Yellow Emeralds?

[calenita]

I was on the Summit recently and they were selling yellow emeralds. I love emeralds so I went to look at them. I had never heard of yellow ones before but these are from a mine in Brazil and are very new etc etc. Great deal according to the sales lady at a great price. She said they are not available many places yet but the owner of the mine has a contract with the cruise ship which I would think would mean the cruise line. I did not buy one - yellow is not really my colour. I was curious though about them and have not found much info since coming back. Has anyone bought one and what did your local jeweller say?

 

As an aside - did not really like the shops on the Summit. I think of all the ships we have been one - five - I liked this shopping the least and it is reflected in the fact we just bought two t-shirts from the sale table!

[Fblack]

You need to be very careful in buying gems, especially softer stones like emeralds, on a cruise ship or some cruise port. Emeralds have been know to be "filled" to cover cracks and flaws. They are worth much less than if you bought a better stone. There are stories about this all over the Internet. Here;s a link to one recent story.

 

"...Specifically, the civil complaint alleges that without notifying consumers, Blue Nile sold emeralds (including emerald-containing jewelry) that have been filled with oil, wax, resin or other substances to enhance their appearance....Such filled emeralds are far less valuable than non-enhanced emeralds, rely on an enhancement process that is not permanent, and typically require special care when cleaning."

 

http://www.yehuda.com/diamonds/press/blue-nile-yehuda-lawsuit.html

[cruzeluver]

They can't be that new. Celebrity has been touting them for at least two years, maybe longer.

[jspirit]

I was on the Summit recently and they were selling yellow emeralds. I love emeralds so I went to look at them. I had never heard of yellow ones before but these are from a mine in Brazil and are very new etc etc. Great deal according to the sales lady at a great price. She said they are not available many places yet but the owner of the mine has a contract with the cruise ship which I would think would mean the cruise line. I did not buy one - yellow is not really my colour. I was curious though about them and have not found much info since coming back. Has anyone bought one and what did your local jeweller say?

 

As an aside - did not really like the shops on the Summit. I think of all the ships we have been one - five - I liked this shopping the least and it is reflected in the fact we just bought two t-shirts from the sale table!

 

These are beryl and this supplier has given them a more prestigious name.Also have heard they are sold on Holland American ships so not just Celebrity brand. True that they are pretty stones, but way overpriced for what they are!

[Christine Frances]

These are beryl and this supplier has given them a more prestigious name.Also have heard they are sold on Holland American ships so not just Celebrity brand. True that they are pretty stones, but way overpriced for what they are!

 

Emeralds are green beryl.

[smellywax]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl

[Decebal]

If this were an important discovery or very rare, I assure you the first thing the miner would do is head to Tiffany or Cartier etc., ala when Tanzanite was first discovered and not selling the stuff on cruise ships.

As everyone else has noted, emeralds are part of the beryl family which come in many colors. Aquamarine and Morganites are beryl. (Beautiful stones but affordable) Some people are selling Morganites as pink emeralds. There is no such thing. The golden emerald is the yellow Heliodor. Just making it sound more important and expensive by adding the emerald to the name. But it's just another stone that is beryl. Emeralds are the true stars of the beryl family.

However, if you love the stone and the piece of jewelry, enjoy it.

[mellowrose]

I have been disappointed a few times by the inflated prices onboard but then I am no expert and tend to buy without much research.

[calenita]

Thanks for the feedback. Really interesting information on the beryl. I grew up in Colombia, so I should be more informed! :) I think I'll stick to the green for now.

[hcat]

This thread reminded me of another gem...

 

Has anyone you know bought a Celebrity Sostice Diamond? (I think that's what they were calling them.,,, a special cut for the new class of ships???)

 

They were the big deal awhile ago but way beyond our budget..have not seen one in awhile on board????

[jspirit]

This thread reminded me of another gem...

 

Has anyone you know bought a Celebrity Sostice Diamond? (I think that's what they were calling them.,,, a special cut for the new class of ships???)

 

They were the big deal awhile ago but way beyond our budget..have not seen one in awhile on board????

 

 

I asked about them while on one of the S-class ships. I was told they were expensive and did not sell well. They did still have some small sizes in stock on display.

At least they were genuine diamonds! Not being sold as clear emeralds!!!:D

[ghstudio]

Does anyone really believe this stuff. Brown diamonds were advertised heavily this xmas season....give me a break....nice stones, but not worth much on the real market. Special diamond cuts for Celebrity....give me a break.....your special cut means the stone is worth far less.

 

If you want to spend the money for real gems, buy the real things....not the "special rare" items that are pure hype.

 

Also beware the "new gem" stuff that the caribbean is famous for....be really carefull what you are buying because most of it is in the head of the person selling it to you.

[mafig]

How can they be extremely durable and still be an emerald? Emeralds are notoriously a soft, rather fragile stone.:rolleyes: It sounds like its an emerald that has no color saturation. Yellow? Never developed into green?

[calenita]

On the news the other day they were talking about a large emerald being auctioned here in Canada, and pointed out there were concerns it was "worthless" white beryl which had been dyed green. Interesting. So if the white beryl is worthless, is the yellow beryl worthless too? The emerald in question (deep green in colour) was worth over $1 million but the owner was arrested on fraud charges, so no bidders at the auction. Interesting footnote to the emerald or beryl story. :)

[Lsimon]

It seems to me that it is extremely unlikely that a gemstone that you first hear about from a salesman on a cruise ship is worth anything near whatever they are trying to sell it for.

