Just a little rant about ovals

[mochiko42]

This is kind of a pointless ramble, but I have quickly realized that I'm not a huge fan of ovals. Unfortunately it seems many CS (including the ones with best color) are cut into ovals! it's a little bit frustrating!! My favorite shapes are round, square (princess/asscher/step etc) or squarish cushions .. not a huge fan of trillion or shields either.. *sigh* I guess it's a good thing for my wallet that I'm so picky about shape.

Just wondered if there are any other non-lovers of ovals out there.. (ok end of rambling!)

 

[FrekeChild]

I actually love ovals but I have a really hard time figuring out how to set them. I don't know why! I just do.

ETA: I have serious asymmetry issues. So hearts, trillions, pears, anything like that. For center stones. Side stones in those shapes, I'm cool with.

 

[mochiko42]

Freke, you've hit the nail on the head. I don't know how to set ovals in a way that I like (especially for rings, neither e-w nor n-s quite do it for me)... *sigh* ...

 

[corundum_conundrum]

A lot of colored stones are cut into ovals because it suits the shape of the rough, thereby preserving weight and size.

Not my favorite shape and they are prone to certain performance issues. But Supernova ovals and other nicely done ovals do appeal to me.

 

[JewelFreak]

I"m not crazy about them either. I'd rather have an oval than, say, a trilliant, but so many ovals have bow ties & are disappointing. I must like cushions best because I have mostly those.

--- Laurie

 

[pregcurious]

I like fatter ovals, rounds, cushions, and rectangular/square step cuts with cut corners. Pears are good if the ends are not dark.

 

[NKOTB]

I've gone on a bit of an oval journey myself. I bought several in the beginning, but ended up returning or selling all of them. I really wanted to like them, because they were in such abundance. I figured they were just not my thing, and came up with a "no oval" rule for myself. Then I saw a beautiful long one of Gene's in a PSer's ring last summer, and have managed to change my mind somewhat. I still don't care for fatter ovals (even supernovas!), but I have two ovals that I love - a barion cut garnet from Dana, and a little sapphire (small AND oval - hell must have frozen over along the way ) cut by Gene. I have seen some nice settings for ovals - split shank haloes, or simple three-stones with bullets/traps/trills on the sides. And Freke's supernova periwinkle looks nice in the BGD, with graduated diamonds down the shank.

 

[Kelli]

I wasn't a fan until I got one of Barry's supernovas. I'd gladly get another of those!

 

[beaujolais]

Ovals rather creep me even though I've tried to get over it. I think they are better e-w or off-set. That helps some. (Actually, I can handle them in a cab, though.)

http://www.jamminggems.com/ladies-oval-offset-cabochon-ring-setting.aspx

and to think that is what Kate & Diana have!

I think Barry's ovals are a bit rounder than most ovals, so that helps them (besides his amazing cutting).

So sad that so much nice rough is made into ovals. Yes, I know, weight retention, but still.

 

[Snowyrin]

I go by gemstones. Sapphire(medium blue ones specifically) and opals gonna be oval. FY diamond cushion or radiant. Pear & emerald cut for tsav or yellow grossular garnet. For the rest I prefer round or fat oval. No trillion or princess cut, over my dead body. I dislike their angles and pointed edges. All cabs must be ovals. The list goes on and on, speaking of OCD.

 

[mochiko42]

Ovals rather creep me even though I've tried to get over it. I think they are better e-w or off-set. That helps some. (Actually, I can handle them in a cab, though.)


So sad that so much nice rough is made into ovals. Yes, I know, weight retention, but still.

Actually I am ok with cabs too, but not faceted ovals so much, just got a carnelian scarab ring that's an oval.

 

[lambskin]

I am very conservative in my colored stone cuts. Never a fan of marquise, princess and radiant cuts. I prefer a step cut emerald, a cushion ruby and a round sapphire. I am not a fan of pear cuts except for side stones or perhaps for an opal (I do not like square cut opals). However if it is an exceptional stone exceptions can be made-I have an oval ruby, a square cut sapphire and an emerald cut emerald. For semi precious stones I do not really have a preference and am finding some precision cuts really fun and beautiful.

 

[marymm]

I have a small oval ruby set north-west with zero performance issues; and I have a large oval Tourmaline set east-west that has such pretty greens and such a lovely oval shape that the minor half-and-half thing that occasionally rears its head doesn't bother me in the least.

At this point, for me, rather than focusing on the cut (or the color), the whole gemstone has to work for me to keep it... in past years I'd either buy for color or for a well-priced attractive stone. But over time I realized even if a stone had the color I liked, if it was a trillion or a pear or just a pretty stone that didn't sing to me, I was not going to put money into setting it. I've since pruned my collection of most of the trillions and pears and now actively avoid buying those shapes. When I do buy a stone, I evaluate it on color, performance and likelihood of setting, and if all 3 don't score a "yes" then I return the stone.

 

[soberguy]

I quite like ovals lol! In some gems Portuguese cut is very appealing to me . I'm not a fan of more modern approaches to cutting. I can't say why. Good symmetry in an oval is very nice. I don't like ovals that are faceted so the girdle isn't a perfect oval. To each their own : )

 

[innerkitten]

I hear this a lot. I may be one of the few oval fans. I mean it's not that I like them more than other cuts but I do like them. I'll pretty much go for anything except the long skinny cut with pointed ends. What's it called?

