April 27, 2017
Emeralds were TOUGH to work with here on The Vivienne Files – they’re very rare, I suppose, because they’re quite expensive and not available in the mad range of designs that you can find with most other precious stones. Nevertheless, we’re more than able to find a lot of lovely ideas…
Given their price, you might not be wearing “authentic” emeralds (that’s fine…) and you might just use emeralds as an accent with a larger, less-expensive semi-precious stone. It’s your birthstone – wear it the way you want! Finding a beautiful scarf with a bit of bright green in it will draw attention to your beautiful jewelry, and make it all look wonderfully intentional and well-planned.
Dress – Uniqlo; necklace – Emilie Shapiro; scarf – J.Crew; scarf – Manila Grace; earrings – Alok Jain; dress – Uniqlo
dress – Uniqlo; ring – Retrouvaí; sandals – Sam Edelman; tote – Spencer Devine; necklace – Ila; dress – dress – Uniqlo
dress – P.A.R.O.S.H.; earrings – JCPenney; ring – Dee Berkley; cardigan – N.Peal; cardigan – James Perse; moonstone & emerald pendant – Alok Jain; earrings – Laura Ashley; dress – Patagonia
Dress – Lands’ End; earrings – Mociun; scarf – Shiraleah; scarf – Talbots; dress – Uniqlo; earrings – EF Collection
cardigan – Uniqlo; earrings – Bloomingdale’s; bracelet – Gas Bijoux; dress – Uniqlo; dress – Uniqlo; earrings – Ila; bracelet – Kate Spade; cardigan – L.L.Bean
JaniceMore from the Birthstone Series:
- January: Garnets
- February: Amethyst
- March: Aquamarines
- April: Diamonds
- May: Emeralds
- June: Pearls
- July: Carnelian
- August: Peridot
- September: Sapphires
- October: Opals
- November: Topaz or Citrine
- December: Turquoise or Tanzanite
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Perhaps you meant that emeralds are expensive because they are rare. Still, a very lovely post.
I reworded that part – I knew what I meant in my head, but it really didn't translate AT ALL onto the screen. Thanks for pointing this out and letting me clarify what I meant!
hugs,
Janice
I so love bright emerald green although it' overpowers my very light skin. But you are showing me a way to wear it as a small accent with jewelry! LOVE that Emilie Shapiro necklace-with the stone that was cooked for months!! Hmmm my husband just asked. me what I wanted for my birthday :) Janice Collins, Washington DC
I have always been afraid of pressure cookers, but now that I know I can plug it in for 11 months and leave it . . . I may try making some jewels! Love this post!
You won me with this one! (Of course PINK would bring in a natural, garden type color palate.) Emeralds are my second favorite gem. Created emeralds are REAL emeralds, but are not NATURAL emeralds. The process is quite extensive, which is why they are the most expensive created gemstones. I would much rather have a created emerald, without the clouding and cracking so common in natural stones.
According to geology.com: Emeralds are gem-quality specimens of the rare mineral Beryl. It is rare because beryllium is an element that occurs in very small amounts in the Earth’s crust. It is unusual for enough beryllium to be present in one location to form minerals. In addition, the conditions in which beryllium is present in significant amounts are different from the conditions where chromium and vanadium, the sources of emerald’s green color, occur. This is why the emerald is rare and only found in a small number of locations.
Lovely! I have some earrings with a bit of emerald that I never wear – now I'm inspired! The Alok Jain moonstone + emerald pendant gives me an error code when I click on it. – nancyo
I just updated the link, but if it's still recalcitrant, you can just search for his name on Novica.com; he does quite a bit of work with moonstones…
thanks!
hugs,
Janice
I didn't realize how rare emeralds are: I feel even more fortunate to own a lovely emerald ring. It's a bit fancy so I don't wear it very often but I do appreciate it's beauty every time I look at it. My favorite way to wear it is with a little black dress and black heels.
Green is my favourite colour but I prefer diamonds and pearls as I think they are more versatile…
real emeralds are rare…those that are natural and have not been treated…but so gorgeous and very tempting!
This could have been written for me! Emerald is my birthstone, and as my eyes have a lot of green I do tend to wear green a lot. I especially love the little touch of green with the Uniqlo dress and Spencer Devine tote.
I currently dye my hair but am thinking of transitioning to gray and have been wondering how green would look with gray clothes also. Here is my answer! Lots of ideas for the future….
Interesting to read Virginia's comment. I have never been a 'jewel' sort of person but have always hankered after a square cut emerald ring. My husband bless him nearly fainted when he went into a jewellers years ago to enquire about prices to perhaps buy me one for a birthday! Sadly, my arthritic old hands wouldn't do one any justice. But maybe some earrings now….
Or a bracelet? I'm absolutely smitten with bracelets these days…
hugs,
Janice
Emeralds are so pretty! I think the emerald/navy combo is particularly classic and never goes out of style. I love the reminder that if we love a color that isn't flattering to our skin tone we could still have it in jewelry!!
Love green! As always, enjoyed every grouping!
Talbots doesn't show anything at all similar to that gorgeous emerald scarf! :-( I love emerald with black and/or pale gray.
The solid green scarf is from Shiraleah, the printed one is the one from Talbots. A solid colored scarf in a color you really love always turns out to be amazingly useful – I have a beautiful pink scarf that I've had for almost 20 years that still transforms whatever I wear with it…
hugs,
Janice
Over here in Sweden we have adopted the British habit and so we actually have two May Birthstones: Emerald and Chrysophrase. The chrysophrase is of a cooler green colour (which suits me better), an it's not so rare and expensive as real emeralds. I've had a chrysophrase bracelet since I was ten years old, a present from my parents. Now that you've inspired me I'll just have to start wearing it again!
Janice, emeralds are "much more rare" than other stones because the mineral (beryllium) occurs in relatively few places. The supply is not that big, especially in larger stones. (Unlike diamond- huge supply, manipulated market.) Heat-created emerald is not real emerald, so it should be approached knowing you are not buying a precious gem. You can get the look of the real emerald by buying an emerald doublet, which is a surface layer of emerald bonded to a less-costly stone (usually quartz) and set in a bezel so the 'sandwich' does not show. Fake emeralds, like fake pearls, are soulless and I would rather have a nice handmade silver ring than a glass emerald, which is going to scratch and look dull, soon as you wear it.