Length to Width Ratio question

[ElizabethR]

Is the length to width ratio important on a fancy cut diamond?

Thanks

 

[Rockdiamond]

Is the length to width ratio important on a fancy cut diamond?

Thanks

Absolutely!
It's one of the most easily visible aspects on a marquise, pear shape, oval, emerald cut...etc
Some people like them long and lanky, and others prefer squat stones- built like a brick.....well you get the idea

Important to point out that there can be well cut stones of varying ratios- there is no "best" number......

 

[ElizabethR]

Thanks Rockdiamond. I appreciate your help.

 

[dk168]

It's more to do with personal choice, for example, I prefer leaner ECs to chubby ones; and wider hearts to narrow ones.

DK

 

[diamondseeker2006]

And I'm the opposite of DK in that I do not like long skinny ECs! I prefer chubby ECs, pears, and marquise! So yes, length to width is extremely important, however, your personal taste is what defines what dimensions are most pleasing to your eye, as RD said!

 

[kenny]

Personal preference.
That said, the market and nature have influence.

Diamonds are polished into dimensions that minimize waste of the rough diamond.
IOW, polished gems usually follow the shape of the natural rough.

That's the supply side.
Then there's the demand side.
If more consumers want a length to width ratio that nature rarely supplies prices for those will go up.

Feel free to like whatever you like, but keep in mind the above influences on what's available and how it's priced.

 

[oldminer]

For those folks who demand greatest light return, length to width ratios closer to 1:1 seem to have the greatest potential to provide the highest numbers on light return. This does not mean that some longer stones don't outperform some 1:1 stones which are not so well cut, but it is easier to get reasonably high performance nearer 1:1 than 1.5:1 or 2:1 or higher. The finest pear and marquise shapes can't be in the 1:1 range, but they never compete in performance with those other cuts which can do 1:1 ratios.

The matter of personal preference has a great deal of influence on what you would choose to buy. A major reason for the success of fancy shapes is their variety rather than their uniformity. Many people want something "different", more individual, or a shape they just happen to like better.

Cutting outline does stem from the range of crystal shapes nature provides. Demand for shapes nature doesn't support so well does cause prices for hard to find shapes pushed upward and less desired shapes pushed down. Pricing competitively helps to balance out the supply and demand side. This does not have much to do with what's best or what is preferred based on quality, but it is a function of the free market that allows people to compute what they prefer in the overall including costs and light return characteristics.

 

[ElizabethR]

Thanks everyone. I was getting confused as to whether a bad ratio meant poor light return. I am searching for a wide heart.

 

[Rockdiamond]

You're welcome Elizabeth.
I would add to what my colleague David Atlas wrote:
"Light Return" is an aspect which is frequently discussed online, and it's an interesting aspect of cut.
From my perspective, it's not nearly the most important aspect of the cut a diamond. Not that I don't love a brilliant diamond, of course I do- and I reject dull diamonds.
But I do not compare diamonds based on how much light they return.
That is to say: we can show from a scientific standpoint that a well cut round brilliant cut diamond has "better light return" that a well cut heart shape diamond.
If I want to make a heart shape ring, I am not trying to use a round diamond as a benchmark.
So light return, in this discussion is more about the pattern of light you see, and if you like it.
Same answer for LxW.
There's no "right or wrong- and LxW doesn't even tell the whole story. Some hearts have bowed sides - others are more angular.
This is a case where your eyes are the final arbiter.