Advice on Buying an Emerald Cut

[Emerald Seeker]

Hi,
I''m looking for advice on buying an emerald cut diamond. My budget for the stone is around $6,000. A priority is to get a good cut (she likes the sparkle). I gather that this is an often overlooked criteria that is very important. What kind of cut qualities should I be looking for to achieve that stunning sparkling look (without breaking the bank, of course)?

Also, I am looking for something in the 1 carat range (although I''d rather sacrifice weight for quality), maybe a G or H color, and VS1 or VVS2 clarity. Is $6,000 a reasonable budget for this? After doing some searching, it seems okay. Do people have opinions on what factor makes an emerald cut the most stunning? What might be the best area to make a "trade off" in? Color? Clarity? I know the answer depends upon the individual, but just curious if there is some standard knowledge that I''m missing reagarding finding a good emerald cut. Would love to hear opinions. Thanks.

 

[RA]

Hey there -

I was on this board about 2 weeks ago asking all of those same questions about an emerald cut.

I just this morning settled on one and hope to get it tomorrow, so I don''t know how good of a job I did yet... but here is what I was able to pick up from my research:

1) Your price range is fine - I wound up with an E, VS1, just under a ct in weight for right around $4000 -- have also been told it is a very well cut stone - so much subjectivity in this area.

2) With emerald cut a lot of what I read and those I talked to indicated that it was better to compromise on color than clarity because of the cut. Opinions on if you had to go as high as VVS1 or 2 varied greatly. TBut with a budget under yours I was able to find both the color and claritty that I wanted. I think where you compromise is so much a question of task - I was nervous about an inclusion in the middle of the emerald table being visible since I felt that an emerald cut would make it easier to spot an inclusion than say in a round cut - just my thought and opinion.

3) I learned that cut ratings for emerald shapes was very subjective - good to one site may be premium to another - I found this site that has a calculator in which you can enter table and depth % for various cut shapes and it comes up with a cut rating - you can make of it what will - cuts that didn''t come out so great on this listed as premium on some of the various websites. Just another piece of information that you can throw in the mix.

Anyway -these are my opinions and interpretation of some of the things that I learned while looking. Hiope they help.

R

 

[AChiOAlumna]

When I bought my EC last year, I learned how subjective the parameters were. The most important thing is to actually be able to see the diamond in question. How does it look to you in various types of lighting? Does it sparkle and show off its steps in all lighting or do you find that its lifeless? Also, another total preference is the length/width ratio of the EC. The standard says it "should" be 1:1.5 - 1:1.75. It depends if you want a more boxy or slender look. I personally like the 1.4 range myself and feel the 1.75 is too slender. I originally sought out a VVS, but learned you can get a really nice EC with a VS1 and even a VS2 at times.

You can easily get a nice EC for the budget you''re proposing here. You want to make sure the table isn''t "too" large (whatever that means to you), that the stone isn''t "too" deep and that the cut of the steps are symmetrical. I ended up with a 1.03 E, VS1 stone and love it to pieces!

Using your eyes is going to help a lot in this process. Look at some badly cut ECs to give you something to compare with when you see nicer ECs.

 

[f0rbidden]

My budget was similar to yours, although I had the 6k for the diamond and the ring.

I ended up with just under 1 carat (getting that great price break for being under 1.0) D/VVS2 with an outstanding cut -- under $5,000.

I think what the other''s have said is right - you have to see these with your own eyes and make your decision based on what you see.

Some say table/depth should be in the low 60''s, mine are in the 69-70 range and it''s amazingly beautiful.

Happy shopping!