shape
carat
color
clarity

Need Help with Oval MMD for E-ring!

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
Hi PSers!

I've decided to propose to my girlfriend and have been doing my research on what to get. I have decided on an oval MMD, 2.2-2.5c, G+, VS1+. After reading a lot of this forum, I've seen some of the other measurements I should take into account, though most recently I've been worried about the dreaded bowtie. I've seen a lot of pictures that people claim have bad bowties, but I'm not as sure. My girlfriend said she places more emphasis on color than necessarily size, but it seems like IGI and GCAL may not be as consistent as GIA. I'm also not sure if I can get away with VS2. I've posted a few below (that are in my price range) from BE and was wondering about any of your thoughts. A couple of them have pretty poor quality videos or no picture whatsoever. I'm curious about your thoughts, if I should cross any of these off my list, or if any look like they are pretty dang good fits!

G, VS1, 2.49: https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/7848485/
G, VS1, 2.48: https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/7650547/
G, VS1, 2.34: https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/7904187/
G, VS1, 2.29: https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/7911121/
G, VVS2, 2.5: https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/7840851/
E, VS1, 2.21: https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/7840857/

Anyway, I know this is my first time posting, but this is also my first time ever looking at buying a diamond! I'm quite a novice but trying to learn, so any advice is helpful.

For those interested, I was looking at this setting: https://www.brilliantearth.com/Clara-Diamond-Ring-Platinum-BE1D1722-7631728/

TIA!
ForSeas
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Welcome to the forum :)

Apologies for not getting to this before now!

You are correct in that VS2 is not always guaranteed eye-clean, and that GCAL and IGI are at least seen as softer on colour grading as GIA, but we are a bit stuck on the latter point as GIA only grades MMDs into 'colourless' or 'near colourless' at this moment in time!


In my entirely personal, non-expert opinion...

#1 only has half the stone in the video on my screen :lol: but it looks okay head-on. It does 'window' (go see-through) quite badly as it rotates to the side, though, so I'm not sure I personally would go for this one.

#2 also only has half the stone in the video on my screen :rolleyes: It windows only at extreme angles of rotation, which is better, but because it's not rotating the same way as #1, we can't do a direct comparison... It looks to have a strong central band of facets and then 'crushed ice' away from that, which is a classic look but perhaps not as good a performer as it could be. Both this and #1 look a bit tinted for a G colour, but that could be the video setup or my screen or because they are graded softly - we just don't know.

#3 has a video that works properly, lol, but it windows at tilt angles and has dark 'bow tie' on the central facets. Not unusual in the classic oval cut but not really what you want for best performance.

#4 is also windowing somewhat at tilt/rotation angles but does at least not seem to have any bow-tie issues. Colour looks pretty good (not too tinted) and VS1 should be eye-clean.

#5 needs a video to assess it properly/accurately - you can't buy fancy cuts off the numbers alone!

#6 - see #5 :D


Have you looked at the August Vintage Elyque Ovals? I'm not sure if Rhino is cutting them in MMD but if he is, that would mean you could get awesome light performance at a reasonable price compared to Mined stones :)
 

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
Welcome to the forum :)

Apologies for not getting to this before now!

You are correct in that VS2 is not always guaranteed eye-clean, and that GCAL and IGI are at least seen as softer on colour grading as GIA, but we are a bit stuck on the latter point as GIA only grades MMDs into 'colourless' or 'near colourless' at this moment in time!


In my entirely personal, non-expert opinion...

#1 only has half the stone in the video on my screen :lol: but it looks okay head-on. It does 'window' (go see-through) quite badly as it rotates to the side, though, so I'm not sure I personally would go for this one.

#2 also only has half the stone in the video on my screen :rolleyes: It windows only at extreme angles of rotation, which is better, but because it's not rotating the same way as #1, we can't do a direct comparison... It looks to have a strong central band of facets and then 'crushed ice' away from that, which is a classic look but perhaps not as good a performer as it could be. Both this and #1 look a bit tinted for a G colour, but that could be the video setup or my screen or because they are graded softly - we just don't know.

#3 has a video that works properly, lol, but it windows at tilt angles and has dark 'bow tie' on the central facets. Not unusual in the classic oval cut but not really what you want for best performance.

#4 is also windowing somewhat at tilt/rotation angles but does at least not seem to have any bow-tie issues. Colour looks pretty good (not too tinted) and VS1 should be eye-clean.