 

Of course jewelry is jewelry, and if it is worth it to you because you like the design then go for it. But if you're buying it because you think it has some inherent value other than how nice you think it looks on your hand or around your neck then take a pass.

 

This brings back memories of the art auctioneers on cruise ships.....

 

My thoughts exactly! That and the port shopping "consultant".

Edited February 6, 2012 by Lsimon

[gem lady]

For anyone that is interested- From the current wholesale guide for golden beryl-

 

In 1.0 - 2.99ct size

 

Commercial grade $8.00 to $25.00 per carat

Good $25.00 to $40.00 per carat

Fine $40.00 to 60.00 per carat

Extra fine $60.00 to $85.00 per carat

 

Of course if the size of the stone goes up, so does the price per carat. This stuff has been around for a long time. Color ranges from greenish yellow to yellow and orangy yellow. TypeII gem usually eye clean as opposed to its greem counterpart. 7.5 on hardness scale. Anybody have any gem questions, I will try to help.

[miched]

.

 

 

You can get the same bargains on the Shopping Channel. :D

 

 

 

.

[shipty2]

My boss just bought two yellow emeralds. He paid $2200 and had them appraised when he got home. They were appraised at $390. The appraisal cert says "yellow beryl" It just goes to show you what we read here on cruise critic is true. If you are not knowledgable about gem you shouldn't buy them from a place far from home where you have no recourse if they are not what they seem to be.

[Minoushka]

I toosaw thembeih really pushed on a cruise ship .my reasoning was why yellow emeralds whenthe realthing is green .i bought 2in colombia .it is true the green colour is very blue green and very nice ...very pretty shade of green

My impression stick to what you know..emeralds are green not really any other colour

same with diamonds ...not too sure about chocolate or blue ones .mmmmmm???

Goota be careful what they sell on ships or anywhere else

Howeverif you like it and the price is right why not

[patty1955]

On our last cruise, they were touting "newly discovered" yellow emeralds. The saleslady wasn't too happy when I pointed out that I'd seen them on the cruise previous.

[herbanrenewal]

15 years ago my husband bought me a extremely rare pink topaz 2 carat stone for around $1000 from Amsterdam Sauer in St. Thomas at the recommendation of the Celebrity cruise shopping consultant. We had it appraised in New York to find he had purchased a pink tourmaline, valued at $86.

We learned our lesson regarding special gems and shopping on cruise ships and cruise recommended shops.:eek:

[Aus Traveller]

15 years ago my husband bought me a extremely rare pink topaz 2 carat stone for around $1000 from Amsterdam Sauer in St. Thomas at the recommendation of the Celebrity cruise shopping consultant. We had it appraised in New York to find he had purchased a pink tourmaline, valued at $86.

We learned our lesson regarding special gems and shopping on cruise ships and cruise recommended shops.:eek:

Oops. :( On our first Caribbean cruise we were surprised at the stong recommendations from the on-board Shopping Lecturer on where we should buy and her statement that if we bought from another shop we would most likely be ripped off (or words to that effect). When we were ashore at St Thomas we looked at jewellery stores and bought two pieces of jewellery (5 ct diamond tennis bracelet and 3.9ct natural emerald/diamond ring) both appraised when we got home at many times what we paid for them. We did not buy from the recommended stores as we felt their jewellery was more expensive.

 

Fairly recently we were talking to a ship-board employee who said he wanted to work as a Shopping Lecturer because they make "really serious money" in commission. We noticed that the recommended stores were asking customers to show their cruise cards and we realised it was to note down who they had to pay the commission to.

[cruisestitch]

Most new and inexperienced cruisers aren't aware, unless they read Cruise Critic and other similar sites, that the shopping guide is not employed by Celebrity. That person is hired by the shops which pay to be listed on the shopping map. They work for those shops, not for you! Thus all their advice is suspect. After a few cruises, people figure it out, but the first-timers are sitting ducks, so to speak.

[kitty9]

Real emeralds are very soft and have lots of naturally occurring "inclusions" that make the gem soft. Yellow "emeralds" aren't really emeralds but are known as Premium Golden Beryls.

 

The best advice for purchasing any stone is, if you love it, and you feel it's a good deal for you, then go for it.

 

This is just like tanzanite. People believe that all tanzanites are equal, but nothing can be further from the truth. The light tanzanites are really not good stones, but some places try and make you believe that they are just as good as the darker stones. Don't fall for that. A true high quality tanzanite is dark blue/purple in color, and are not heat treated to enhance the color. A good tanzanite retails for over $3000 a carat and up.

[cherylroslyn]

On a trip to Alaska last year my tablemates were buying Blue Diamond earrings.

 

Why someone would choose Alaska to make such a purchase was completely beyond me....for one it is not a duty free place, for two it is not known as a place to buy jewelry, it is actually more expensive to get most things in Alaska because of shipping........but who am I to judge........

 

Well it turns out that after buying the earings for over $1000.00 the man went online and found out that the blue diamonds are not natural or rare, but rather are crappy diamonds that are dyed blue. And the value of what he bought was generously estimated at $400.00.

 

He demanded his money back and got it..........