01 — Loose cut stones
Loose Stones
Graded singles for custom rings, collectors and bench jewellers. Every stone we sell lists its origin mine, carat weight, colour grade and clarity enhancement — before you pay, not after. Availability changes constantly as stones sell and new parcels are cut, so tell us what you are looking for and we will send what is actually in hand.
The table below is an illustration of the format every stone is published in, not a list of stones currently in the safe. The serials and prices are examples. We show it here so you can see exactly what we disclose before you buy — origin mine, cut, colour grade, clarity enhancement, weight and total price, on every single stone. Tell us what you are looking for and we will send what is actually cut and available, priced, with photographs in both daylight and incandescent light.
| Stone | Origin | Cut | Colour | Enhancement | Carat | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MGM-0118 | Muzo | Octagon | Vivid green | Minor, cedar oil | 1.12 | $2,850 |
| MGM-0124 | Chivor | Oval | Bluish green | Insignificant | 0.58 | $1,240 |
| MGM-0131 | Coscuez | Emerald cut | Medium green | Moderate, cedar oil | 2.04 | $1,980 |
| MGM-0140 | La Pita | Pear | Vivid green | Minor, cedar oil | 0.94 | $2,310 |
| MGM-0147 | Muzo | Cushion | Deep green | None | 0.31 | $1,690 |
| MGM-0152 | Chivor | Round | Light green | Minor, cedar oil | 0.44 | $620 |
Every stone we do have is published to exactly the standard shown above, and the price and availability of a real stone are confirmed to you in writing before any payment is taken. We will not substitute a different stone for the one you asked about and hope you do not notice, and we will not describe a stone as something it is not in order to close a sale. If what you want is not in the safe, we would rather tell you that and keep you as a customer.
Every stone above lists its clarity enhancement. If that language is new to you, read what emerald oil grades actually mean before you buy, or see which stones ship with a laboratory report. Looking for uncut material instead? See rough and specimen stones.
How value is set
What actually decides an emerald’s price
Emeralds are not priced like diamonds. In a diamond, carat and clarity carry most of the weight. In an emerald, colour dominates everything else — two stones of identical weight and clarity can differ several-fold in price on colour alone. Understanding the order below is the difference between paying a fair price and paying for a story.
| Rank | Factor | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colour | Three parts: hue, tone and saturation. The most valued Colombian material is a pure to slightly bluish green, medium to medium-dark in tone, and vivid in saturation. Too light reads washed out; too dark reads black in low light. Saturation is where the money is. |
| 2 | Clarity | Emerald is a Type III gemstone — it is expected to be included. The internal landscape is called the jardin. An eye-clean emerald is genuinely rare and priced accordingly. What matters is whether inclusions sit where they threaten durability, not whether they exist at all. |
| 3 | Clarity enhancement | How much filler sits in surface-reaching fractures. None commands a large premium. Minor is normal and accepted. Moderate and significant discount the stone substantially — the filler is concealing how fractured it really is. |
| 4 | Cut | Judged on whether it returns light evenly and whether it preserved weight without going windowed or over-deep. The classic emerald cut exists to protect fragile corners, not for looks. |
| 5 | Carat | Last, and not because it is unimportant — because price per carat climbs with size rather than staying flat. See below. |
| — | Origin | A real price factor in emeralds, unlike most gems. Documented Colombian origin carries a premium. That is exactly why origin is worth verifying rather than accepting. |
The non-linear part
Why a 2-carat stone costs far more than two 1-carat stones
This is the most misunderstood thing in coloured stone buying. Price per carat is not a constant — it rises as weight rises, because large clean crystals are disproportionately rare. Doubling the weight of a stone can multiply its total price by well more than two, and the increase is not smooth. It steps up at the round numbers the trade sorts by: crossing 1.00 ct, 2.00 ct, 3.00 ct and 5.00 ct each produces a jump.
The practical consequence: a 0.94 ct stone and a 1.04 ct stone of identical quality are not 10% apart in price. The heavier one crosses a sorting threshold and is priced into a different bracket. If you are buying to a budget rather than to a specific size, asking for stones sitting just under a threshold is the most reliable way to buy quality per dollar. We will point them out.
Reading a listing
What each column means
- Stone — our serial. It stays with the stone through any report, invoice and future resale enquiry, so you can always ask us what we sold and when.
- Origin — the named mine or mining area, not just “Colombia.” Muzo material tends warmer and slightly yellowish-green; Chivor cooler and more bluish; Coscuez covers a wide range. Where origin is our assessment rather than a laboratory’s, we say so.
- Cut — shape and style. Octagon and emerald cuts protect the corners; ovals, pears and cushions often preserve more weight from awkward rough.
- Colour — our grade in plain words, assessed in daylight rather than under a lamp chosen to flatter. Vivid is the top of our scale.
- Enhancement — the filler level (none, insignificant, minor, moderate, significant) and what the filler is. Cedar oil and polymer resin are not the same thing and we name which.
- Carat — actual weight, to two decimals.
- Price — total for the stone in US dollars, before shipping.
If a listing is missing one of those fields, that is information too — ask us why before you buy. The most common honest answer is that the stone has not been laboratory tested and we will not state as fact something we have only assessed by eye.
Questions
Buying loose emeralds
Is a heavily oiled emerald a bad stone?
Not automatically — but you should be paying a heavily oiled price for it. Oiling is an accepted, centuries-old trade practice and the large majority of emeralds on the market carry some filler. The problem is never the oil, it is undisclosed oil, because filler both improves apparent clarity and conceals how fractured the stone is underneath. Moderate and significant enhancement should come with a visible discount. If a seller will not state the level, assume the worst.
Does cedar oil wear off over time?
It can. Cedarwood oil is not permanent — it can dry out or seep over years, especially with heat, solvents or ultrasonic cleaning, and a stone can look noticeably worse than it did on the day you bought it. Re-oiling is a routine job for a gemologist or experienced bench jeweller. Polymer resins are more durable but harder to reverse and viewed less favourably by some buyers, which is why we name the filler type and not just the level.
Should I buy a stone without a laboratory report?
Below roughly a thousand dollars, often yes — a full report can cost a meaningful fraction of the stone’s value and tell you little you cannot see. Above that, and any time you are paying a premium specifically for Colombian origin or for an untreated stone, get the report. Those are precisely the two claims that are worth real money and cannot be confirmed by eye. See what reports actually prove.
Can I see the stone before paying?
Yes. We will send additional photographs and video under daylight-balanced and incandescent light on request, because emeralds shift noticeably between the two and a single flattering photo is how stones get oversold. Ask for both. We would rather answer questions for a week than take a payment you regret.
What does the price not include?
Shipping and insurance, any import duty or tax in your country, and laboratory fees if you ask us to submit the stone before it ships. Mounting is quoted separately. Nothing is added to your invoice that was not agreed in writing first.
Want uncut material instead? See rough and specimen stones. Buying more than one? Trade parcels are priced per carat rather than per stone. New to the vocabulary? The free emerald handbook covers all of it in one read.