Asscher vs. Radiant

[BTO]

I had my heart set on getting a radiant cut diamond. Then someone mentioned that if I like the look of the radiant, I should also check out the asscher cut. I''ve since done that and see that they are both beautiful. Is one a superior cut, ie. a better investment and/or greater beauty?

Help!

 

[Giangi]

They are very different...
Asschers are very classy and sleeky looking, while radiants are more fire-y (they do look like broken glass to me, though

).
In my opinion Asschers are much more nicer, especially in big sizes...
What's the color weight you're looking at?

Giangi

 

[dimonbob]

Dear BTO, Welcome to the Forum;

Gaingi likes Asschers and I like Radiants. That is the reason there are many cuts because not everyone likes the same thing.

Like the man says, radiants have more fire and are more brilliant. I like all that flash and I really like all the spectral colors that jump out of the radiants.

One cut is not more superior to another but there are superior and poor cuts of each. Go to:

http://www.gemappraisers.com/chrt.htm

This will give you some very good information on how good the cut is on the diamonds you are considering.

Find out what cut the person wearing the diamond likes best!

Good Luck!

 

[noles9498]

I was stuck on the Asscher but when it came down to it didn't want to buy sight unseen and couldn't find one local. (I know that I could have ordered from a retailer with a good return policy but then ended up going down another road entirely, but that's not really relevant here!) I was dissuaded from the Asscher by dealers who said that the cut would be too dull (of course these were also dealers who didn't have any) and that a radiant would produce a lot more light....but I just couldn't be convinced because although the radiant was quite nice it was the elegance of the Asscher that I loved. As everyone else has said, it's a matter of taste more than anything else. But I have to say that an Asscher would catch my eye anytime over a radiant! It seemed to me, logically at least, that a better stone was necessary with an Asscher (same rationale as emerald). Just my two cents, take it for what it's worth and good luck!

 

[BTO]

Thank you for your quick responses!

I love the fiery look of the radiant and the fact that it’s not extremely popular suits my personality (my original engagement ring was a wide eternity band set with our alternating birthstones: diamonds and peridots).

Although, something about the asscher is very alluring; elegant and old hollywood-esque. I'm only looking to buy a 1-1.25 carat and I've never seen an asscher that small, so believe I might be losing a lot of that drama by buying a smaller size...

Judging from the carat range I'm shopping in, would I be getting more sparkle

from the radiant?

Brandy

 

[Hest88]

It depends on if you want more sparkle or you want..I dunno what to call it-- depth is how I think of it. They are extremely different in appearance.

The other consideration is price. If you have your heart set on a Royal Asscher, which IMO looks very different from the unbranded asscher-cuts out there, then you're also paying a premium price.

 

[Lanee]

I don't mean to intrude but I feel I'm on the same vein here as Brandy. Brandy mentioned not hearing of Asschers in small sizes such as 1-1.5 carats and I think I read on another thread that because of the way it is cut, weight on Asschers is different so you can get a large carat size for less than you would expect. Please explain because I feel like I'm all wrong here? And back to Brandy's question, does anyone know about small sizes for Asschers? Or prices?

Feel free to let me know if you think I should be on a separate thread.

Lanee

 

[Hest88]

Lanee, from what I know, Asschers are cut more deeply so although you'd be paying for a certain carat weight, it will look smaller than a round of the same weight. People also claim that a smaller carat size doesn't do an Asscher justice.

 

[BTO]

Hi Lanee! No intrusion at all.
I like the radiant for the sparkle and "pop", but I like the elegance of the asscher. But my gut feeling is that elegance will be lost in a 1-1.25 asscher. Have you had a chance to see any smaller asschers in person? I haven't and would love to hear anyone's thoughts that has. This might sound crazy, but I thought of ordering a loose cz asscher in the carat range I'm considering, just to get a little perspective. I know there is no comparing the real thing to cz, but maybe it will help!

