Huge, Rare Emerald Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Aug 26th 2010 at 11:01PM

A massive 1,040 carat emerald heads to auction this weekend on August 29 at LiveAuctioneers.com. The Polly Emerald will be offered for sale by GovernmentAuction.com. The gemstone has been appraised for $454,000 by a GIA certified appraiser. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding for this special auction, which will consist of the lone lot selling at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 p.m. Eastern Time. There is no reserve, the stone goes to the highest bidder. For this auction they are accepting phone bids and absentee bids with a $50,000 deposit.

Tags: auction, emerald, polly emerald

Filed under: Auctions

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Tom Aug 27th 2010 10:44AM

What a joke- These emeralds are known in the trade as "de classe" I have one on my desk as a paperweignt- it weighs 2246 carats ,dyed green and cost me $88.00 including shipping from India- Want to see these stones by the ton? Go to Ebay India > Jewelry> loose stones> emerald- Oh, and GIA doesn't "certify" appraisers

al schrader Aug 28th 2010 5:28AM

You can't appraise a stone by a photograph. You have to inspect it with an eye loupe. Emeralds vary from worthless, to priceless. My experience with big stones is, most people consider them to be fakes especially big diamonds.
If you used this one as a paperweight, it would actually serve a function, whereas, if you put it in a display case, it would simply collect dust same as the gold in Fort Knox which are both worthless endeavors....Alfred-

BTDT Aug 28th 2010 12:39PM

Looks like a rubarb pie.
Note to Albert; There aint no gold in Fort Knox. It was stolen years ago.

mandmjlrscvca Aug 27th 2010 11:38AM

The emerald appears so opaque, I hope whomever buyes it does not feel robbed or mis led by the use and statement of value by a so called "GIA Certified Appraiser". It is one thing to be a certified gemologist which is only certified by GIA and not any other legal body. It is recognized as what it is. "Certification", a certificate received when successfully having passed the course at GIA. To say certified appraiser is a joke. You can have a stone identified by a GIA grad, but valued, not in a verifiable way. I sent a one carat diamond to GIA in New York and the same diamond to the GIA when it was in Santa Monica. The certs came back off two grades from each other. Not good and what is worse, appraisers do not have a specific guideline of pricing. Appraisers at a high line store will appraise based on their mark up and not the reality. You could take a one carat fine Sapphire to two different stores and have up to a 300% difference in Appraised Value...... That is the reality. I have appraised Gems and jewelry for 30 years and have seen it on a regular basis. So baloney to GIA.

Rick Aug 27th 2010 11:40AM

Whew, thought I was losing my mind for a moment there, have a few of these ugly 'crap' emeralds in a display cabinet. They're smaller, but bigger than a quarter.

don paeglow Aug 27th 2010 12:06PM

don't know about others, but I'm concerned that people who appraised my wife's
things are not who they say they are and if there is a loss, will the insurance company have a recourse to deny a claim. Through comments made, I have learned that GIA isn't in a position to certify anything or anyone. Sure makes one
wonder about a whole lot of things in todays markets.
Thanks to all.

D Aug 27th 2010 12:30PM

When I saw this emerald photo, at first I too thought that it was a bit opaque. However, looking at it again, it does seemed to be backlit, and appears to be more translucent. Again, I too still feel it's a bit clouded and lacks transparency.

Here's my question. Why is this emerald facetted when emeralds do not have luster or radiance, especially this one? Is there added value in the faceting? I do know that the faceting would allow more light to enter at certain angles. I'm just asking because I don't know, but I wonder if this emerald would have had been better off shaped into a highly polished cabochon instead?

Duane Aug 27th 2010 12:48PM

Unique but worthless in it's current size as I see it. The only way to make any money off it is to cut it up.

Don Oberloh Aug 27th 2010 1:15PM

I have 'twin' australian black opals, 8mm, not treated, not ruined by man in any way. Impossible to get twins this size, it seems, one GIA idiot said that they were not real because they were in silver settings, I took them out and sent them to two other appraisers, one in NY one in So Cal. both came back over 30 for both.

I went back and got my 25 bucks back from the first idiot.

what a scam industry.

iviethodaurum Aug 27th 2010 1:13PM

Its big and its ugly........Im a jeweler/goldsmith and I have family in colombia and I can getting them for great prices.....saw a pear shaped 4ct last time I was down there,this thing was clean and clear,deep green and 200 dollars.....I wouldnt have the one in the photo.

dan Aug 28th 2010 5:33PM

I love mid- range color included Columbian emeralds more than the perfect
darker ones-
it's like staring into the Caribbean Sea-
does your family have a link to sell them?
if so- please post it
thanks

ted leutz Aug 27th 2010 2:55PM

looks big for 1.040 carats....was the decimal in the wrong spot?

Jerry Stafford Aug 29th 2010 9:41PM

it's not one-point oh-four-oh carats, it's one thousand and forty carats.

Allan Aug 27th 2010 3:06PM

wont see this on ebay....LoL

Tom Aug 27th 2010 4:13PM

Yeah you will- Ebay India>jewelry>loose stones>emerald-

offlinej Aug 27th 2010 3:48PM

If you are taking this seriously, I have better use for your couple hundred thou, this bridge I own..........

Roberto Aug 27th 2010 5:04PM

IT'S SIMPLE........FRAUD...

al schrader Aug 27th 2010 5:13PM

I'm actually the number two jeweler, Palerma Picasso is number one (Pablo's daughter). I get my raw stones in New York and have them cut in Thailand.
Color is critical for emeralds. A cloudy pale stone may be worth a few dollars, but the same stone only dark & clear is worth thousands or millions. Emerald is a beryl and softer than glass unlike diamond which will cut glass....Al-

Nancy Aug 28th 2010 2:17AM

"Palerma" Picasso? Are you kidding me?

"PalermO" - note the O - is a city in Sicily (that's part of Italy). PALOMA is the name of Picasso's daughter.

al schrader Aug 28th 2010 5:10AM

Thanks for correction Nance...Paloma or "Dove". Hey,,,,I could create a new NANCY collection of 18 karat butterflies and roses studded with emeralds. Like a dozen other projects,
I'm too incredibly busy rigjht now.....Alfred-

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