Asschers to Asschers

[Slowpoke]

I am on the fence about two equally priced rings, both equally priced, both from repuatable dealers, and both being in equally beautiful settings. Both rings are referred to as Asscher Cuts, altough I am aware this term is often used losely. Both stones are older cuts.




Ring "A"s "L" color seems to be conteracted by its Flourescence. To my eye, it looks whitish. Both rings have a lot of life to them. Should I be concerned over the girdles? What about the lack of a cutlet on Ring B?




This will be an engagment ring, and I am not really viewing as a financial investment, but want to get the best wualty for the dollar. I like the added weight of Ring A, but am a bit concerned about the "L" color, and the elongated proportions. Thank you so much for any info, for this fledgling ring buyer.




Ring A Ring B




Shape Emerald Cut Square Emerald Cut




Meas. 7.09 x 6.7 x 5.01 6.25 x 6.2 x 4.59




Weight 1.99 1.51

Depth 74.8% 74%

Table 55% 56%

Girdle Thin Thick

Cutlet Med. None

Polish Good Very Good

Symmetry Good Good

Clarity VS1 VS1

Color L E

Flour. Med Blue None

 

[strmrdr]

An L diamond would drive me nuts it will appear yellow under virtually all lighting conditions.
Some like the look but I think they look nasty.

 

[valeria101]

On 12/2/2003 8:01:33 AM Slowpoke wrote:


I like the added weight of Ring A, but am a bit concerned about the 'L' color, and the elongated proportions.








1.5 is plenty big, and, yes not too many people appreciate these yellowish colors (such as L). This amounts to the wearer of the ring to have to defend the choice! The difference in price should be HUGE between these: if it is not I would question the pricing, grades and all the rest.




What I do not understand is the "elongated proportions" bit: the L color is a rather squarish EC. The 'norm' would be 1/2 width/length ratio and this stone is way below this.


Even though I love anything below M color (with X-Z colors top of my list), I would not give such items to anyone under the name "white diamond". These stones are really a matter of personal choice and otherwise have a hopeless bad name

After all, neither stone give the best "value": E is too high a color, L too low and VS1 too high clarity for thsi purpose. There are so many shades (and prices) between E and L! And VS2 or SI1 can be nice in EC as well. Buying online would save money too without any negative impact on the quality of the stone (quite the contrary). Why not a G-H, VS1-2? There are plenty to choose from...

 

[Hest88]

If I had to choose between the two and if I were definitely looking for that square look, I'd go for #2. You may be losing a lot in weight, but as Strmrdr said it's going to be a lot harder justifying the L color than it would be justifying a smaller stone.

Can you wait and find others that might have both the weight, the square shape, AND the size?

 

[Kay]

If you do not want to do any more shopping, between these 2 I would choose #2, despite the lower weight. If you want the true Asscher look, the stone should be square. If you want an emerald cut, get one more elongated than #1 -- I think an elongated square that is not long enough to look like an emerald cut might look odd.

I disagree that E VS1 is too high in color and clarity. A step cut like an Asscher or emerald will show body color and inclusions more clearly than a well cut round brilliant, because the faceting of an RB will create more sparkle and "hide" body color and inclusions to some extent. I would not go below G VS2, especially if you are buying online and cannot see the stone in person before purchase (even with a good return policy you are still out the shipping fees).

 

[valeria101]

----------------
A step cut will show body color and inclusions more clearly than a well cut round brilliant, because the faceting of an RB will create more sparkle and 'hide' body color and inclusions so some extent. [...] (even with a good return policy you are still out the shipping fees).----------------

TRUE. I was just hoping that the comments above do not imply that buying online presents extra risks and costs (which it does not) and/or forces buyers to go for higher and thus more expensive color and clarity grades (which it shouldn't). Of course, all cost considerations should take into account transaction costs: I guess someone might want to hedge all bets and go for a 'safe' color and clarity if the price difference is comparable with the extra shipping cost, just as you are saying. This depends on each buyer's choices... I hope.


I also hope KAY, you do not find this post tooooooooo insistent.

 

[Kay]

Maybe I should have worded my reply more carefully. I certainly did not mean to imply that buying online is riskier or requires going with a higher color or clarity than buying from a local store (although you can probably get a higher color and/or clarity for the same price online as a similar size and cut stone from a B&M). The G is my own personal color cut off point for fancy cuts, regardless of where the stone is purchased. I might consider an H with blue fluorescence in a super ideal RB because of the sparkle factor, but I would not go below G for a fancy cut, and actually prefer the icy white look of D-F. Each buyer has to decide his or her own preference on color -- I am just concerned that the usual advice given on PS regarding color in RBs does not necessarily apply to step cuts. I have nothing against SI1 stones -- my marquise is an SI1 -- but I am concerned it might be difficult to find a truly eye-clean SI1 in a step cut stone. If you go with a reputable vendor who can personally view the stone first to guarantee it is eye-clean, then an SI1 can be a great bargain.

Good luck in your search, Slowpoke. Asschers are really beautiful.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 12/2/2003 10:07:01 PM Kay wrote: I am concerned it might be difficult to find a truly eye-clean SI1 in a step cut stone. ---------------

Nope, the "transparency" of ECs (and cousins) is well known, so the majority is cut so as to place inclusion into corners and leave that large table clean. So even if the shape is more revealing, it's production takes care to produce quite a handfull of eye clean SI1 and S2s. 'Nouf said, I guess... from my part.

 

[Slowpoke]

Thank you for all the words of wisdom concerning these two stones. After months of shopping around, I narrowed it down to these two, and yesterday, I took a deep breath, and purchased ring B. When I went back to look at the ring again, it was stunning.

I am fortunate enough to live in New York City, but it is a double edge sword, because there are so many places to shop and so many options. It is easy to be overwhelmed. I will be picking up the ring in a day or so, and will post pictures.