Brandy

 

[Giangi]

Yes, I've seen even veeeeeeeeery small Royal Asschers (like 0.20) and they are really beautiful even when thaey are that small... A 1-1.25ct will look just fine. I don't like square emeralds, though. They look really different from Royal Asschers...

Giangi

 

[Lanee]

Brandy,

Wow, I thought of doing the same thing (buying a CZ to check it out) because I live in Chicago and have only seen the square emerald cut in a casing and the ring was tension set in yellow didn't look great, not very attractive. I don't know if it was the stone or the lighting but it was dingy looking. If you have any luck with that idea let me know. I started out the same way, I wanted radiant and came across Asscher and Flanders, and I really like the art-deco look of asscher. or asscher style cuts.

Hest88,

Thanks so much, that will definitely stick with me now. Now I really don't know how much I should be looking for in size or my price range ("Asscher and setting" thread). My ring size is 5 but, my fingers are long and bony, my palm is 3.5" finger line to wrist line and 3" wide -my ring finger is almost 3", so imagine. I'm only 5'2" so I have large hands for my size.

Does anybody own an actual Asscher or Royal Asscher that feels comfortable disclosing specs and cost? Can I ask that?

 

[Ivana Diamond]

I tried on BOTH at a store... a 1.87 asscher and over one carat in a radiant. I really had my heart set on an asscher cut. It was just different and very elegant! Well, until I tried it on.

I didn't go totally

when I tried it on.

When I tried on the radiant, that's when I went goo-goo ga-ga. I think it's the scintillation that I really fell in love with. I really want mine to sparkle!

If I could get a large cut asscher (over 2 carats) then maybe I'd consider it. But, since I know I won't, I think I'd go for the radiant. I personally think that asschers look good only in big sizes. I tried on a 1 carat and it didn't shine nearly as much as a radiant!

Good luck with what you decide!

 

[festivities]

Thanks for sharing your experince with these two stones! I originally wanted (and almost bought) a radiant cut, but when I went to the jeweler and saw both (asscher and radiant), I personally like the Asscher better. For me, the radiant had too many cuts on the bottom (very busy) whereas the Asscher was very clean and elegant. The Asscher did not have the same type of sparklies as the radiant, but it does have a very distinct and beautiful sparkle that seemed to me to be quite different than any other diamond cut. The sparklies seemed to be long, and sort of ran through the entire diamond and carried the entire rainbow in one gleam! In the radiant, I saw bunch of little individual sparkles shooting out that only lasted for a very brief second. Both rings were VS2-D and almost the same size.

As you can tell, I really don't know much about diamonds and this is just my personal opinion.

Both cuts are fabulous! I was disappointed with the emerald though. I love the cut, but it really didn't have any sparklies to it.

 

[valeria101]

ECs (square or not) can have quite a bit of light return, but to see such anexample one should prepare to be patient. An example resides on GOG's site: it is an EC with "very high" ranks on all three chaptes of the BrillianceScope. So miracles do happen. This quality obviously does not depend on the square outline, which can yield both dull and great optics, just like any of the cuts. Same for radiant. While the step cut surely looks (and is) structuraly different, it surely can through quite a bit of light back to you. I believe that square emeralds are more often cut with light return in mind than the other ECs, but this is not the fault of the design: just the execution.

 

[festivities]

Thanks to both of you for the replies and advice! What is GOG?

I have found the ring below on ebay and although it's a bit smaller than what I really want (shocking I know!), it appears to be the best deal that I've have seen so far. What do you all think?

Mounting Metal Type: 18k White Gold
Diamond Weight: 1.01 Carats
Clarity: VS2 (Amazingly Clear with no inclusions)
Color : G (Near Colorless VERY White!!!)
Set Type:
Certificate: EGL # 75330914D
Appraisal Value: $10,250.00
OUR Price : $3,735

It seems like the EC cut is more expensive than most others?