shape
carat
color
clarity

OEC

breanne

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
508
Who'd you recommend for purchasing an OEC? I'm familiar with OWD, love affair diamonds, JBG, and CVB. I know some other places like GOG has their versions of OEC's, so I'm really not sure what direction to go. At this point I'm very unfamiliar with the nuances of OEC's, and what my preferences are, so I need a starting point. I have a MRB, J colour, and the hue doesn't bother me in the slightest, it's perfectly cut so that's partly why, so I wonder if a J in an OEC would be the same or not.

I'm in Canada, and where I'm particularly from, I can't imagine finding too many. My goal is to learn what exactly my preferences are, and perhaps have one sent to me to see. Do asets apply to OEC's? What about table/crown/pa etc?

I can't recall the name of who's this ring belongs to, but it's everything and more to me :love:

img_13785.jpg

img_4297.png
 

MissGotRocks

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
16,270
Pretty sure that ring belongs to LLJsmom. It is a 3 carat, K color stone. She purchased it from Adam at OWD. Might be a good person for you to contact to initiate a conversation about OEC stones. They are much harder to 'buy by the numbers' so you really have to get a feel for what you like and what you are looking for. Since you love her stone so much, you can reference it to him and let him know that you really seem to like the faceting pattern of her stone.
 

breanne

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
508
Yep! That would be her! Good to know about the K, in my mind I feel I could go lower than J, but again that's what my MRB is, so unsure exactly how that applies to OEC's. Her's faces up quite white to me in the photos, I'll definitely contact Adam. I read a great post by LLMOM about her ring a little while back, I'll have to go check it again!
 

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
4,814
My latest OEC is an L. Faces up completely white. No color even from the side. It's a very flowery beautiful cut, so that's probably why. Here are some close up pics of it.







From L to R: K with med blue florescence OEC pear, 2.28 L OEC, .93 L OEC

img_13794.jpg

img_13792.jpg

img_13793.jpg
 

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
4,814
As far as purchasing an OEC, I'm partial to Erica at LAD because of her unbeatable prices, her flexible purchase plans and upgrade policy, and her incredible eye for well-cut OECs. I didn't see either of my stones I bought from her before they were set because I spent time talking to her about the stones and she assured me they were top-tier OEC cuts, and they are.
 

breanne

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
508
Omg!! :love: An L! I believe just based on some videos on YouTube and Instagram that my range will be J-L, M seems to show more yellow face up (to me)

I love your ring, I wish I had known more about OEC's before going nose deep with MRB, I love mine, but there's something so romantic about OEC's that I've been really gravitating towards. Have you owned any MRB ? If so, how does OEC's compare to you?
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
I agree with Soxfan - Erica at LAD is a great person to buy from. She hand picks each stone. Also, if you give her a call, leave a message she will call you and educate you on OEC's. There are different facet patterns - some a "checker board", some are more "flowery" and then there is more of a "pinwheel pattern" - you need to decide which you like best. I prefer the flowery pattern however, the checkerboard can be lovely as well. Good luck and take your time deciding what you like. They're beautiful stones!
 

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
4,814
breanne|1480281298|4102963 said:
Omg!! :love: An L! I believe just based on some videos on YouTube and Instagram that my range will be J-L, M seems to show more yellow face up (to me)

I love your ring, I wish I had known more about OEC's before going nose deep with MRB, I love mine, but there's something so romantic about OEC's that I've been really gravitating towards. Have you owned any MRB ? If so, how does OEC's compare to you?

I did own a 2.04 MRB. I sold it to buy my 2.28. I have no regrets. I love the chunkier flashes better than the white splintery flashes of MRB's.
 

breanne

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
508
That's great to hear. What color did you have in your MRB? I'm wondering if comparing a well cut MRB to a well cut OEC, are the colors similar visually?

I have an ideal cut J now, every time I look at it I feel I totally could've gone 'K' without being bothered.
 

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
4,814
breanne|1480408068|4103357 said:
That's great to hear. What color did you have in your MRB? I'm wondering if comparing a well cut MRB to a well cut OEC, are the colors similar visually?

I have an ideal cut J now, every time I look at it I feel I totally could've gone 'K' without being bothered.

I had a K. My L OEC faces up whiter. I could see color from the side on the K MRB. Depending on the cut, you could go as low as an M in a really well cut OEC and it may look as white as your MRB. Do you have a particular size/price point you are looking at? What kind of setting?
 

breanne

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
508
I currently have a 1.42, I feel I'd like to go at least 2.50 if I were to upgrade. To me, if it faces up white and masks a good amount of warmth, I prefer that than seeing inclusions. I have a completely eye clean SI1, and I'm happy with that. I think in order to go that size and refrain from paying a huge price tag, I'm willing to go pretty low in colour. I really love the Erika Winters Laurel setting for example, minus the knife edge, it's completely opposite to what I have now; a 3.5mm. I'm not set on her band exactly, but that overall aesthetic :love:

Edit - price is complicated as I'm Canadian and our dollar isn't doing so good in comparison, makes purchasing that much more costly. I'll unfortunately have to wait a while before things level out so that my diamond would be worth more as well.
 

breanne

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
508
Have you seen many OEC's in person, are the well cut OEC's comparable to well cut MRB's in colour? I know you said your L faces up whiter than your K, would you say that's normal? At least if I can't view too many OEC's in person, I can maybe view a K-M MRB and see how I feel, might help determine my range a bit more.
 

