Asscher Questions

[Headerlyn]

First off I would like to say thanks for all the indirect information I have recieved off this forum for the past year and a half. This is an awesome forum that really educates and informs potential buyers from making mistakes.

I have been pondering on a radiant and an asscher for some time now and think I have finally decided on an asscher. The asscher is gorgeous but the main downfall is they are small for their size in comparison to other cuts. Our budget for the diamond is around $5000-6000. My finger is a size 4. I have never been able to try on an asscher in a setting (only holding the diamond up to my hand) so it is hard for me to visualize what will look small/big on my hand. I would be willing to sacrifice clarity and color A LITTLE in order to get the maximum size as possible for this budget. How far would you all go as far as color and clarity with an asscher cut which carries more stringent standards than a radiant? I know that the asscher will not sparkle half as much as that of a rb or radiant, but will it sparkle? That is what I hate so much about the emerald is it just looks so dull. Also, I am located in the Atlanta area and have been to Solomon Brothers to look at their selection (this is the only place I have been able to view an actual asscher diamond). Does anyone have any experience with this vendor?

I have pretty much (after much research) narrowed the setting down to two lucky choices. The Royal Crown by Vatche and the "Replica 1930" setting on antiqueengagementrings.com. I would like to keep the setting simple for the most part and focus more on attaining the largest, cleanest asscher I can find.

Thanks again for reading through this somewhat exhaustive post. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jenwill]

Personally, for clarity I would probably go no lower than a VS2. The asscher/se cut is so 'clear' that it is pretty easy to see inclusions. As far as color, depends if you are very color sensitive or not. I am so I didn't want to go lower than F, but most people are not so G or maybe even H would probably be OK.

For sparkly comparisons, the one that is waiting to be put on my finger has plenty of sparkles, just in a more sedate manner than a radiant or RB. Someone here once compared it to the effect of a chandelier vs sun shining on a lake. A radiant or RB would sparkle more like a chandelier, while the asscher would be more like the sparkles you see looking over a lake with the sun shining on it.

You have a pretty small finger (lucky you!) so the smaller size shouldn't too much of a problem. I have a size 7.5 ring size, and my stone is 1.22ct and 6.09mm x 6.09mm...and seems about right- although I wouldn't mind going a little bigger someday! Perhaps you can find a princess or other square stone in about the same mm as any asscher you are thinking about so that you can see it against your finger.

Good luck!

 

[Headerlyn]

Thanks jenwill for your response. The chandelier/sparkling lake comparsion really helps. If you don''t mind what are the specs of your "upcoming" asscher?

 

[valeria101]

I and VS2... but there are lucky SI clarity pieces out there as well, so it is worth investigating those options just in case. Whiteflash has a couple of interesting stones of that sort in their "Expert selection".

 

[callista]

Just a tip about your setting choices. You won't be able to put an asscher cut diamond in a vatche royal crown setting. It will only hold rounds. My friend wanted the royal crown setting for a cushion, and the jeweler said that would not even work!

As far as asschers are concerned, I too am an avid fan, and it looks like you have done your research. I'd go no lower than an F, possibly G and no lower than VS1, VS2 is pushing it, but still might work. Look for 1.00 ratio (more square the better) and ex/ex polish and finish. Good old gold has some fantastic asschers as well!

 

[laughinggravy]

Hey Headerlyn, how are you?

I have a size 5.5 finger, and an asscher of 1.17 (E, VVS1 and an excellent ''make''). I have two traps on either side each of 3mm in length. The asscher itself is 6x near-as-darn-it 6mm.

My feelings are that I am glad we went for such good quality, esp for something as symbolic as an e-ring. But I have a very sweet DH who is treating me to a diamond purchase for my 4Oth and so it''s poss that if this had been my one and only stone, I might be regretting our choice such high quality over size.

Obviously, as you will have picked up by now, I wouldn''t ever have wanted to sacrifice cut.

I think you could see if you can find a good SI. It''s true there are less places for inclusions to hide in step cuts, but you''d have to get quite big before a light, little cloud became glaringly obvious, personally speaking.

The concentric squares do dazzle too. I find I get a lot of multicolours, very prismatic, under halogens and direct sunlight - not much of that around here at the moment!

It''s a lovely shape to have, if I could change anything it would be the setting since I''m a tart for a light touch of micro-pave.

It is true that the spread is small and I am very glad DH insisted on 1.17 instead of the .80 I was directing him to. I wouldn''t want to go under 6mm, once again, personally speaking.

There''s a thread full of asscher pix in this forum I think. I posted some scanned, hand shots of my ring. It has more oooomph when my hand isn''t squished up to a scanner screen - fortunately that''s quite rare. The shots do show, of course, the real size but the light it pumps out makes it appear bigger. It''s only showing some buzz because the cut is so great that it shines in any light.

I''ll try to take some photos next time, pref showing flashes of colour.

Good luck in your search and do check out NiceIce, from whom we bought, because they focus on beautifully cut stones. I''m sure there are other vendors here that have ''specially selected'' asschers too.
Abi

 

[strmrdr]

There are several threads on what to look for in an asscher around here so im not going to repeat it here. (one is in the faq section).

An asscher really has a look that cant be compared to other diamond cuts because no other cut has in my opinion so many different personalities in one stone.

The very best under diffused lighting will draw your eye and mind into the depths and soul of the stone. Like standing on the rim of the grand canyon and looking down.
The eye is drawn into it.

Under bright light will show off a ton of fire.
Under low light will simmer and weave like moonlight on a lake.