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Emerald Cut Engagement Ring Help Please!

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kfarrel2

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2017
Messages
10
Hi! Looking for some guidance as I am very new to this process and want to make a good decision. We are looking for as much bang as we can get for $15k (max) on an emerald cut engagement ring. I'm thinking a pave band - something simple so we can focus on getting a really great stone. I'm also open to princess and radiant cut - if I could get better value there. I want the stone to look big, so size is important and I think cut and clarity right after. Our jeweler is getting some stones for us to see tomorrow that I'll be able to put the specs on here but I would like to know what to look for exactly - and how much we should be paying for that. I would be MOST appreciative of any insight!
 
I am a bit of a noobie with the diamond world (just joined forums recently), but from what I have learnt so far, the cut is the most important thing to look for when shopping diamonds. Bad cut = bad light return. Good cut = good light return. Soo, please focus on cut first, then you can worry about the other 3 c's. I highly recommend reading this website for more information:

Emerald Cut Diamond Tips: http://beyond4cs.com/shapes/emerald/
General Shapes: http://beyond4cs.com/shapes/

For the diamond pricing, make sure there is a GIA or AGS report for the ones your Jeweler brings to you. Get the exact specifications and cost for all diamonds then compare that with online vendors like bluenile, james allen, whiteflash, etc. That will help give you a ballpark of how much the diamond is worth.
 
Hello OP - would you consider purchasing online? You could get more bang for your buck this way.
 
OP - are you the buyer or the wearer? I ask because some people like the idea of an EC, but don't LOVE ECs when they see them in person (especially when they see bad ones that a B&M may call in). Are you going to a PS vendor or well known jeweler that is good at picking ECs?
Likewise, a radiant and a princess are also very different and specialized looks.
 
Queenie60 said:
Hello OP - would you consider purchasing online? You could get more bang for your buck this way.
Click to expand...

Hi! I would probably prefer not to. Unless it's returnable as I am very picky!
 
LawmaLlama said:
OP - are you the buyer or the wearer? I ask because some people like the idea of an EC, but don't LOVE ECs when they see them in person (especially when they see bad ones that a B&M may call in). Are you going to a PS vendor or well known jeweler that is good at picking ECs?
Likewise, a radiant and a princess are also very different and specialized looks.
Click to expand...

Hi! I will be the one wearing the ring! Yes, I am very concerned with the quality. The jeweler I like is a well known one in the area for engagement rings, but did tell me emerald cuts are not popular as he didn't have any for us to look at. He's getting some stones for us to look at today.

One of the options we are considering from a different jeweler is-
1.99 carat
9.12x5.91x3.91
H color
VS1
No fluorescence, good symmetry and very good polish

Based on that info, what should we pay for it and does it appear to be a good diamond?
 
Hi, you mentioned that size, followed by cut and clarity is important to you. An emerald cut diamond will look smaller than a round brilliant for the same carat weight.

As a general rule, marquise, pears and ovals tend to face up the largest, then rounds, with the other shapes looking smaller for the same carat weight. E.g 3.5 carat pear I saw had similar length to width measurements to a 5 carat emerald cut and faced up about the same size (approx 12x9ish).

Unlike rounds, for fancy shapes there's no magical number or parameters to go for the beginning to weed out duds, we would need at least an ASET to help you determine it's light performance. See this link on ASET for more info: https://www.pricescope.com/journal/aset-–-diamond-evaluation-tool
 
Alexiszoe said:
Hi, you mentioned that size, followed by cut and clarity is important to you. An emerald cut diamond will look smaller than a round brilliant for the same carat weight.

As a general rule, marquise, pears and ovals tend to face up the largest, then rounds, with the other shapes looking smaller for the same carat weight. E.g 3.5 carat pear I saw had similar length to width measurements to a 5 carat emerald cut and faced up about the same size (approx 12x9ish).

Unlike rounds, for fancy shapes there's no magical number or parameters to go for the beginning to weed out duds, we would need at least an ASET to help you determine it's light performance. See this link on ASET for more info: https://www.pricescope.com/journal/aset-–-diamond-evaluation-tool
Click to expand...

Can I ask the jeweler for an ASET on the diamonds? They're all GIA certified.
 
Hi! Welcome to the forum. I only have a few minutes so my post won't be long, but I wanted to strongly encourage you to take your time with this process. Stepcuts are very tricky in many respects and finding a good one takes patience and expertise. I'd especially be leery of using a jeweler who doesn't usually stock them, as it says to me he doesn't really care to know the ins and outs of what would make a great one. I'd bet that if you asked him about P2 and P3 angles and how they affect the scintillation and fire in an emerald cut he'd have no idea how to respond!

