Girdle of an asscher style ring?

[callista]

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to start off by saying what a great site this is! I''ve been reading all the posts about asscher style rings and it has helped me out so much. So here are my questions:

1. On diamonds.com, they state that for a diamond, you should choose a girdle that is neither thin or thick. Does that go for fancy shaped diamonds as well? I was quoted by an online jeweler for a 1.42 Asscher Cut Diamond, D in color and VS1 in clarity, a 65.7% Depth, 61% Table, Polish and Symmetry – Excellent, No Culet or Fluorescence, Thick Girdle, the diamond measures 6.37 x 6.33 x 4.16mm. Although I feel this is an excellent cut diamond, I am wondering about the girdle. Should I be worried about a thick girdle? How does that affect the diamond in general?

2. What is the differnce between VVS1 and VVS2 or VS1 and VS2? My friend says it have to do with where the inclusions are in the diamond. VVS1 and VS1 means the inclusions are more on the outer portion of the diamond and VVS2 and VS2 is more towards the center of the diamond. Is that correct?

3. What exactly are pinpoints, feathers, and clouds, and how are they formed in a diamond?


Any help or info. would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

 

[lizzyd]

I hesitate to do this because I''m by no means an expert, but I can offer you what little I know:

1.) My appraiser told me that because an Asscher cut already has so much of its weight in the pavillion (where it doesn''t translate into spread, or appearance of size), having a thick girdle means you are paying for even more weight that you don''t see. I hope that makes sense, and if I''ve gotten anything wrong, I hope a real expert will chime in here. A thin girdle can risk damage, like chipping during setting, etc.

2.) The difference between VVS1 & 2 and VS 1 & 2 is how readily visible the inclusions are under 10x magnification. The location of the inclusions can sometimes effect how readily visible they are.

3.) You should really check out niceice.com (or those of other pricescope vendors) and read their tutorial pages on Clarity. It will all become clear

Hope this has helped. And again, if I screwed up anything, PLEASE chime in and correct me!

Cheers,
LizzyD

 

[lizzyd]

Oh, and I forgot something. Really well cut asschers are really hard to find. Especially with EX/EX, table in the mid to high 50''s and depth in the mid to high 60''s, and a crown above 15%. On my asscher hunt, I found that there was always something I was going to pay for that I didn''t really want or need, whether it was a thick girdle, or an IF clarity where a VS1 would have sufficed, or D or E color, when F, G, H and even I were fine. But IMO, if you have to pay for something you don''t need, it''s nicer to pay for something that adds to the beauty of the stone, like a better color, rather than a thicker girdle.

Good luck with your stone!

Cheers,
LizzyD

 

[strmrdr]

asscher faq

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/all-about-asschers.24689/

The numbers dont tell you much about an asscher a nasty looking and a totaly awesome asscher could have the exact same numbers.
Read that thread for more info.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/9/2005 4:58:33 PM
Author:callista

..., I am wondering about the girdle. Should I be worried about a thick girdle? How does that affect the diamond in general?

Not much - it does hide some weight though. This stone is as big as a 70% deep one with a thin girdle. Does that sound really bad to you ?


2. What is the differnce between VVS1 and VVS2 or VS1 and VS2? My friend says it have to do with where the inclusions are in the diamond. VVS1 and VS1 means the inclusions are more on the outer portion of the diamond and VVS2 and VS2 is more towards the center of the diamond. Is that correct?

Not really... the number, size, color and position of inclusion all count for the clarity grade. Down to VS2 inclusions should be completely invisible without maginifcation - so what difference do those grades make ?

3. What exactly are pinpoints, feathers, and clouds, and how are they formed in a diamond?

I don''t know what is the theory behind these types of inclusions. As far as I know, "pinpoint" is something so small that the shape is not identifiable. Feathers would be healed cracks inside the stone or something else, as long as the shape is long and thin like a blade or feather. Crystals ? just other crystals contained inside the diamond - they could be diamonds or something else, white or not. There is no "ranking" among these: it is still size, number and location of inclusions that counts for the grade, regardless of their type. These are named for identification only. As far as I know.

Fot the high clarity grades you mention, the type of incusions counts about as much as the chmical composition of the specs of dust on your laptop.

Just one more thing... well, it may happen that you are one of the few mortal who might see some inclusions in some VS2 step cut diamonds. It takes patience and luck for that, but sometimes it happens. Especially if the unlucky inclusion is colored and/or paced "strategically" along one of the sides of the stones and farely close to the edge (where the stone is relatively thin).

