Joel Arem, who specializes in making collector markets for neglected gems, thought he knew a good thing when he saw one.
The well-known author and dealer, based in Gaithersburg, Md., started what he believed was a sure-to-succeed crusade on behalf of faceted chrysoberyl, a little-known member of the gem family that boasts two of the world’s most famous phenomena stones: alexandrite (a gem that changes from green in daylight to red in artificial light) and cat’s-eye chrysoberyl (a gem that displays a single streak of light across its dome when cut as a cabochon). Arem assumed that sooner or later the gem’s enviable family ties would pay off in a big way.
“Today, 11 years after he began recommending the greenish-yellow to yellowish-brown stone in articles and plugging it in lectures, faceted chrysoberyl has yet to cash in on its sibling stones’ celebrity. “It remains such an unknown that it might as well be considered a new gemstone,” Arem says.
To be sure, some market movers like New York’s Steve Stieglitz have come to share Arem’s love for faceted chrysoberyl—so much so that it doesn’t seem to matter that few have joined the crusade for recognition. “It seems I’m always the buyer, never a seller,” says Stieglitz. “I probably have so much of the stuff by now I could be accused of cornering the market.”
Maybe so, but only by default, since he is one of the very few buyers of the gem around. Nevertheless, Stieglitz and Arem still hold high hopes for faceted chrysoberyl. “This is not some uncontrollable passion that I’m indulging,” Stieglitz insists. “I really believe that time is on chrysoberyl’s side and that it makes sense for me to accumulate it.”
For the first time, that’s not quite the wild-eyed hunch it once seemed.
Building a Case
Faceted chrysoberyl, it is safe to say, is an acquired taste. Its main drawback, dealers concede, is color. Not that chrysoberyl is ugly. No, its problem is that it is too unusual. At its best, the gem is variously chartreuse-green to lemon-yellow, off-beat to gaudy hues that haven’t had much of a following among jewelry designers and makers for decades. Now there are the signs that such colors are coming back. Will the comeback help chrysoberyl?
Opinion is divided among those who stock the gem. Doubters say that chrysoberyl has shadings that are too distinctive, a subtle obstacle to acceptance because unknown gems often need constant confusion and misidentification with known ones to gain recognition. These worrywarts fear that since few versed in colored stones are apt to mistake either green or yellow chrysoberyl with better-known stones, the gem won’t ride their coattails to success. “Faceted chrysoberyl stands alone,” says Dick Greenwood, A.F. Greenwood, New York.
In this case, however, the fact that faceted chrysoberyl is unique and not widely regarded as a substitute for other gems might be a plus and not a minus. As our photo demonstrates, no other gem has quite the fruit-and-vegetable chartreuse-green of faceted chrysoberyl. And it is precisely this produce-counter hue that has been scoring big as a fashion color these recent springs.
The fashion industry’s current interest in yellow-green stones that conjure up fruits like kiwi and lime has already increased demand for green stones. In fact, the trend has led to the heaviest use in years of such gems as green tourmaline and peridot. As designers get their fill of these stock-in-trade yellow-green gems, dealers like Arem and Stieglitz are convinced that the quest for really spunky yellow-green gems will lead jewelry makers to chrysoberyl. Should the stone’s distinctive green start turning eyes, the gem’s other sterling attributes could spark the first-ever chrysoberyl craze.
Unsung Virtues
Because chrysoberyl is such an obscure gem, few jewelers realize it is ideal for jewelry. To begin with, it’s got a high hardness rating of 8½ on the Mohs scale, just under corundum (which has a hardness of 9). For this reason, it takes an exceptional polish. Indeed, notes Arem, few pastel-colored gems have such luster and brightness. One dealer even describes the gem as possessing a certain “kick.” And Stieglitz swears that when cut properly, a yellow chrysoberyl can pass for a fancy yellow diamond.
But hardness is only part of the story. Chrysoberyl is also a very durable gem, one without the cleavages (areas of crystal stress and weakness) that endanger many other species—some of them, like diamond, that are far harder. Because it is tough and untemperamental, it makes an ideal everyday-wear ring stone.
Besides hardness and durability, chrysoberyl has rarity going for it, at least in sizes above 20 carats. Arem believes rarity will one day make chrysoberyl a far more sought-after collector’s stone—provided that current fashion ignites sufficient interest in its color.
Best of Both Worlds
Although faceted chrysoberyl is rare in sizes over 20 carats, making it perfect for collectors, it has abundance going for it in sizes under 10 carats—due possibly to centuries of accumulation. That means there is enough on hand to satisfy commercial demand, if confined to smaller sizes and yellow colors.
Filling orders for green stones could present some problems if jeweler interest suddenly becomes too keen. According to Arem, green chrysoberyls tend to come from Sri Lanka, an active producer of this gem, but no match for Brazil, the number-one source known, alas, almost exclusively for yellows and browns.
Because so few dealers carry faceted chrysoberyl, it is hard to quote meaningful prices for it. “The only market for non-phenomenal chrysoberyl is in my mind,” says Stieglitz with a laugh.
Ironically, prices Stieglitz gave us for top-color green and yellow stones match very closely those given by the three other dealers we found who have an inventory of this gem. In general, very fine stones can be found for $40 to $70 per carat in sizes up to 5 carats. Prices move up to $60 to $100 per carat for stones from 6 to 10 carats—and can double as one nears 20 carats. Above 20 carats, rarity is so great pricing is almost impossible. On the other hand, jewelers who don’t mind light-caramel and cream-in-coffee shades will find this gem a bargain.
Please note: this profile was originally published in 1992 in Modern Jeweler’s ‘Gem Profiles/2: The Second 60’, written by David Federman with photographs by Tino Hammid.
The faceted chrysoberyl shown in the header is courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.