Opinions on this emerald cut

[Ryan327]

I am looking to get a emerald cut for an engagement ring and narrowed it down to a few stones. Please let me know what you think. BTW, she likes the classic look of a longer stone and not the more popular look surfacing of more square EC''s.

Stone one

Carat: .71
Color: E
Clarity: VS1
L/W Ratio: 1.55
Depth %: 68
Table %: 62
Measurements 6.56 x 4.22 x 2.87
Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick
Culet: None
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very good
Cut is listed as very good even though I have read that for a EC their is no such grading.

Stone Two
Carat: .70
Color: E
Clarity: VS2
L/W Ratio: 1.51
Depth %: 61.4
Table %: 68
Measurements 6.48 x 4.30 x 2.64
Girdle: Slightly Thick to Extremely Thick
Culet: None
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good

I have three others on my short list, but am leaning towards stone one right now. Both are GIA certified and I do not have any pictures or light performance info. Thanks for the opinions!!!

Ryan

 

[Lorelei]

Hi Ryan and welcome!

Unfortunately we really need photos and preferably ASET images of emerald cuts and other fancy shapes if we are to be able to give you any meaningful advice. So if these are with an online vendor, ask them if they can give you some pics of each diamond. Or have you seen these diamonds in person?

 

[Ryan327]

Unfortunately they are online and I have not seen either. I live in the DC area and some of the pricing here is a joke so I may be forced into buying on line. I went to Mervis recently and they showed me two EC''s that where very similar in specs, actually a little lower, and both where at least 1K higher in price....while I understand their is some room for negotiations, that is insane!

 

[Lorelei]

Often you find you can get a better deal online! What you could do is to email the vendor/s who have the diamonds and request pics and ASET images if they have them. Which vendor is it?

 

[Ryan327]

These stones are from Blue Nile, i''m not sure what their picture policy is though...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/4/2008 12:00:55 PM
Author: Ryan327
These stones are from Blue Nile, i'm not sure what their picture policy is though...

Unfortunately they don't provide them, that is why working with a vendor who can supply these images is so useful, who has in house diamonds. Personally I wouldn't buy a fancy shape without photos at least, otherwise it is a stab in the dark that you will end up with a well cut stone, the cut is so important for the beauty of the diamond.

I don't know what your budget and requirements are, but here is a diamond which you can look at to see how useful pics and other images are when shopping for EC's.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3174/

Here is a very useful shape selector you can use to get a feel for length to width ratios.

http://www.gemappraisers.com/shapePickerNew.asp

 

[stone-cold11]

http://www.whiteflash.com/emerald/Emerald-cut-diamond-1181502.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/emerald/Emerald-cut-diamond-35199.htm

Try these? Looks good on the IS and ASET, prefer the .91c, but I think is not as rectangular as you like. Not sure what you budget is though.

 

[Ryan327]

While I love the stone, it is out of my price range. I am looking for something in the 75 point range and in the 2500 to 3500 range. Right now I am within that range with the stone and setting. She is very modest and while she loved looking at rings a few months ago, she always says she doesn''t need a ring or wants something very small. I think this will more than enough to make her happy and keep our bank accounts sound....especially since we just spent a lot of money buying a house!

I am not set on a specific carat number and would rather focus on the dimensions and proportions of the stone. I would much rather buy a nice cut stone that looks like a 80 while only being a 70.

 

[bgray]

ryan--i must recommend Whiteflash (i bought my EC from them some years back). I also highly recommend the 1.50 ratio. It is considered the classic ideal ratio and has a lovely look no matter what carat weight. I would stick to stones with a depth of no more than 66%. , a table no greater than 68 and a crown height of at least 10%. in this carat weight to get the most bang for your buck you shouldnt buy a stone that is outside the 2a cut baselines

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/4/2008 12:26:21 PM
Author: bgray
ryan--i must recommend Whiteflash (i bought my EC from them some years back). I also highly recommend the 1.50 ratio. It is considered the classic ideal ratio and has a lovely look no matter what carat weight. I would stick to stones with a depth of no more than 66%. , a table no greater than 68 and a crown height of at least 10%. in this carat weight to get the most bang for your buck you shouldnt buy a stone that is outside the 2a cut baselines

Actually it is best to use numbers as a guide only, Ryan don't get hung up on numbers otherwise you could miss out on some stunning diamonds you could love, this is the standard advice given by many experts when shopping for fancy shapes here. Also determining cut quality is challenging in these shapes, you want to aim for a diamond which performs and returns light to the eye as much as possible rather than looking large for its weight - look at the whole diamond rather than one aspect or selecting it because it might have a large spread or face up size for its weight, this isn't always a benefit.

Also having a trusted vendor help you is so important, an expert who can guide you and be your eyes is invaluable. Hence working with vendors who have in house diamonds and have the skill to evaluate and recommend the best diamonds for you.

Although generally the clarity of EC's needs to be higher as step cuts can show inclusions more readily than other shapes ( VS and above) you could drop your colour as a suggestion as this would broaden the options considerably for the budget - for example a reliably graded F G or H colour could work if you are open to the idea.

 

[Ryan327]

I will try to remember to only use the numbers as a guide, but it is very difficult when shopping online since that is all I really have to go by. I just did some looking on whiteflash and while I like how some of the stones have light performance, all the ones in my search that I ran did not, so that puts me right back to looking at numbers, and I think the one I like so far looks better in that respect....aghhhh, this is going to be fun!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/4/2008 12:41:24 PM
Author: Ryan327
I will try to remember to only use the numbers as a guide, but it is very difficult when shopping online since that is all I really have to go by. I just did some looking on whiteflash and while I like how some of the stones have light performance, all the ones in my search that I ran did not, so that puts me right back to looking at numbers, and I think the one I like so far looks better in that respect....aghhhh, this is going to be fun!!!