#5 needs a video to assess it properly/accurately - you can't buy fancy cuts off the numbers alone!

#6 - see #5 :D


Have you looked at the August Vintage Elyque Ovals? I'm not sure if Rhino is cutting them in MMD but if he is, that would mean you could get awesome light performance at a reasonable price compared to Mined stones :)

Thank you for this! I have not looked into August Vintage Elyque Ovals, but I'll be sure to check them out. I went to a local jeweler the other day who is going to get some mined, as well as MMD in for me to check out next week. I may not be going the online way as it seems hard to determine quality!

I'll check out the Elyque Ovals though, thank you for that. Regardless, I just asked her dad for his permission this past weekend - all good! Now just sorting out the ring...
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Thank you for this! I have not looked into August Vintage Elyque Ovals, but I'll be sure to check them out. I went to a local jeweler the other day who is going to get some mined, as well as MMD in for me to check out next week. I may not be going the online way as it seems hard to determine quality!

I'll check out the Elyque Ovals though, thank you for that. Regardless, I just asked her dad for his permission this past weekend - all good! Now just sorting out the ring...
You could purchase an ASETscope to take with you - it will help you understand the cut quality and light performance of each stone in an empirical manner, rather than them all looking very nice and sparkly under the 'magic lights' they pay good money for!

If you're happy to post your budget we could perhaps see if we could find you some options :)
 

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
You could purchase an ASETscope to take with you - it will help you understand the cut quality and light performance of each stone in an empirical manner, rather than them all looking very nice and sparkly under the 'magic lights' they pay good money for!

If you're happy to post your budget we could perhaps see if we could find you some options :)

I believe I'm looking somewhere up to $11k for the stone (though I'd happily go less!).

I was looking up ASET scopes and asked the jeweler if he has one, otherwise I'll purchase one. It sounds like they are difficult to evaluate on oval diamonds though, no? The pictures I've seen seem much less clear than other cuts.
 
Last edited:

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
I believe I'm looking somewhere up to $11k for the stone (though I'd happily go less!).

I was looking up ASET scopes and asked the jeweler if he has one, otherwise I'll purchase one. It sounds like they are difficult to evaluate on oval diamonds though, no? The pictures I've seen seem much less clear than other cuts.
Apologies for the slow reply, I've not been very good at getting things done this week :( lol

I'm struggling to find stones on BE - so many of them 'window' (go see-through) at tilt/rotation angles, I'm not convinced they will look as good as they could in real life.

ASET images will help but 'classic' ovals usually only return light reasonably well across the central band and then look leaky (on the ASETscope images) elsewhere!

If you haven't already, do speak to Rhino/Jon at August Vintage Inc. re: the Elyque Ovals - their light performance is head-and-shoulders above 'classic' ovals, and if he can cut them in MMD, you can offset the fact that they need to be deep (so smaller in spread for their carat weight) because the rough is cheaper in the first place :)
 

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
Hi again, my jeweler got some really impressive VS1, oval diamonds. Moving from the end of the tray inwards (depends on what picture you are looking at), you've got a 2.16 F, then 2.51 H, then 2.672 E. I'm very torn as I like the cut and size of the 2.51 but wish it was better color, like the 2.67 due to size and color but am worried about cut (more noticeable bowtie), and cut and color of the 2.16 but the size is obviously smaller.

Any thoughts? It seems that the bowtie wasn't very noticeable until I got my camera out which makes me think it's not as big of a deal as I'm thinking it might be...

20190619_145354.jpg 20190619_145332.jpg 20190619_145135.jpg
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
From the pictures, it looks like they all have the classic bow-tie that so many 'classic' oval cuts have.

As you have noted, it may not be a problem if you're not waving a dark-coloured phone around, only a few inches away, but you also need to check how they perform away from the sparkly lights, as it may be they have a lot of bow-tie in flat lighting and/or when you're wearing dark clothing.

Are you able to look at them near the window / in flat office lighting / under the table (so no direct lighting)?
 

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
These are taken in front of the window. We even took them outside...I can't see much of a difference, but maybe my untrained eye is weak!

By classic bowtie, do you mean that they are pretty bad bowties are pretty standard?

