Why Emeralds Belong at the Heart of Modern Fine Jewellery

Diamonds flatter everyone and offend no one. Emeralds make a statement. That, I suspect, is why the people who love them tend to love them for life — an emerald is never a neutral choice, and it rewards a wearer who does not want to be neutral either.

A four-thousand-year love affair

Cleopatra mined them near the Red Sea. Mughal emperors carved prayers into them. The great European houses built entire eras of design around their green. When you set an emerald today you are joining a very long conversation — and yet, placed against modern, architectural gold-work, no stone looks more current.

Designing around the garden inside

Emeralds are not flawless, and they are not supposed to be. Their internal features — the French call them a jardin, a garden — are part of each stone's fingerprint. Good design works with that character rather than hiding it: a slightly deeper bezel, a setting that lets light wander in from the sides, colour-matched accents that let the green speak first. In my own work the pairing I return to again and again is royal green against warm 18K gold — the palette of palaces and of gardens at dusk.

Wearing emeralds without fear

An emerald is a stone for living in, but it appreciates courtesy. Put it on after perfume, not before. Keep it away from ultrasonic cleaners; warm water, mild soap and a soft brush are all it ever needs. Treated this way an emerald will outlive its first owner — which is precisely the idea.

If there is a piece in my portfolio built around green stone that speaks to you, or a family emerald waiting for a new life, I would love to hear its story.