Fire / sparkle and Asschers

[fisher]

I''m in the market for an asscher-style (a square EC that copies a Royal Asscher - I can''t afford a true RA). It will be in the 2.0 to 2.4 ct. range and of reasonable quality (G, H, I and no worse than VS2).

I''ve learned through other posts to look for low table (high 50''s or very low 60''s) and higher depth (65 or 70) as well as a true square shape with equal Length and Width if I want a rock that roughly copies a Royal Asscher''s dimmensions.

My question is this: looking at the GIA numbers for an Assher-style diamond, is it possible to guage the amount of "FIRE" a particular sq. cut will produce?

In other words: asschers aren''t known for being the most firey, and that''s ok, but what GIA parameters can I look for to get the maximum fire out of an asscher / square EC?

All advice is sincerely appreciated.

 

[JC]

Well, a good way to ensure that your diamond will have fire is to make sure that you select a diamond with the proper depth and table percentages. You''ve heard correctly with regard to the numbers that you''ve already been given. However, I''ve noticed that most customers tend to purchase Asscher Styles(square cut emeralds) that have depth and table percentages that range between 60%-69%. The customers generally like somewhere between the 60%-65% if they are looking to maximize the overall firey appearance of the diamond. That would be my recommendation. Good luck...

 

[strmrdr]

crown height between 10% and 15% will add fire.
unfortunatly that information isnt on the GIA cert.

 

[fisher]

Thanks for the tips. It is nice to know about the crown height playing a role in the reflective qualities of square EC diamonds. I will be sure to inquire about that parameter when evaluating future stones.

Also, how important is depth on assher-style diamonds (as far as controlling the amount of fire)? I''m sure it is all relative to the dimmensions, but how low can the depth be - maybe as a percent? That is, I want to maximize the length / width so the stone will look as large as possible but I don''t want to get one that is so shallow that I lose / negatively alter the reflective qualities.

Again, thanks for any wisdom you can offer.

 

[orange_horse_fiance]

Patrick,
As of today my fiance and I are the proud new owners of a wonderful new generic asscher. I can''t begin to explain how thrilled we are with final outcome anf the amount of fire/sparkle in our stone. The light just makes it dance!!!! An FYI the table on ours is 61% depth 67%. Beautful windmill, excellent concentric squares and a beautifully deep look to it.

I am no expert nor have I seen a lot, but the outcome was better than I could have hoped for. We had seen two previous stones in person and compared to this one and they paled greatly. (We did however evaluate and compare at least 50 stones over several months via the web) The wait for the perfect stone was worth it, don''t settle! The helpful people really steered us in the right direction. Follow their advice and you elinate a lot of "bad" ones right away.

Good luck,
OHF

 

[valeria101]

Date: 1/7/2005 11:12:55 PM
Author: orange_horse_fiance
Patrick,
As of today my fiance and I are the proud new owners of a wonderful new generic asscher

Aha!

Glad to hear good news, of course.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 1/7/2005 10:34:24 AM
Author:fisher

My question is this: looking at the GIA numbers for an Assher-style diamond, is it possible to guage the amount of ''FIRE'' a particular sq. cut will produce?

No... at leats no as far as I can tell. Some extreme numbers may tell a relatively precise story (say, over 80% depth guarantee a small and dark looking stone, and 50% table must come on top of a relatively high pavilion...) but a pair of nice GIA numbers as like the stone of OHF has don''t say much at all - there''s allot of room for variation for all other cut details and the overall look left there.

And... why say asschers are not fiery ? They are

 

[orange_horse_fiance]

I can personally attest to Ana''s statement that even if the stone does fall within the "ideal" for table/depth it WILL NOT always bring the fire and sparkle that is so desireable. Previos to this stone we had seen a stone that meet the req. and it failed miserably in that area. All stats were great, the stone jst wasn''t in person. As many will advise it is essential to see the stone in person.

 

[mia1967]

Congratulations OHF!!

As for fire - my recently acquired 2 c. asscher has TONS even though the crown angle isn''t as high as recommended...it was measured at 9.7%, but with a 55% Table and a 66% depth - it was just the right amount that this particular stone needed (and it appears a bit bigger too).

I was really into finding perfect, concentric squares so I made sure symmetry of the facets was rated excellent. Good luck!

 

[mia1967]

Excuse me...I meant crown height was 9.7%...crown angle was 24.1 degrees. Again, not perfect on paper, but I do agree you have to SEE the stones to be sure you are getting what you want.