2.67, E, VS1
20190620_125701.jpg
2.51, H, VS2
20190620_125517.jpg
2.16, F, VS1
20190620_125408.jpg
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
They look quite similar to my (also untrained!) eye from here :)

Most 'classic' ovals have that band of chunkier facets across the centre, then the smaller 'crushed ice' facets at each end. It is only the Elyque ovals from Rhino/August Vintage Inc. that are cut to perform like Modern Round Brilliant stones.

It is neither right nor wrong to prefer one over the other - it is just personal taste :)

A buyer just needs to buy in full awareness of the options, rather than be told by one single local jeweler that a bow-tie is a desirable thing, which I've seen mentioned before! :o


Just to check, have you spoken to Rhino/Jon regarding possibly cutting an Elyque Oval to your budget/preferred spec?
 

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
They look quite similar to my (also untrained!) eye from here :)

Most 'classic' ovals have that band of chunkier facets across the centre, then the smaller 'crushed ice' facets at each end. It is only the Elyque ovals from Rhino/August Vintage Inc. that are cut to perform like Modern Round Brilliant stones.

It is neither right nor wrong to prefer one over the other - it is just personal taste :)

A buyer just needs to buy in full awareness of the options, rather than be told by one single local jeweler that a bow-tie is a desirable thing, which I've seen mentioned before! :o


Just to check, have you spoken to Rhino/Jon regarding possibly cutting an Elyque Oval to your budget/preferred spec?

I have not spoken to them. Based on my search on their site, their lab diamonds were more expensive for the size I wanted, and obviously the natural diamonds in elyque were out of my price range. I just figured they were too expensive.

My jeweler just got another lg for me to check out. I'll report back what I think with pics as well.
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Congratulations!

That looks lovely :))
 

BMI

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2014
Messages
273
Congratulations and thanks for sharing! The ring is beautiful and I really like the proportions of center stone to band/melee width. What size/color/clarity oval did you end up choosing (I assume it is lab grown)? It looks very pretty!
 
Last edited:

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
Congratulations and thanks for sharing! The ring is beautiful and I really like the proportions of center stone to band/melee width. What size/color/clarity oval did you end up choosing (I assume it is lab grown)? It looks very pretty!

Hi BMI! Thank you very much, and I am happy to help! The setting was a mix between BE's Clara and this Gabriel setting, made using the lost-wax process.

The diamond is in fact lab grown and the IGI information is below:
WEIGHT 2.63 Carats
CLARITY GRADE VS 2
COLOR GRADE F
MEASUREMENTS 10.90 x 7.85 x 4.87 mm
L:W 1.39
TABLE DIAMETER 60%
CROWN HEIGHT 13.5%
PAVILION DEPTH 44%
TOTAL DEPTH 62%
Report here.

The setting is approx .36 carats and other details below. Any other questions?
SmartSelect_20190709-150520_WhatsApp (1).jpg
 

BMI

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2014
Messages
273
Wow, thanks for all the details @ForSeas. An almost 11x8 stone is going to look amazing on a size 5 finger! I bet she's going to be thrilled with the result of all your hard work! Best wishes to you both. :dance:
 

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
Wow, thanks for all the details @ForSeas. An almost 11x8 stone is going to look amazing on a size 5 finger! I bet she's going to be thrilled with the result of all your hard work! Best wishes to you both. :dance:

Thank you! I have been engrossed in this process for the past 4-5 months and have learned a ton. I'm just hoping she's as happy about the ring as I am!
 
  • Like
Reactions: BMI

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Thank you! I have been engrossed in this process for the past 4-5 months and have learned a ton. I'm just hoping she's as happy about the ring as I am!
Please do post pics when it is on her finger, if she and you are happy to do so! :))
 

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
As promised, here are some pictures of the ring on my fiancée's hand! We were in Bora Bora - it was perfect!

20190730_175553.jpg
IMG-20190729-WA0001.jpg
IMG-20190804-WA0007.jpg
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Congratulatons! :))

That looks perfect, and I hope you both had a lovely time :)
 

ForSeas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
15
Congratulatons! :))

That looks perfect, and I hope you had a lovely time :)

We did, thank you very much! She absolutely loves it.

Also, it turns out her hand is closer to 3.75...the 5 was way too big! haha
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
We did, thank you very much! She absolutely loves it.

Also, it turns out her hand is closer to 3.75...the 5 was way too big! haha
lol

Well, at least she could put it on at the important time! :)

My good lady squeezed it on but had to take it off before her finger dropped off :lol:
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top