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Emerald Cut, Any Help Greatly Appreciated

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emeraldbuyer

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 16, 2015
Messages
10
First off, thank you to you all for such a great forum. I am new to diamond ring buying and have tried to educate myself from reading on this forum.

I'm buying an Emerald Cut for my girl and have looked on James Allen to find one that she will like. My budget is up to about $8,500 but it can be increased if necessary. I have been looking at between 1.10-1.50 carats, which I know is all over the place, and basically the size of the diamond will depend on the cut and clarity she feels comfortable with. Her ring size is about 4.50-4.75. Right now she is leaning towards near colorless and IF/VVS1 or VVS2 because we both aren't experienced and therefore are more risk averse. She likes the idea of having an IF diamond even if the size of the diamond will be sacrificed. We are both open, however, to everyone's recommendation on this as we know we have a lot to learn.

I am going to post a few links with different diamonds from JA and hopefully you all can help give me your thoughts and point us on which ones are worth getting an ASET for. Thanks so much!

Preferences: (these preferences are flexible)
L/W ratio - >1.40 (she highly prefers the longer elongated shape)
Color - > F-H (I'm assuming since the diamond is not a 2.00 carat diamond, we can go down to H?)
Clarity - IF-VS1
Carat -1.10-1.50
Symmetry/Polish - Excellent-Very Good
Table and Depth - Between the recommended 60-68%

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.12-carat-f-color-if-clarity-sku-599194
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.30-carat-g-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-519806
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.21-carat-g-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-435859
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.33-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-420590
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-582945
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-561318
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.21-carat-g-color-if-clarity-sku-512707

Thanks for your input.
 
Welcome! Just a couple of thoughts before I look at your links. There is zero reason to lose visual size appearance to pay for IF clarity. VS1 is very clean and that is what I personally look for in an emerald cut. Emerald cuts sadly face up small, so unless you are putting the stone in a halo, I would focus on a larger size with VS1 clarity. I'd be going to H or I color over 2 cts because of the price premium. Unless she is color sensitive and really needs colorless, G-H is a very nice color choice. I'll be back after I look at the links.
 
Okay, I looked at the stones at 1.3 and higher. I don't love any of them. Look at this one:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-582945

The abundance of black reflection is not good. You want to see as little black as possible.

This one isn't too bad, but you'd want to select the three best stones and ask for ASET images showing light return and leakage. I personally like a l/w ratio in the 1.3-1.39 range over one that is so long and skinny. But a lot depends on how you plan to set it.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-561318

The 1.33 G VS1 looks pretty good, but it says not available. Maybe you have it on hold?

I'll look quick and see if I see anything else.
 
diamondseeker2006|1439758661|3915276 said:
Okay, I looked at the stones at 1.3 and higher. I don't love any of them. Look at this one:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-582945

The abundance of black reflection is not good. You want to see as little black as possible.

This one isn't too bad, but you'd want to select the three best stones and ask for ASET images showing light return and leakage. I personally like a l/w ratio in the 1.3-1.39 range over one that is so long and skinny. But a lot depends on how you plan to set it.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-561318

The 1.33 G VS1 looks pretty good, but it says not available. Maybe you have it on hold?

I'll look quick and see if I see anything else.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your input, DS. I'm still new to this so and I didn't select the ones I linked based off of the black reflection factor. My fiancé likes the long shape and would like it set on a thin pave setting.

As to the 1.33 G VS1, yes that one is on hold. Do you guys think that one can be a contender?
 
ecf8503|1439759030|3915279 said:
Of the ones you linked, these are the only 2 to even consider at all. The others are just no good. Too much black as DS said, which will lead to leakage and dead areas in real life.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.33-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-420590
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.21-carat-g-color-if-clarity-sku-512707

I'll keep looking - but have you considered contacting Good Old Gold and let them find some for you?
Click to expand...

Thanks ECF! I would appreciate any suggestions that you may see. My total budget is around 8500 but would like to keep the diamond itself closer to below 8k if possible. I have just heard about good old gold on this forum but have been using JA. I could look into that avenue as well.
 
diamondseeker2006|1439759991|3915286 said:
Here are three that I'd ask for ASET images:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-201832

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.42-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-366388

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.51-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-422105 (probably not as good as the previous two)
Click to expand...

I really like the second one you picked from these (it looks more elongated) but it's a little high in my range. Is there a slightly smaller carat size, possibly in the 1.3-1.45 range that can be approved by you and the other experts in this forum? I thought I had a better grasp on what to look for until I got on this forum, I'm glad I did :), so many things to take into account.
Thanks!
 
emeraldbuyer|1439761757|3915292 said:
ecf8503|1439759030|3915279 said:
I'll keep looking - but have you considered contacting Good Old Gold and let them find some for you?
Click to expand...

Thanks ECF! I would appreciate any suggestions that you may see. My total budget is around 8500 but would like to keep the diamond itself closer to below 8k if possible. I have just heard about good old gold on this forum but have been using JA. I could look into that avenue as well.
Click to expand...

