The boutique
C.R. Park, New Delhi
K-1/48, Lower Ground Floor
C.R. Park, New Delhi 110019
Wednesday to Monday, 11 am to 8 pm
Closed on Tuesdays
In the boutique, or by video from anywhere.
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Four precious stones, grown true.
Emerald, ruby, and sapphire in blue and in yellow: the four precious stones we work with. Each is grown as the true mineral, then cut and chosen for one thing above all, its colour.
Four stones, two families
Each one the true mineral, never an imitation. How they are grown
01 · Origins
A lab-grown emerald is emerald, and a lab-grown ruby is ruby. They are not glass or coloured crystal made to look the part; a gemmologist's instruments read them as the real mineral, because they are.
Ruby and sapphire
Al2O3
Crystallised aluminium oxide, second only to diamond in hardness. Ruby and sapphire are the same mineral; a trace of chromium makes it red, iron and titanium make it blue, and iron alone turns it yellow.
Emerald
Be3Al2Si6O18
A crystal of beryllium, aluminium and silicon. Pure beryl is colourless; traces of chromium and vanadium give emerald its green. It is hard, but more brittle than corundum, so it rewards a protective setting.
Emeralds are grown slowly from a hot, mineral-rich solution, much as they form in veins underground. Rubies and sapphires are grown from molten or dissolved aluminium oxide, with the colouring element added in exact measure.
Most mined emeralds are filled with oil or resin to hide fractures, and most mined rubies and sapphires are heated to improve their colour. A grown stone forms clean enough, and coloured truly enough, not to need it.
Grown crystals are not identical. Each carries its own faint growth features under magnification, and each is cut by hand, so no two of our stones are quite alike.
MinedMost mined emeralds carry open fissures, filled with oil or resin so they look clearer.
GrownA grown emerald forms slowly and cleanly, its colour true throughout.
An illustration. Draw the line across the stone to compare.
How an emerald is grown
I
A grown emerald begins as a thin plate of beryl, the mineral every emerald is made of. It sets the pattern the new crystal will follow.
II
The seed is suspended in a strong vessel with a hot, mineral-rich solution, the same conditions in which emeralds form in veins deep underground. The colouring elements, chromium and vanadium, are added in exact measure.
III
Over weeks and months, beryl crystallises onto the seed, layer by layer. Grown slowly, it forms with fewer of the fissures that mined emeralds so often carry.
IV
The rough crystal is cut and polished, most often into the octagonal step cut named after the stone itself, to show its green at its most even and vivid.
02 · Panna
The green of Colombia
The finest emeralds have always come from Colombia, prized for a green that is vivid and pure, with a cool, almost blue undertone and none of the yellow of lesser stones. Ours are grown to that colour, which is why we call them Colombian: the name describes the green, not the ground.
Emerald is the most delicate of the four. Choose a setting that guards its corners, and keep it away from ultrasonic cleaners, steam and sudden heat.
View our emeralds
03 · Manik
The red that glows
In a fine ruby the red seems to burn from within. That is no illusion: the chromium that colours it also makes it fluoresce in daylight, so the stone glows. The most coveted shade, a pure, rich red with the faintest touch of blue, has long been called pigeon's blood.
Hard enough for everyday wear in any setting. Clean with warm, soapy water and a soft brush.
View our rubies
04 · Neelam
The blue of a royal sky
Blue sapphire is the stone of royal rings and heirlooms, and the most enduring of coloured gems. Collectors prize a velvety royal blue and the softer, brighter cornflower blue. Too dark and it turns inky; too pale and it turns grey. The best sit between.
As hard-wearing as ruby, and just as happy in an everyday ring.
View our blue sapphires
05 · Pukhraj
The colour of sunlight
Yellow sapphire runs from a pale lemon to a deep, golden canary. The most sought-after is a clean, bright canary yellow, warm without turning brown or orange. It has all of sapphire's strength and brilliance in the warmest of colours.
As durable as any sapphire. Clean with warm, soapy water and a soft brush.
View our yellow sapphires06 · Choosing
A diamond is judged first by its cut. A coloured stone is judged first by its colour, and colour has three parts.
Hue
The colour itself
Red, green, blue or yellow, and the faint secondary tones within it. The finest stones are close to the pure colour, with only the touch of another that suits them, such as the blue in a Colombian green.
Tone
How light or dark
The most valued stones are a medium to medium-dark tone. Too light and the colour looks washed out; too dark and the stone loses its life, especially by candlelight.
Saturation
How vivid
The strength of the colour, from greyish or brownish to fully vivid. This is where the finest stones separate from the rest, and where grown stones excel.
Carat and size
Carat is a weight, and these stones are not equally dense. Sapphire and ruby are heavier than diamond, so a carat of either sits a little smaller; emerald is lighter, so a carat of emerald looks larger. When comparing stones, look at their measurements in millimetres as well as their carat weight.
Coloured stones are also often cut deeper than diamonds to hold more colour, which adds weight without adding face-up size.
Coloured stones are judged by eye, not under a loupe as diamonds are. Ruby and sapphire should look clean. Emerald almost always shows something within, a soft garden of veils the French call jardin; in a fine stone it never clouds the colour.
A good cut spreads the colour evenly across the stone. Look for a face free of a pale "window" at its centre, where light passes straight through, or dark patches where it is lost.
See a coloured stone in daylight and indoors before you decide. Sapphires can deepen under warm light, rubies glow in daylight, and emeralds are at their best in soft, natural light.
07 · Tradition
In India these four stones carry meaning far beyond their beauty, and many are chosen on the advice of an astrologer. We respect that tradition, and want you to choose with clear eyes.
Our stones are the true minerals, identical in composition and colour to their mined counterparts. Traditions differ, however, on whether a grown stone serves the same astrological purpose as a mined one. If that is why you are buying, please speak with your astrologer first.
08 · Care
Colour in these stones is part of the crystal, and does not fade. What they need is protection from knocks, and a little care in cleaning.
Yes. A lab-grown emerald is beryl and a lab-grown ruby or sapphire is corundum, the same minerals as their mined counterparts, with the same hardness and optical properties. They are not glass, cubic zirconia or other imitations.
For their colour. Colombia is famous for emeralds of a vivid, slightly bluish green, and ours are grown to that green. They are lab grown, not mined in Colombia.
No. The colour comes from trace elements locked into the crystal itself, so it is as permanent as the stone.
Our stones are lab grown. They do not need the oil, resin or heat treatments that most mined emeralds, rubies and sapphires receive.
Yes. Choose a stone and our atelier can design a ring, pendant or earrings around it.
No. Because coloured stones are so often chosen for personal or astrological reasons, gemstones and gemstone jewellery are not included in our lifetime exchange. Please see the terms for details.
Traditions differ on this, so we recommend speaking with your astrologer before you buy. Our stones are the true minerals, but we would rather you choose with full knowledge.