That being said, many of us on here have had wonderful success buying a stepcut diamond from a trusted PS vendor (online or B&M). If you're interested in that route we can certainly give you some names.

Lastly, since size is a priority for you, have you considered using a setting with a micropave halo? They can look wonderful on emerald cuts when done well and add a great size/bling effect too.
IMG_3970.JPG
 
I'll leave the others to discuss the merits of Emerald cuts, just thought you might be interested in seeing a comparison of an Emerald vs Marquise of similar carat weights and costs as you mentioned you want the biggest bang for your bucks.


IMG_2034.PNG
 
Step cuts face up smaller. You have to decide what L to W ratio you most want. Get on blue nile and james allen and watch a bunch of videos. You will see how the steps light up. You want large alternating flashes-- not all on or off at the same time, etc.

You may have to look at many of them to find a good one.

Oh, on youtube look up good old gold videos. You will learn a lot watching those.
 
Alexiszoe said:
Hi, you mentioned that size, followed by cut and clarity is important to you. An emerald cut diamond will look smaller than a round brilliant for the same carat weight.

As a general rule, marquise, pears and ovals tend to face up the largest, then rounds, with the other shapes looking smaller for the same carat weight. E.g 3.5 carat pear I saw had similar length to width measurements to a 5 carat emerald cut and faced up about the same size (approx 12x9ish).

Unlike rounds, for fancy shapes there's no magical number or parameters to go for the beginning to weed out duds, we would need at least an ASET to help you determine it's light performance. See this link on ASET for more info: https://www.pricescope.com/journal/aset-–-diamond-evaluation-tool
Click to expand...

Hi! Thanks for the response. I'm 99% sure I don't want round - just want the emerald cut to look as big as possible. :)
 
Micro pave band will add $$$ to the cost by the way. Maybe you could consider doing what I did with my asscher which was to wear it for a few years in a solitaire before resetting into a micropave split shank with peek a boo collar.
 
ILikeShiny said:
Hi! Welcome to the forum. I only have a few minutes so my post won't be long, but I wanted to strongly encourage you to take your time with this process. Stepcuts are very tricky in many respects and finding a good one takes patience and expertise. I'd especially be leery of using a jeweler who doesn't usually stock them, as it says to me he doesn't really care to know the ins and outs of what would make a great one. I'd bet that if you asked him about P2 and P3 angles and how they affect the scintillation and fire in an emerald cut he'd have no idea how to respond!

That being said, many of us on here have had wonderful success buying a stepcut diamond from a trusted PS vendor (online or B&M). If you're interested in that route we can certainly give you some names.

Lastly, since size is a priority for you, have you considered using a setting with a micropave halo? They can look wonderful on emerald cuts when done well and add a great size/bling effect too.
IMG_3970.JPG
Click to expand...

Hi! Thank you for the response. I LOVE the picture you shared!! I haven't seen any halos that I like - but that is simply gorgeous. I thought I just wanted as big of a stone as our budget allowed - but I might consider this!

I live in NJ and work in NYC near the diamond district. So while I like this jeweler as a person - I haven't purchased anything from them before and can go anywhere. If anyone on here has recommendations for someone to work with in NJ or NYC I would be open to that! I also am open to purchasing online if I can get some help from you kind folks! ;)
 
kfarrel2 said:
Hi! Thanks for the response. I'm 99% sure I don't want round - just want the emerald cut to look as big as possible. :)
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Don't go with a too shallow of a ring to get a larger face up size. Emeralds are tricky.
 
kfarrel2 said:
Hi! Thank you for the response. I LOVE the picture you shared!! I haven't seen any halos that I like - but that is simply gorgeous. I thought I just wanted as big of a stone as our budget allowed - but I might consider this!

I live in NJ and work in NYC near the diamond district. So while I like this jeweler as a person - I haven't purchased anything from them before and can go anywhere. If anyone on here has recommendations for someone to work with in NJ or NYC I would be open to that! I also am open to purchasing online if I can get some help from you kind folks! ;-)
Click to expand...

Go to Good Old Gold, Massapequa. Or call Yekutiel at IDJ in NYC.
 
Austina said:
I'll leave the others to discuss the merits of Emerald cuts, just thought you might be interested in seeing a comparison of an Emerald vs Marquise of similar carat weights and costs as you mentioned you want the biggest bang for your bucks.


IMG_2034.PNG
Click to expand...

Wow thanks for showing me. I was actually going to use an heirloom Marquise stone, but just don't love it. Crazy to see the size difference!
 
kfarrel2 said:
Some that look good - to me - online

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.44-carat-e-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-2805409
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.50-carat-f-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-3310725

Thoughts?
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The 2nd one has a lot of light leakage based on the picture, although it could be the angle...I am doubtful.

