Old European Cut-GIA graded fair

[nilmeg]

Hi,
My girlfriend and I are searching for an e-ring. We found a ring we both love-however the one thing I am worried about is that it was graded as a fair cut by GIA. Its an antique ring and the jeweler told us that because the symetry of the old cuts was not perfect, they get a poor rating by GIA. It got a good polish rating. Im wondering if what the jeweler said was true? Can anyone help me?

Thanks in advance!

 

[stci]

It''s probably true. Old stones was cut by hand on poor lighting. But... for me... they are the most beautiful diamond!

Is this an OEC or an OMC? Do you have pics to post?

 

[LGK]

It could possibly be a lovely OEC and get a poor cut grade from GIA. It could also be a poorly performing OEC, too. There are a lot of doggy looking old cuts out there. When they''re gorgeous, they''re really gorgeous- and often indeed do fall outside what would be considered "ideal" specs for a modern cut- but when they''re ugly they''re really ugly. If you''ve seen it in person and love it, then the cut grade on paper isn''t important IMO, as long as the price is right. I suspect very few antique cuts, including truly gorgeous ones, would get very good or excellent cut grades from GIA- the proportions are simply too different.

Basically you want to see the facets bright, fiery and lively all across the stone. No dead zones where the facets just sit there and don''t do anything. Many OECs that aren''t well cut have center facets that don''t do much. As you move it around, you want to see light return all across the stone, the center facets flashing and the edges too. Really poorly cut OECs can actually have a dark looking center- too deep/nailhead. More often it''s just that the center facets don''t return a lot of fire or brilliance. (I''m kinda picky about my old cuts- I don''t love *all* of them just because they''re old. They have to have a bit of symmetry and a lot of fire for me to love them.)

Other things to look for are a decent face-up size- OECs can be deep, and thus you have a smaller looking stone for the carat weight. I typically look for OECs of depth between 60%-62%, to get a decent spread. (You can find some that are gorgeous with more depth, of course, but personally I like to not pay for carat weight you can''t see.) A nice pattern with enough symmetry to be pleasing (though this can be pretty individual taste). A small table and a high crown. A culet of the size that you like- I like eye-visible but not distracting. Others like as small as possible. (A culet listed as "small" on a GIA report is, I believe, not visible to the naked eye, for example.)

Also, and very important: check for damage. If the diamond is set this can be tough. Many, many old cuts have chips. I''m usually OK with one or two if they''re not eye visible. Bearding also is something that happens to old stones- small feathers/cracks around the edges.

Also check the girdle thickness. A heck of a lot of old cuts have extremely thin girdles, and often that''s where they''re chipped in fact. I don''t discount old cuts with Xthin girdles, but I would definitely not set it in an exposed setting if it''s got one. A bezel is a good bet for that type of OEC, or some other type of well protected setting.