18kt Yellow Gold Oval Emerald Cocktail Ring

This emerald cocktail ring sets a 1.00 carat oval emerald in the middle of a wide diamond-set band of 18kt yellow gold. The diamonds are a mix of round and baguette cuts, 1.30 carats in total, for 2.30 carats of gemstones in all, and the ring weighs 7 grams. Everything below describes this exact ring, which you can see and try on at our Boca Raton showroom.

The emerald cocktail ring at a glance

Here are the specifications of this emerald cocktail ring, as recorded for this piece.

At the center is an oval emerald of 1.00 carat, a vivid green, held in prongs.

Around it, the top of the band is filled with diamonds in mixed shapes: rows of small round brilliants along each edge, and tapered baguettes and rounds worked into a pattern on either side of the emerald. Together they weigh 1.30 carats and are graded F color, which sits at the top of the colorless range.

The mounting is 18kt yellow gold and the ring weighs 7 grams. Behind the diamond-set top, the shank opens into four narrow parallel bands. It can be sized to fit.

In short, this emerald cocktail ring is a wide, glittering band with a green heart at its center: much more of a statement than a solitaire, and far more comfortable than its size suggests.

Is the 2.30 carats one emerald?

No, and it is worth being clear. The 2.30 carats is the total weight of every stone in the ring, not the weight of the emerald.

The oval emerald is 1.00 carat. The diamonds across the band add 1.30 carats. Together they make 2.30 carats of gemstones.

In this design the diamonds outweigh the center stone, and that is deliberate. The emerald provides the color and the diamonds provide the scale, which is exactly what turns a colored stone ring into a cocktail ring.

A 1 carat emerald ring

A 1 carat emerald ring gives you a center stone of real presence without moving into the prices that large fine emeralds command. A 1.00 carat oval emerald measures roughly 7 by 5 millimeters, so it reads clearly as the focal point of the ring.

Emerald is slightly less dense than diamond, so a 1 carat emerald ring carries a stone that looks a little larger face-up than a 1.00 carat diamond of the same outline would.

Color is what you are really buying in an emerald. The stone in this ring is a strong, saturated green, which is the quality emerald buyers prize above all others. A pale or grayish emerald of the same weight would be worth a fraction as much.

Set into a wide diamond band, a 1 carat emerald ring like this looks considerably bigger than the carat weight suggests, because the whole top of the ring reads as one piece.

A wide band emerald ring

The band is what makes this ring unusual. Rather than a slim shank rising to a raised head, the diamonds and the emerald sit flush across a broad, slightly domed top.

A wide band emerald ring has a particular advantage: because the stones sit low, nothing stands proud of the finger to catch on clothing, and the ring does not spin. It has the presence of a cocktail ring with the practicality of a band.

Behind the diamonds, the shank divides into four narrow parallel bands with open space between them. That openwork keeps the weight down, lets the ring breathe against the finger and gives the sides a lighter, more architectural look than a solid band of the same width.

At 7 grams of 18kt gold, the ring still feels substantial. It is the kind of weight that tells you it is well made without being heavy to wear.

An 18kt gold emerald ring

18kt gold is 75 percent pure gold, a higher proportion than the 14kt used in most jewelry. In an 18kt gold emerald ring that difference is easy to see: the yellow is deeper and richer, and it sets off a green stone beautifully.

Yellow gold and green are close to each other on the color wheel, and warm gold makes emerald look lusher rather than cooler. It is the traditional pairing for the stone, and the one most people picture when they think of an emerald ring.

18kt gold needs no plating, so an 18kt gold emerald ring keeps its color for life with nothing more than occasional polishing. A rhodium-plated white metal setting would need re-plating from time to time; this one will not.

The diamonds are graded F color, near the top of the colorless scale. Against warm gold, F color stones look bright and clean, which keeps the band sparkling white rather than picking up too much of the gold around it.

Round and baguette diamonds together

The diamonds here are not all one shape, and that mix is the point. Rows of small round brilliants run along both edges of the band, and between them sit tapered baguettes and further rounds, arranged in a pattern around the emerald.

Round brilliants and baguettes do different jobs. A round brilliant is cut with 57 or 58 facets to throw light back as sparkle. A baguette is a step cut, with long parallel facets that give broad, mirror-like flashes instead.

Setting them side by side gives a ring two kinds of light at once: the fine glitter of the rounds and the cooler, cleaner flash of the baguettes. It is a classic combination in cocktail jewelry, and it is much harder to lay out well than a single row of matched stones.

Each diamond is held in its own prongs, so light reaches more of every stone and the top of the ring reads as a continuous field of white rather than a block of metal.

About emerald

Emerald is the green variety of beryl, the same mineral family as aquamarine. It ranks 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs hardness scale, which is hard, but emerald is also brittle, because nearly every emerald contains internal fractures and inclusions.

Those inclusions are so characteristic that the trade calls them the jardin, French for garden. In emerald, unlike in diamond, visible inclusions are normal and accepted. A completely clean emerald of any size would be extraordinary.