The only reason I mention it is that GOG are well versed in fancy shapes and will do a complete workup (idealscope, ASET, video comparisons, etc) after finding good candidates on paper that fit your ratio requirements. I have purchased from both GOG and JA (I got my EC from JA) and both have stellar reputations. GOG does a more thorough workup, and recently it seems as though JA can't do ASET / IS images because they can't access the stone.
 
Is there any chance you'd upgrade the stone in the future? If so it would be worth comparing the return, buy-back and trade-in policies of the various vendors as well.
 
Yes, that is a possibility. I noticed that JA has a 2x minimum of the original price while GOG will let you trade up for any amount if its for their in-stock diamond. Thanks for bringing that up.
 
Good Old Gold is great and I have bought stones from them. I would definitely contact them if you can't find what you want or think you will upgrade in the near future. I think it is nice, however, to keep the original diamond to use in a pendant and get a new diamond for an anniversary and not trade the old one in, if possible. It isn't always the best value to trade in a stone at original cost if it has gone up in value a lot since you bought it.

To answer your question, there are rarely stones in the 1.4 range because when it is that close, the cutter will try for 1.5 cts. You take a size hit when you go down to the 1.2-1.3 range. If you haven't already, maybe find a 1.2-1.3 ct EC and cut out a piece of paper of that size. Of course, if you are putting the stone in a halo, that will help the size issue a lot. I haven't looked back to see if I missed you saying the kind of setting you have in mind. When I searched, I searched for 1.3-1.5+, G-H, VS1-VVS1. Those first two were the best I saw.
 
Drop the clarity down to VS1 and VS2 and you'll still be safe. Do not worry about the dark zones because sometimes, it's camera obstruction. It is all about the context and I judge each EC individually.
 
Thanks for all the input. DS, I liked all the ones you selected from JA but they are unfortunately out of our price range. 1.50 ct may be something we will look forward in upgrading to a few years from now.

My fiance was initially looking at diamond rings from Tiffany and liked their .50 carat emerald rings until I explained to her the value we can get from purchasing from JA. So a 1.00 carat ring to her already seems like a much larger ring since it was double the size from what she was originally looking at. She's petite with a 4.5 ring size so she felt that the .50 carat tiffany ring was big enough for her. She's a sweetheart in that she doesn't actually wanting me to spend that much and any diamond I show her she wants the smaller or cheaper one.

My budget of $8,500 also includes the setting so we were hoping of spending only 6,000-8,000 on the diamond itself.

This is the setting she likes with the emerald diamond:
https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/platinum-thin-french-cut-pave-set-diamond-engagement-ring-item-2018

With your help, we have narrowed the initial links above to these two. Please let me know if any of the two are good, which one you prefer (notwithstanding the size since they are different in size and price) and why, if possible, so I can understand as a newbie and also explain to her. Obviously, if you find something better within our price range, please let me know and I would really appreciate it. :)

These are the two currently in consideration:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.12-carat-f-color-if-clarity-sku-599194 ~ $6000
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.33-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-420590 ~ $7,200
 
Toss out the 1.33 ct - too many leakage areas under the table.
 
Thanks, it's no longer under consideration.

Anyone have any thoughts on this one?
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.12-carat-f-color-if-clarity-sku-599194

I have also contacted GOG. They are closed today but hopefully will be getting back to me soon.
As for other online merchants such as Brian Gavin, they don't have real images. How would other users who have purchased diamonds from stores (not James Allen) go about getting them inspected before purchasing? Any other places I should be looking at?

Thanks for any insight.
 
I recently worked with Good Old Gold to purchase my emerald cut diamond and it was a great experience. I can share some of the information they provided me and maybe that can help in your research as well in terms of comparing ASETs to a video (my budget was around $10-11K). I looked at the James Allen website a long time, kept sifting through everything, and in the end, just didn't feel confident in my own abilities so I reached out to GOG and they found me something which my fiance and I purchased; from initial contact to purchase took about 1.5-2 weeks. Here is what GOG found me + imaging and video link:

1. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-g-vvs2-emerald-cut-diamond.html

2. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-g-vs2-emerald-cut-diamond.html

3. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-g-vs2-emerald-cut-dimond.html

4. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-g-vs1-emerald-cut-diamond.html

5. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-e-vs2-emerald-cut-diamond.html

And the video they made to showcase the diamonds: https://youtu.be/jqGwSPtcBxU
I think they are in the same order in the video...actually I tested myself and tried to choose the diamond before viewing the video and got close with #3, but ended up picking #4!

I saw the diamond before it was sent out for setting and it is very sparkly!

