OEC Girdle Question

[wildcatz]

I’m shopping for an OEC and one I am interested in has a GIA report showing a thin to very thick girdle. How does the very thick girdle affect optics?

The overall depth is 67.2% and the table is 47%. I don’t have crown or pavilion info but the appearance shows a high crown.

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[missy]

Hi @wildcatz the girdle should not affect your beautiful stone...my OEC has an extremely thin to thick girdle and as long as the setting you choose is protective you will be fine. Remember these diamonds have been around for a long time and are not as fragile as one might think. Of course find a setter you trust and all should be A OK!

And of course seeing is knowing. As long as the stone is beautiful IRL I wouldn't be concerned at all. Cannot wait to see your finished ring...best of luck!

 

[pearaffair]

Hi @wildcatz the girdle should not affect your beautiful stone...my OEC has an extremely thin to thick girdle and as long as the setting you choose is protective you will be fine. Remember these diamonds have been around for a long time and are not as fragile as one might think. Of course find a setter you trust and all should be A OK!

And of course seeing is knowing. As long as the stone is beautiful IRL I wouldn't be concerned at all. Cannot wait to see your finished ring...best of luck!

I'm buying a stone that has an extremely thin girdle... can you tell me more about yours, Missy? Can you see it being super thin? Is it hard to keep it protected?

Btw, OP, I think sometimes a thick girdle can make a dark grey circle "fish eye" on the stone. https://beyond4cs.com/cut/fisheye-effect/

So it sounds like it's not going to look bad JUST from the girdle, that the table and other angles can make or break it.

 

[tyty333]

From what I understand, fish eye tends to happen on shallower stones with large tables. The OP's stone is deep enough and also has a small table.
From what I have seen it is very common to have older stones with thin to thick girdles.

 

[EC8]

My OEC's girdle is extremely thin to thin.
I've only had it for ~1yr but no issues so far.
It's in a 8 prong setting.
I wear it every day, but take it off for accident prone events.

 

[wildcatz]

I searched old threads and discovered that it very possibly indicates that a very thin to very thick girdle in an old cut diamond may represent a chip that was polished out. I have looked at old diamonds all over this past week and think I am just expecting too much in the way of symmetry and perfection and as much as I love many of the antique stones posted here, I’ll make myself crazy looking for the one. So I just reserved a Victor Canera round that I know will be beautiful. Now I just need to figure out a setting.

 

[ringo865]

Victor, among others recommended here. have ideal cut old (style) stones. If you love the vintage stones (OEC, OMC, ACC) but can’t handle the asymmetric wonkiness that happens when diamonds are cut by hand with spinning wheels powered by squirrels (kidding)(kind of), ask victor about one of his old cuts.

 

[missy]

I'm buying a stone that has an extremely thin girdle... can you tell me more about yours, Missy? Can you see it being super thin? Is it hard to keep it protected?

Btw, OP, I think sometimes a thick girdle can make a dark grey circle "fish eye" on the stone. https://beyond4cs.com/cut/fisheye-effect/

So it sounds like it's not going to look bad JUST from the girdle, that the table and other angles can make or break it.

Hi @pearaffair, both Bea (now Bella) and Bubbalah have an extremely thin girdle in part and both are fine (knock wood). And both are beautiful and it had no impact on it's beauty. Bella is in an 8 prong and I never had any issues and I am not particularly easy on my jewelry being a klutz and all. The 2 girdle naturals are the causes of my latest OEC's ex thin girdle both right under the flat bezel facets and can be protected easily by 8 prongs (or less but I prefer 8 for such a large diamond) if I choose.

@wildcatz Under most circumstances would not let the girdle thickness determine if I purchase a diamond or not...if a diamond is beautiful it's beautiful and if it's not it's not. As @pearaffair pointed out there are so many variables in what goes into the diamond's appearance. As I wrote before these diamonds have lasted for a long time independent of their girdle thickness.

Also, I would talk to the trusted diamond vendor/jeweler you are working with about this concern of yours (and any others) and if he/she assures you it is safe then perhaps that would help ease your mind.

 

[LightBright]

I searched old threads and discovered that it very possibly indicates that a very thin to very thick girdle in an old cut diamond may represent a chip that was polished out. I have looked at old diamonds all over this past week and think I am just expecting too much in the way of symmetry and perfection and as much as I love many of the antique stones posted here, I’ll make myself crazy looking for the one. So I just reserved a Victor Canera round that I know will be beautiful. Now I just need to figure out a setting.

I’m glad you found the symmetry and perfection you want in an old cut style stone from Victor Canera. It will be stunning!

To clarify on a point about thin to thick girdles being a result of the repolishing process: I’m fairly certain it is just the opposite. Many Old Cut (antique) stones have thin to thick girdles because the objective at the time was to use as much of the crystal as possible. The old cut girdles were bruted very close to the original edges of the crystal (sometimes parts of the girdle edge were left as unbruted (untouched) rough crystal, sometimes even retaining indented inclusions called “naturals”). So, if you carefully examine antique girdles they are often irregular in width, ranging from paper thin to very thick. (They are also sometimes “flea bitten”, but that’s an unrelated topic). This is totally common/normal in some types of antique cut, usually the oldest cuts. If a chip is polished out from an antique stone, most often the cutter will also re-brute a super thin girdle and will thus make it slightly thicker and more regular. I personally would never repolish an antique stone to only fix a thin to thick girdle. I don’t believe they are that fragile, and would just put the stone in a six to eight prong, or a halo or a bezel. Just no four prongs.

 

[LLJsmom]

Can’t wait to see what setting you choose!! If you don’t mind please share with us your options.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Tell all!!!

cheers--Sharon