 

[FrekeChild]

I hear this a lot. I may be one of the few oval fans. I mean it's not that I like them more than other cuts but I do like them. I'll pretty much go for anything except the long skinny cut with pointed ends. What's it called?

Marquise!

 

[swissmiss]

I have trouble with ovals as well. I prefer chubby ones, but even they're still not my favourite. And innerkitten, I'm with you on the marquises! They look horrible on my fingers and make my hands look like cruella de ville's.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

*sigh* I guess I better go dust the Oval Fan club all by my lonesome self. I love a more elongated oval. I think it is a very elegant shape.

 

[beaujolais]

"carnelian scarab ring"

Interesting stone in a pretty setting, Mochi! Kewl.

Ovals, to me, are sort of, a learner shape. Like the first few rings you got as a young girl, from a mall store for your birthday, often in your birthstone. Apologies to all those who love ovals and to those ovals that are awesome stones otherwise. I try to be ok with them but they give me that feeling you get from nails on the blackboard.

I think sometimes a marquise can look ok as a n-s set pendant.

 

[innerkitten]

I hear this a lot. I may be one of the few oval fans. I mean it's not that I like them more than other cuts but I do like them. I'll pretty much go for anything except the long skinny cut with pointed ends. What's it called?

Marquise!

Ha ha , yes that's it! I don't know why I couldn't remember it. Thanks.

 

[innerkitten]

*sigh* I guess I better go dust the Oval Fan club all by my lonesome self. I love a more elongated oval. I think it is a very elegant shape.

You're not alone. I buy a lot of ovals too. And I like the elongated ones.

 

[velouriaL]

I really like marquis cuts, but more for diamonds. I think they are very glamorous and look awesome in a halo, bezel, or art deco/art nouveau setting. If I were to get a diamond, I'd probably go for a marquise.

I like ovals, too. Elongated cuts flatter my fat fingers. But I really prefer precision cut ovals. It's like no precision ovals that look mall store to me.

 

[tara3056]

I've mentioned before that my husband cuts gems (doesn't sell them, though). There are SO many pieces of rough that are well-suited for ovals. Or trilliants it seems. Yet I vastly prefer rounds and square cushions, so sometimes if the rough is 'right' in every other respect (color, clarity, price), he'll just accept a lower yield (sometimes a substantially lower yield) in order to produce the shape I want. But if the stone in question were expensive/rare, it would be a much harder call to lose all that carat weight if the rough shape dictated that it wanted to be something else. Then he probably should either choose a rough piece that is blockier and more suited for our goals (sometimes impossible to have that kind of choice if the material is scarce), or not purchase it at all. When lapidaries need to make money, the pressure is higher to follow the shape of their rough.

I pretty much hate ovals. And I greatly dislike supernova ovals, too. They look even less appealing to me that the traditionally-cut ones, probably because I don't associate such chunky facets (which I like in rounds) with that shape.

 

[Snowyrin]

*sigh* I guess I better go dust the Oval Fan club all by my lonesome self. I love a more elongated oval. I think it is a very elegant shape.

You're not alone. I buy a lot of ovals too. And I like the elongated ones.

Don't worry, I'm here to help! I believe ovals make your fingers look skinnier and longer. Convinced?

 

[soberguy]

Ovals are a learner shape lmfao! Are you suggesting that if I prefer them to some of the ugly new cuts I'm not as advanced?? Please...

 

[FrekeChild]

Ovals are a learner shape lmfao! Are you suggesting that if I prefer them to some of the ugly new cuts I'm not as advanced?? Please...

Yeah....I'll take all of these "learner" stones. And Kate Middleton's ring.

(Don't care that that would put me with three blue sapphire haloed ovals.)

 

[Niel]

i love an oval and a marquise. Loud and proud.


The idea that ovals are learner stones seems silly. Thats like saying rounds diamonds are learner stones. Just because its the most common doesnt mean its not beautiful.

I think all shapes are just shapes. Your preference doesnt make one better, necessarily. It reminds me of a George Carlin joke " Have you ever noticed that their stuff is s**t and your s**t is stuff?"

But i feel you, OP. My SIL didnt like ovals, but yet so many of the nice colors i could find were in ovals. It does make the hunt hard!

 

[pregcurious]

I like well cut ovals.

 

[endless_summer]

I wouldn't necessarily call all ovals learner stones - my impression is that there just happen to be a bunch of them out there, so I think that's what people often find and then end up purchasing.

I generally stay away from them because I don't like the bow-tie that many of them have, but…there are some really beautiful ones as well! If I had more ideas about setting them, I probably would consider the shape just because it would open up so many more options, but I just tend to gravitate towards other shapes, and I have one oval, so I'd like to have other shapes for variety. Though I'm not looking to purchase more ovals, I do love the one oval CS ring that I have, and I've certainly worn it to pieces over the years

 

[chrono]

I neither like nor dislike ovals but they aren't my first choice of shape. Ovals tend to exhibit a lot of cut issues such as bowties and half extinction so I tend to avoid them. Also it seems rather common, which is expected when most coloured stone rough is suited to ovals for maximum yield. If I had a choice, my preference is a cushion but if the oval is well cut and has fabulous colour, I would not say no. Precision cut preferred, of course, with a high crown and a fatter outline.