Hope this helps!! Good luck with your diamond search!
 
phandue|1439864634|3915861 said:
I recently worked with Good Old Gold to purchase my emerald cut diamond and it was a great experience. I can share some of the information they provided me and maybe that can help in your research as well in terms of comparing ASETs to a video (my budget was around $10-11K). I looked at the James Allen website a long time, kept sifting through everything, and in the end, just didn't feel confident in my own abilities so I reached out to GOG and they found me something which my fiance and I purchased; from initial contact to purchase took about 1.5-2 weeks. Here is what GOG found me + imaging and video link:

1. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-g-vvs2-emerald-cut-diamond.html

2. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-g-vs2-emerald-cut-diamond.html

3. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-g-vs2-emerald-cut-dimond.html

4. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-g-vs1-emerald-cut-diamond.html

5. http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/1.5ct-e-vs2-emerald-cut-diamond.html

And the video they made to showcase the diamonds: https://youtu.be/jqGwSPtcBxU
I think they are in the same order in the video...actually I tested myself and tried to choose the diamond before viewing the video and got close with #3, but ended up picking #4!

I saw the diamond before it was sent out for setting and it is very sparkly!

Hope this helps!! Good luck with your diamond search!
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your diamond search! You picked a beautiful one and congrats! I watched the video and it's really helpful to look at the differences of each one.

For your setting (and also anyone who has purchased the diamond from Good Old Gold), did you buy your setting from them as well and have them set the stone? If you don't mind me asking, what setting did you decide on? I noticed that some of the settings are quite expensive on GOG's website but suspect that many of them are brand name settings. Thanks!
 
I bought a small AVR from GOG and had them set it in a Stuller setting that was very reasonable.
 
Thank you and glad the video/images were helpful! My setting is about 1/3 the cost of the diamond and designer so not sure I am helping in that dept but I posted a picture of the setting; we visited Solomon Brothers to look at rings and decided on this one. GOG is not an A. Jaffe vendor.

What I did was shop around for prices on this specific setting and it was fairly similar between vendors +/- $500 (designer setting). Some jewelry stores will charge you a setting fee for setting a diamond purchased elsewhere, which, in my experience, ran about $50/half carat. Solomon Bro did not charge a setting fee. So after we paid for the diamond, it was overnighted to SB to the salesperson I was working with and I came in to view the diamond and order the setting....and now it's the waiting game (supposed to take at least 4 weeks to create ring)!

As an aside, I purchased insurance as soon as I purchased the diamond since I also knew the setting; I wanted to make sure everything was insured while the ring was being set since I bought the diamond and setting from 2 different places. I know some people don't care for insurance but I'm paranoid. I don't know if insurances will cover unset diamonds - maybe someone else can help if you're interested in buying a diamond first and waiting to find a setting. GOG said they would also safely hold the diamond after purchase until I was ready to have it shipped.

Here is a pic, hope it doesn't turn out gigantic. Just for reference, I have a 3.5 size finger (sample ring is too big) and the setting shown has a 2 carat cz in it. It is A. Jaffe ring Style MES692/260.

img_9007.jpg
 
Good Old Gold has settings at all price points. They have plenty of lines that are not designer brands and are priced lower.
 
phandue|1439947681|3916235 said:
Thank you and glad the video/images were helpful! My setting is about 1/3 the cost of the diamond and designer so not sure I am helping in that dept but I posted a picture of the setting; we visited Solomon Brothers to look at rings and decided on this one. GOG is not an A. Jaffe vendor.

What I did was shop around for prices on this specific setting and it was fairly similar between vendors +/- $500 (designer setting). Some jewelry stores will charge you a setting fee for setting a diamond purchased elsewhere, which, in my experience, ran about $50/half carat. Solomon Bro did not charge a setting fee. So after we paid for the diamond, it was overnighted to SB to the salesperson I was working with and I came in to view the diamond and order the setting....and now it's the waiting game (supposed to take at least 4 weeks to create ring)!

As an aside, I purchased insurance as soon as I purchased the diamond since I also knew the setting; I wanted to make sure everything was insured while the ring was being set since I bought the diamond and setting from 2 different places. I know some people don't care for insurance but I'm paranoid. I don't know if insurances will cover unset diamonds - maybe someone else can help if you're interested in buying a diamond first and waiting to find a setting. GOG said they would also safely hold the diamond after purchase until I was ready to have it shipped.

Here is a pic, hope it doesn't turn out gigantic. Just for reference, I have a 3.5 size finger (sample ring is too big) and the setting shown has a 2 carat cz in it. It is A. Jaffe ring Style MES692/260.
Click to expand...

That is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for the tips on the settings. GOG is going to take some time to get back to me and I will report the information I receive. In the meantime, I have been looking through JA and lowering the carat of what I was originally looking for to a little over a carat. I have spoken to several gemologist/reps over at JA and have narrowed it down to three. Please let me know your thoughts.

#1
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.08-carat-g-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-604800

#2
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.05-carat-e-color-vs1-clarity-sku-587420

#3
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.02-carat-f-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-609945
 
Any diamond veterans available to weigh in? Looking to possibly make a move soon.
 
All 3 have weak performance in the centre.
 
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