The Gemological Institute of America notes that most emeralds are treated with oils or resins that fill surface-reaching fractures and make them less visible. This is a standard, long-established practice across the trade, and it affects how the stone should be cleaned. The written appraisal records what is known about this stone.

Colombia has produced the world's most famous emeralds for centuries, and Brazil and Zambia are other important sources. Emerald is the birthstone for May and the traditional gift for a 20th and a 35th wedding anniversary.

Wearing an emerald statement ring

An emerald cocktail ring is the piece you wear when nothing else needs to compete, and an emerald statement ring of this width makes that point immediately. A wide gold band covered in diamonds, with a green center, is unmistakable from across a room.

Green is also easier to dress around than people expect. It looks striking against black, cream, navy and white, and it is a natural choice for evening and for the holidays.

Worn on the right hand, an emerald statement ring like this carries a whole outfit: pair it with simple gold hoops or diamond studs and leave the other hand bare.

Because the stones sit low across the band, it is comfortable enough to wear regularly rather than only for occasions, which is not true of every cocktail ring.

Who this emerald cocktail ring suits

An emerald cocktail ring like this suits someone who wants color but finds a plain solitaire too quiet. The emerald gives it personality; the diamonds give it the presence of a much larger piece.

An emerald cocktail ring also suits May birthdays, and 20th and 35th anniversaries, where an emerald has traditional meaning and a wide diamond band makes the gift feel significant.

It also suits anyone who prefers rings that lie flat. A wide band emerald ring works under gloves, does not snag on sleeves and sits comfortably next to a plain band on the same hand.

Choosing an emerald cocktail ring

When you compare a ring like this, start with the green. Emerald is judged on color above everything else: the best stones are a pure, saturated green, neither too pale nor so dark that they lose life indoors. Look at the stone in daylight and under warm light before you decide.

Next, accept the inclusions and judge how they read. In an emerald, the question is not whether there are inclusions but whether they spoil the color or the transparency at normal viewing distance.

Then look at the diamond work. In a wide band, the rows should run straight, the baguettes should line up cleanly against the rounds, and there should be no dark gaps where a stone sits low in its setting.

Finally, put it on. A wide band sits very differently on the hand from a raised solitaire, and the only way to know whether you like it is to wear it for a minute in front of a mirror.

A brief history of the cocktail ring

The cocktail ring is a twentieth century invention. It appeared in the United States during Prohibition, when a large, unmissable ring was the point of being seen with a drink in hand, and it became a fixture of evening dress through the decades that followed.

What defines the style has stayed the same: scale, color and sparkle, worn on the right hand rather than as a symbol of anything. An emerald cocktail ring is a direct descendant of those designs.

Mixing baguettes with round brilliants, as this ring does, is part of that tradition too. It is a mid-century approach to setting a wide band, and it is why a ring like this looks classic rather than dated.

Emerald and daily wear

Emerald deserves a straight answer here. At 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale it is hard enough to resist scratching in normal wear, but the internal fractures that almost all emeralds contain make the stone more brittle than a sapphire or a diamond.

That means this emerald cocktail ring can be worn often, but it should be treated as jewelry you take off for anything physical: the gym, gardening, cleaning and heavy work with your hands.

The oil or resin treatment most emeralds carry adds one more rule. Heat, solvents and ultrasonic cleaners can drive the filler out of the fractures and leave the stone looking cloudier than when you bought it.

None of this makes emerald impractical. It simply makes it a stone you look after, and emerald rings have been worn and enjoyed for centuries on exactly those terms.

Caring for your emerald ring

Clean the ring in warm, not hot, water with a drop of mild dish soap. Brush gently around the diamonds with a soft toothbrush, rinse and pat dry. Our jewelry care guide has more detail.

Never put an emerald in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner, and keep it away from solvents, acetone and harsh household cleaners. All of these can strip the oil or resin from the stone's fractures.

An emerald cocktail ring set with this many small stones collects lotion and soap underneath, and that film dulls the sparkle long before anything else goes wrong. Regular gentle cleaning keeps both the emerald and the diamonds bright.

Take your emerald cocktail ring off for the gym, gardening and housework, and have the prongs checked from time to time. We offer complimentary cleaning and inspection for jewelry bought from our store.

Seeing this emerald cocktail ring in Boca Raton

Green is a difficult color to photograph, and emerald is one of the hardest stones of all to capture. You are welcome to try this emerald cocktail ring on at our Boca Raton showroom and see the color in daylight and under the lights.

We are open Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 5:30, and Saturday, 10:30 to 4:30. Directions are on our Visit Us page.

David Stern Jewelers has served Boca Raton for over 40 years. David Stern is a GIA Graduate Gemologist, so detailed questions about the emerald and the diamonds can be answered on the spot.

Sizing, appraisal and insurance

This ring can be sized to fit. A wide band takes a little more work than a slim one, and the four open shank bands have to stay even, so we check the ring and confirm before any work is done.

It includes a written jewelry appraisal by David Stern, which describes the emerald, the diamonds and the gold and gives a replacement value for insurance.

More emerald jewelry

See our pear emerald ring in yellow gold, our oval emerald ring in white gold, or browse all our rings.

Questions about this emerald cocktail ring