the dollar is weak and production is low, so 5-carat-plus goods are in short supply and prices are a bit stronger. People want to invest money where they feel secure. Unlike diamonds, emeralds are holding their price.”“Emerald is still the top gem,” agrees Kumar Shah of Real Gems Inc., New York. “Sales in the United States are weak, no doubt. But thanks to demand from the Far East and India, the market is stable. The price of rough has not gone down. In fact, the percentage of rough that is high quality has gone down and so yields have, too. The cost is higher.”

Commercial goods, while not as strong as the market for fine, large gems, are also holding their value. As with most gems, demand is strongest at the top of the market and at the bottom.“ There is plenty of supply of small, calibrated goods in the market and sales are about the same as last year, so there is no pricing pressure,” explains Joe Orlando of Stuller in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Pear Share
Although the single-stone emerald market is still dominated by emerald cuts, demand for fancy shapes — in particular rounds, pears, drops, cabochons and cushions — has increased. “I’ve definitely noticed a trend for different nontraditional shapes,” Gad says.

“With rough expensive, cutters are looking for ways to save weight,” says Israel Elian of 4G’s Trading Corp., New York. “They are cutting more shapes as a result.”Demand for fancy shapes is also driven by the growth of new markets. “Rounds are difficult to get but they are very popular in Asia,” Sancheti explains.

Demand for pear-shaped emeralds, particularly pairs of pears, increased dramatically in 2009 after actress Angelina Jolie wore dramatic pear-shaped emerald earrings by Lorraine Schwartz to the Academy Awards. The earrings were set with 115 carats of Colombian emeralds. Jolie also wore a 65-carat Colombian emerald ring.

Calls for emerald pear shapes to create similar earrings started rolling in from all over the world. “I had calls even from Brazil,” Shah says.Ringsrud says that he, too, sold several pairs of pears. “If I could have found five more pairs of pear shapes, 20 to 30 carats each, I could have sold them,” he says. “I’m looking for one right now.”

All-Natural Green
One sector of the market that has grown exponentially in the past few years, albeit from a small base, is the premium market for fine emeralds with no enhancement.“ People are starting to realize the value of emerald with no enhancement,” says Sancheti. “For finer goods, it could be two to three times the value. The finer the stone, the greater the premium. There might be only one 10-carat, gem-quality emerald with no enhancement per year. I have one 8-carat stone now that’s $70,000 per carat.”

Although the market for nonenhanced emerald is still small, it has grown in importance. The reason is “rarity: less than one-half of 1 percent are going to be unenhanced. It’s pretty hard to find a beautiful 10-carater at $10,000 a carat. Now, find one that’s unenhanced,” says Ray Zajicek of Equatorian Imports, Dallas. “It could easily be 100 percent more.”

For small stones and commercial qualities, demand for emerald with no enhancement is not a factor. After all, Shah says, any emerald can be all natural. Just remove the filler. “You can make any emerald have no oil, if that’s what you want. Just buy the stone and take out the treatment. But you’ll see the inclusions.”

Emerald on Trial (sidebox)
In July 2009, jeweler Jim Jackson of Aesthetics in Jewelry in Louisville, Kentucky, was sued after the estate of Robinson Brown, Jr. asked to return an $800,000 emerald necklace and earrings that Brown had purchased a few months before his death in 2005. The estate claimed that Brown had been overcharged and alleged negligent misrepresentation and fraud.

Although enhancement was not initially an issue in the case, it became one because Jackson did not disclose in writing that the emeralds in the necklace and earrings were enhanced with ExCel, a brand-name polymer that is guaranteed to be removable. Gemologist C.R. “Cap” Beesley, testifying as an expert witness for the Brown estate, said that the emeralds in the case were worth less because they had been enhanced using a polymer.

In the end, the jury deliberated only an hour before returning with a unanimous verdict in favor of Jackson, dismissing all charges against him. One question raised by the trial remains: Does the identity of the filler affect the price of enhanced emeralds? All of the dealers interviewed for this story say the amount of enhancement is more important in determining value than the type of enhancement used.

And most dealers interviewed said that stable fillers like polymers are the most appropriate choice for commercial-quality emeralds. For fine, single stones with minimal enhancement, preferences vary. Many high-end clients request oil only. But other clients want a stable enhancement to avoid the need to re-oil the emerald in the future.

Ashok Sancheti, Pioneer Gems, prefers to use oil for most fine gems, where a certificate identifying the filler as oil can be an advantage.  A pair of earrings he sold at a Christie’s auction for more than $500,000 a few years ago was enhanced with ExCel and was described as such in the catalog.  “It was the most appropriate enhancement for the material,” Sancheti says. “I want consumers to buy with confidence, knowing exactly what they are getting.”

In the end, it’s the customer and the emerald that determine the type of enhancement used. Unlike ruby and sapphire, emeralds can be cleaned and enhanced again to suit the customer’s requirements.“Enhancement has improved, just like cutting techniques have,”says Ray Zajicek, Equatorian Imports.“The medium is not so important anymore — it’s whether it is stable or not.”