Advice Please: On Fancy Stones

[kevinraja]

My girl doesn''t like round cuts. She likes square/rectangular cuts. I am thinking of buying her a 1.5 caract diamond. But I am not sure about the shape yet. I am thinking of princess or emerald or maybe ascher. What is the difference between these three? In terms of sparkle, brilliance, price, worth, and offcourse your personal preferences/suggestions. Thank you.

 

[windowshopper]

asscher and princess can look smaller than their weight as the cut requires some depth. in my experience

princess least $$, then Emerlad , then Asscher

differences-

princess-radiant faceting

asscher-square step cut with additional faceting if its a "real" asscher

emerald-step cut

 

[windowshopper]

all can be beautuful if cut well-----------

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Date: 11/14/2004 10

2:51 PM
Author:kevinraja

My girl doesn''t like round cuts. She likes square/rectangular cuts. I am thinking of buying her a 1.5 caract diamond. But I am not sure about the shape yet. I am thinking of princess or emerald or maybe ascher. What is the difference between these three? In terms of sparkle, brilliance, price, worth, and offcourse your personal preferences/suggestions. Thank you.

Hi Kevin,
I have found a lot of misinformation about prices in many places.
A common story I''ve heard is that whena seller does not have a particualar stone, it suddenyl becomes very expensive-''Oh we don''t carry Emeradl Cuts- they are too expensive" That type of thing.
In fact, prices for Emerald, Asscher ( non branded) and Princess could be said to be about the same. All Three shapes are quite a bit less than Round Brilliant.

All three shapes experince premiums for the quality of cut.
Another market condition I find common- D-E-F colors are inevitably more difficult to buy- sellers are much less willing to negotiate. That goes for just about any shape diamond equally.


Now, as far as the differences aside from price-
First Asscher Cuts- like the one pictured.
You will have a harder time finding a desirable Asscher as compared to either Emerald or Princess. There is a branded stone- the Royal Asscher Cut- which is sold by very few dealers, and from what I understand, it''s quite pricey.
If you choose Asscher, you give up what I call "Sparkle" in return for "Glitter". The nature of a Step cut stone is that there are many parallel lines- so that you can see right into the heart of the stone. Therefore, clarity becomes more of an issue. On a carat and a half Asscher a VS2 sized imperfection might be visible IF it had unfortuante location.

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Princess Cuts come in both square and rectangular profiles.
SInce a princess is fully faceted- like a Round Brilliant- well cut stones have great sparkle.
It''s true that only the really "spready" princess cuts will look as large as a round of similar weight.
So- it may be that a carat and a half princess cut will look a little smaller than a carat and a hlaf round- although comparing a circle and rectangule is like apples an oranges...
Princess Cuts are faily easy to find so you should have a nice selection to chooose from.

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Traditional Emerald Cuts will pretty much follow Asschers in terms of concern for imperfection- and sparkle VS glitter appearance.
BUt as with Princess Cuts- you should have an easier time finding selection compared to Asscher.
Of course I had to get a yellow in here!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Love the photos, Dave.

 

[windowshopper]

Oh my the yellow and white emerald cut ring is TO DIE FOR!

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Window shopper- thanks!

Here''s the stone''s story:
Today, diamonds are much harder to come by- why? Because the rough diamonds are difficult for the cutters to find- and quite expensive when they do.

Over the past 12 months this has become a larger factor than I can ever remember.

This has created some new realities in the market.
Stones this dark used to be either
1) cheap-
2) priced to market- but coming with a GIA report to back up the claim
Today, many stones are offered at the price of a Fancy Intense- yet, without the GIA report. That was the case here.
Now, I as a dealer, know that if I pass the fact is, I''ll likely never see the stone again.
So I bought it - and sent it to GIA. The word "Vivid" definitely passed thru my mind.
Of course, Fred''s law comes into play. not only is it only intense ( not quite vivid) but they called it UNEVEN too!
I don''t know maybe I''m getting old, but who wants to fight? Especially with GIA.
You win some, you loose some. Regardless, yellow emerald cuts are pretty rare, so I''m not all that unhappy- I still love it!


Richard- I''m a musician ( jewelry is my fall back.

) Anyway, sometimes after I play someone might give me a compliment- which always feels good, and I''m grateful.
When the acknowledgment comes from someone in the field- and that someone is someone you really respect- it''s that, and then some.
Your words are greatly appreciated.