I know, but honestly you could miss out on some great diamonds, and you won't be able to consider as many diamonds anyway due to the ratio you want and the budget. Really consider working with a vendor who can help you and provide pics and ASET if possible, that is the best way to proceed. You really cannot judge an emerald cut by the numbers, I wish it was as simple, but unfortunately it isn't.

Take a look here www.jamesallen.com as they should have some in house EC's with photos provided in some instances, plus they will email pics on request. Jim is a great vendor and you might find something suitable here. Or contact them and ask for Julianna, she is great and will take good care of you!

 

[Ryan327]

What about taking a risk and getting it anyway without seeing it...most of the online places have free 30 day returns and i''m not in a big rush...I guess the problem I see is that I am the furthest thing from an expert and everything will probably look great to me...I would really prefer to work with a retailer, I just can''t afford the markup!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/4/2008 12:52:25 PM
Author: Ryan327
What about taking a risk and getting it anyway without seeing it...most of the online places have free 30 day returns and i'm not in a big rush...I guess the problem I see is that I am the furthest thing from an expert and everything will probably look great to me...I would really prefer to work with a retailer, I just can't afford the markup!

What I would suggest, is to try to view some EC's in person to get a feel for how a well cut diamond looks and what appeals to you. Then you have a baseline so you can use as a comparison. Then if you wanted to take a chance and were prepared to pay shipping and to return the diamonds you don't like, then you could check some out that way if you were inclined. Or see which appeal to you on the virtual listings ( non in house stones) and see if one of the vendors such as WF could call the diamond/s in for you. There would be a charge for this, but that way they could evaluate the diamond and send you pics so you know what you are getting.

 

[bgray]

well you could ask the vendor (whiteflash GOG etc) to vet it for you--you would still have the return policy to fall back on

 

[lovinsparkles]

Date: 10/4/2008 1:15:18 PM
Author: bgray
well you could ask the vendor (whiteflash GOG etc) to vet it for you--you would still have the return policy to fall back on

Yeah, but this is why I would suggest JamesAllen.com over Whiteflash. I just tried to find an emerald cut through WF, and unfortunately they had a VERY limited in-house inventory (at least in the range I was looking at), so you wind up paying for them to bring it in every time you want to consider a stone. Making it not much easier to search for than other no-pictures sites.

Jamesallen.com had pictures of all the emerald cuts I wanted to see. WF needs to step up their game in that department!

 

[swingirl]

James Allen is a great place to start because they have a lot of stones photographed. Once you start seeing the variety you'll understand why it's hard to buy one without seeing it or seeing a photo. You can do a lot of browsing so you start to narrow it down as far as what looks good to you. Emerald cuts have geometric patterns of light and dark which it what people like about them.

Go to their website and plug in your budget range just to see what they have.

Whiteflash calls in the fancy cuts but they specialize in the ACA round and princess cut.

 

[Ryan327]

I figured I would put a update on here to see what everyone thought...I decided to somewhat split the difference and hope I am happy with my decision. I decided to go with stone one since the numbers sound good and it is what I''m looking for on paper. Since Bluenile does not supply pictures and I couldn''t find anything equal or better on the other sites (most do not have these diamonds on hand for pictures and would have to be called in), I decided to purchase a AGS ASET scope so that when the ring/stone arrive I can review it with my eye and the scope and hopefully make a my decision if I it is good or not.

While this probably isn''t the most optimum choice I think it the best I could do right now...

Any hints, tips, or tricks of things I should be looking for with the scope? Is their anything else I could practice on so that I know how to use the thing...I don''t have any other diamonds though

Also, can you take pictures with the handheld aset scope? If you can, please share how so that when I get the stone I can try and get a few opinions. No matter what, i''ll get some pictures of the stone once it comes in next wednesday. Wish me luck...

Ryan

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/7/2008 8:21:42 PM
Author: Ryan327
I figured I would put a update on here to see what everyone thought...I decided to somewhat split the difference and hope I am happy with my decision. I decided to go with stone one since the numbers sound good and it is what I'm looking for on paper. Since Bluenile does not supply pictures and I couldn't find anything equal or better on the other sites (most do not have these diamonds on hand for pictures and would have to be called in), I decided to purchase a AGS ASET scope so that when the ring/stone arrive I can review it with my eye and the scope and hopefully make a my decision if I it is good or not.

While this probably isn't the most optimum choice I think it the best I could do right now...

Any hints, tips, or tricks of things I should be looking for with the scope? Is their anything else I could practice on so that I know how to use the thing...I don't have any other diamonds though

Also, can you take pictures with the handheld aset scope? If you can, please share how so that when I get the stone I can try and get a few opinions. No matter what, i'll get some pictures of the stone once it comes in next wednesday. Wish me luck...

Ryan

Actually that is a good approach for buying sight unseen, the ASET will really help, plus BN have a 30 day return policy so you have plenty of time to make sure you are happy with the diamond. I will link some info which should help you with ASET. Also check out the diamond in as many different lights as you can to make sure it is the right one for you.

http://www.ideal-scope.com/using_howto.asp

http://www.ideal-scope.com/using_reference_chart_ASET.asp