As I mentioned earlier, for us to help you, please request ASET from the jeweler so we can determine light performance. Photos alone (as indicated in the link I posted earlier) is not good enough an indicator of actual performance.

Because buying fancy shapes is difficult, you would need a jeweler with an incredible eye and expertise in selecting beautiful fancies. GoodOldGold has a reputation for selecting gorgeous stones. Yekutiel from IDJ works well for a tight budget.

Oh, another thing: If you intend to upgrade in the future, do check the vendor's upgrade policy as well. Some only accept their in-house super ideal round stones for upgrades, others need you to spend 2x. Selling a diamond on your own or on consignment usually results in a big loss.
 
I bought my step cut blind from blue nile, so I'm not all that invested in ASET for step cuts.

My asscher has a depth of 69.7% (so it is on the deep side) and a table of 62% with somewhat of a flat crown (which some people don't like) but it looks amazing in person.. lots of life and sparkle with alternating steps lighting up and a fantastic hall of mirrors, which I LOVE. So while I did luck out buying blind, it also shows you that you have to evaluate them outside of the numbers to see if it makes your heart sing and if you giggle with excitement when you see it.
 
Last edited:
kfarrel2 said:
Hi! Thank you for the response. I LOVE the picture you shared!! I haven't seen any halos that I like - but that is simply gorgeous. I thought I just wanted as big of a stone as our budget allowed - but I might consider this!

I live in NJ and work in NYC near the diamond district. So while I like this jeweler as a person - I haven't purchased anything from them before and can go anywhere. If anyone on here has recommendations for someone to work with in NJ or NYC I would be open to that! I also am open to purchasing online if I can get some help from you kind folks! ;-)
Click to expand...
I'm glad it was helpful =)2. I think it's a gorgeous setting too!

You live in the perfect place to go diamond hunting. We actually flew in to NY to visit PS recommended jewelers because we knew we could trust them to find great stones and give great service/price. For step-cuts, the two most often used vendors are IDJ (ID Jewelry - www.idjewelry.com) and GOG (Good Old Gold - www.goodoldgold.com). You can call IDJ and ask for Yekutiel (pronounced yeh-COO-tee-el) or GOG and talk with anyone there (we used to send people to Jon but he recently left the retail side to focus on manufacturing). Tell both of them that PriceScope sent you their way, what your budget is, and your rank of order for cut/carat/color/clarity. Then let them do their magic to find great stones for you to look at.

After watching dozens of videos from GOG on step-cuts I honestly thought I'd of course buy my stone from them, but it turned out that everything fell in to place with IDJ/Yekutiel; we were thrilled with their customer service as well as the choices presented to us. GOG did show us some beautiful diamonds though!

Good luck with this process. Again... take your time, educate yourself by reading the resource articles and past step-cut threads, determine your preference for l/w ratio and color tolerance, lean on the experts to help with selection, and then sit back and enjoy the final selection! :mrgreen2:
 
kfarrel2 said:
One of the options we are considering from a different jeweler is-
1.99 carat
9.12x5.91x3.91
H color
VS1
No fluorescence, good symmetry and very good polish

Based on that info, what should we pay for it and does it appear to be a good diamond
Click to expand...

Depth%, table%? ECs need to be seen to see if they are candidates. ASET is helpful, too.
 
Everyone has given you great advice. See several, be wary of stones that are deep or flash alot of black steps or have dull middles. Once you see several, youll have a better idea of what you like.
 
Definitely watch the Good Old Gold videos on what to look out for in emerald cuts. Leakage can really impact how the diamond looks and you'll find there is little correlation between price and beauty of cut in a B&M store. If you're near the diamond district definitely pop into IDJ and mention Pricescope even just to get some guidance.
 
I will watch some videos tonight. I have an appt at IDJ on Monday. :)


Sparkly2017 said:
Definitely watch the Good Old Gold videos on what to look out for in emerald cuts. Leakage can really impact how the diamond looks and you'll find there is little correlation between price and beauty of cut in a B&M store. If you're near the diamond district definitely pop into IDJ and mention Pricescope even just to get some guidance.
Click to expand...
 
kfarrel2 said:
66.2% depth and 70% table
Click to expand...
These parameters arent the norm (table less than depth). However, it doesn't rule it out as a possibility. The 2 ECs I have had are both similar with the table larger than depth. Some ECs like this can look glassy (bad) depending on the step widths, others don't and have lovely flashing (good). My best advice is to see it in person after watching GOG videos. I also highly recommemd GOG to help in your search. My ECs didnt come from there, but they know how to pick em, and I had a great experience with them when I got my AVRs. Had I known about GOG when I got my ECs I would have gone with them.
 
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