Professional pictures of the stones are very useful, regardless.
For example, this one below is the portrait of a D/SI2

Asscher

(from Whiteflash)

And this is what the clarity plot looks like. Lucky feather, no ?

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/9/2005 6:12:22 PM
Author: lizzyd
Oh, and I forgot something. Really well cut asschers are really hard to find. Especially with EX/EX, table in the mid to high 50''s and depth in the mid to high 60''s, and a crown above 15%.

Im not going to say your wrong im just going to give my opinion.
A crown over 10% will usualy be enough to add a ton of fire if everything else is right.
A crown over 16% in the samples Iv seen start to get distorted patterns but there are no dought exceptions.
So in general I recomend 10%-15% crowns with a lot of the top asschers coming in the 13%-15% range.
Low 60s on the table is fine in my opinion also but 63+ is pushing it too far unless you happen to like the large table asscher look.
Id be willing to go up in the 70s on depth most of the top asschers iv seen were in the 67-72 range.
Again im not saying your wrong im just giving a slightly different opinion :}

You are very right about them being hard to find.
www.goodoldgold.com has some in the works that might just pass my inspection :}

 

[belle]

You are very right about them being hard to find.
www.goodoldgold.com has some in the works that might just pass my inspection :}

these rare beauties are what can be known as....."strm worthy"

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/9/2005 11:50:33 PM
Author: belle

You are very right about them being hard to find.

www.goodoldgold.com has some in the works that might just pass my inspection :}

these rare beauties are what can be known as.....''strm worthy''

He had a sample up and it never made it past his diamonds in testing page before it was snagged within 24 hours.

 

[Daniela]

Don''t mean to highjack this thread or anything, but out of curiousity I was wondering, Storm, what your thoughts are on this asscher diamond from GOG:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/asscher_1_22ct_ivs1.htm

It''s a really interesting speciman because the depth and table are the opposite of what is recommended for a "classic" look, but the brilliancscope shots and the clarity pic make the stone look really beautiful. (It looks like this one might be the "poster child" asscher pic that you see when you first load up the GOG asschers.) What do you make of this?

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/10/2005 8:22:36 AM
Author: Daniela
Don''t mean to highjack this thread or anything, but out of curiousity I was wondering, Storm, what your thoughts are on this asscher diamond from GOG:


http://www.goodoldgold.com/asscher_1_22ct_ivs1.htm


It''s a really interesting speciman because the depth and table are the opposite of what is recommended for a ''classic'' look, but the brilliancscope shots and the clarity pic make the stone look really beautiful. (It looks like this one might be the ''poster child'' asscher pic that you see when you first load up the GOG asschers.) What do you make of this?

Its a well cut example of the big table look asscher.
Instead of stepping down it will look like a big drop off. Or if you will like a light at the end of a tunnel look.
Look at picture number 6 on the b-scope image.
On the rest of the b-scope pictures you can see that its dark under the table.
The rest of it is just cut well enough to make up for it.
It is a very pretty diamond but it doesnt have the classic asscher look.
Some people may like the look it has better.
If I was going to get a big table asscher and liked the look that is one of the best of them.

 

[Daniela]

Date: 3/10/2005 8:37

5 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 3/10/2005 8:22:36 AM

Its a well cut example of the big table look asscher.

Instead of stepping down it will look like a big drop off. Or if you will like a light at the end of a tunnel look.

Look at picture number 6 on the b-scope image.

On the rest of the b-scope pictures you can see that its dark under the table.

The rest of it is just cut well enough to make up for it.

It is a very pretty diamond but it doesnt have the classic asscher look.

Some people may like the look it has better.

If I was going to get a big table asscher and liked the look that is one of the best of them.

Interesting comments, especially about the dark table. Thanks, Storm!

 

[callista]

Thanks to lizzyd, strmrdr, and all with your great advice and info.! I''ll keep looking and educating myself to find the right diamond for me.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/10/2005 4:58

6 PM
Author: callista
Thanks to lizzyd, strmrdr, and all with your great advice and info.! I''ll keep looking and educating myself to find the right diamond for me.

You welcome :}
"to find the right diamond for me."
Is the key phrase.

Each diamond has its own personality and one that speaks to me might not speak to you.