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
4,814
breanne|1480451092|4103510 said:
Have you seen many OEC's in person, are the well cut OEC's comparable to well cut MRB's in colour? I know you said your L faces up whiter than your K, would you say that's normal? At least if I can't view too many OEC's in person, I can maybe view a K-M MRB and see how I feel, might help determine my range a bit more.

I have no idea. K and L are only one grade apart on the color scale, so it's not that big of a difference. I would absolutely trust Adam at OWD, Erica at LAD, and JBG. They are well-respected here and experts on old cuts. You can just ask how white the stone faces up- and they have return policies so you can't go wrong. They all do excellent videos too. You can ask them to do a video with a flowery facet pattern, a pinwheel, and a checkerboard pattern if they have all three in stock. Then you can get a feel for them.
 

LLJsmom

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
12,633
Breanne,

I really think you need to see them in person. A well cut OEC is very hard to describe. And I don't know how easily a vendor can mail you a stone to test out in Canada. If you are near the East Coast, you should definitely make a trip to OWD, and maybe GOG. I am from CA and went to NYC to see them IRL.

In my opinion, comparing a K-L MRB doesn't do anything to help you decide if you like a K-L OEC. They are completely different animals. I went from an F MRB to a K OEC. I'm just saying that as an example of how differently these OECs reflect color.

And I still find anything below a G in an MRB too colored for my taste.

Also, I saw this in pre-loved.
https://www.pricescope.com/forum/pr...gs-l-vs1-and-cvb-casablanca-halo-t225496.html

Mochiko has a gorgeous 1.7 OEC also up for sale.

I saw a very beautiful 2.4-2.5 ish with Grace, but I can't remember the price. Even if you see them IRL, you may see a bunch that are great performers, but you will still prefer one over the other. Only you can determine which you like best. The best experts like Adam and Grace can do are cull through them and pull out the ones they like best.

You've probably read through these already. But it does show what was running through my head when I looked at my OEC. I still love it now, more than I did before. I don't regret making the change. I wish I had learned about OECs earlier. Would have saved me from the loss I took on making the swap. Good luck to you.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/3-04-oec-k-vs1-early-20th-anniversary.223129/

https://www.pricescope.com/communit...tique-cut.219320/page-2#post-4035621#p4035621
 

breanne

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
508
Hello

I totally agree, an in person visit is probably a must. I was going through videos of J coloured diamonds today, I own a J currently so I wanted to see how it translated on screen compared to on my hand, and I found I noticed way more color on the screen than I do on my actual diamond. What I got from that is, there's no way you can decide on a screen what color your prefer as I probably would've been hesitant to own a J if only based on those videos.

To me, sure I can see color nuances, but that doesn't indicate which color I most prefer on my hand, know what I mean? I think I reached the idea that I have to see them in person, and maybe make a trip to New York sometime since we're close. Sucks because pricescope gets me very excited and eager, but c'est la vie for now.

Thank you for responding! It's your ring that has started all this :love: :lol: :lol:
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
53,978
Hi Breanne, late to this thread but I agree with everything Soxfan, MGR, Queenie and LLJsmom posted.

You really need to see the specific OECs in person and cannot compare color of an MRB to an OEC. I also find anything below a G in an MRB too tinted for me but OECs are a different animal and I own an L OEC that faces up super white but because it is an L throws off beautiful pastel colors that higher colored OECs don't really do. J-L is my sweet spot for OECs. Again it is a personal preference and there is no right or wrong on this issue. Use your eyes to see what you prefer.

Also you are right... the color of the diamond on the screen doesn't translate to real life. So though you search through all OECs pics and videos keep that in mind. There is just no substitute for seeing the OEC or old cut IRL. It does help however to keep going through as many OEC photos and videos as you can so when you do get a chance to examine them IRL you have an idea of what your preferences are i.e. facet pattern etc.

Check out all of (Jewels by) Grace's photos and videos of OECs that she has on her website and in smugmug and if you come to NYC you need to see Adam at OWD. He has (one of the) largest old cut diamond collection of anyone and wow he will really give you a good teaching lesson on old cuts if you spend the time with him. He is very generous with his knowledge and time and it is worth the trip. His collection is extensive and amazing. Also check out GOG's website and all of Jon's videos of old cuts and AVRs to see as many diamonds as possible and get an idea of what flavor diamond is your favorite.

Good luck and happy searching!!! :appl:
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top