Oval 4 or 6 prong setting?

[hobbzilla]

Greetings.. This is my first post here and my second visit. I have been doing quite a bit of reading and am looking to buy an engagement ring soon.
My gf really likes the look of an oval for it''s different but still classic look. I too like ovals but am even more traditional and still love the RB.

Anyway, She states that she doesn''t like the 6 prong setting with the oval because it looks too much like a marquise. And would prefer a tiffany 6 prong setting with a round before a 6 prong oval (which is fine by me).

My questions are (the ring will be platinum):

1) Obviously the 4 prong is less stable than a 6 prong. How bad are we talking here? Should you REALLY be worried? What about the outside oval edges that have no protection?

2) It seems that you can purchase ovals quite a bit cheaper than Rounds because of demand. Are stones "really" cut to maximize shape? or do they cut for demand here too? I would rather go with a round if the oval is really a reject for some reason that it wouldn''t make a brilliant round.

3) Seeing as there is sooo much information on rounds specifically, where can I find out information on what makes a good oval a good oval? I would prefer to buy online due to the nature of savings and lack of pressure.

4) What would be some suggestions for what I should start looking at if my budget is $4-6k ?? I would prefer a D-F color and the best cut I can find. Should I stop looking for IF-VV2''s & stick with V1 & V2''s???

Thanks a ton!

 

[poopoojones]

I just purchased a 1.54 G SI1 oval and I am very happy with it - as is my fiancée. I think that the lower price is due to lack of demand as well as the fact that less rough is used in the cutting process. I think that some rough is cut into fancy shaped due to clarity issues but not so much brilliance problems. I would not say that they are 'rejects'.

The stone that I bought ranks as a 2A (mostly due to the 1.28 ratio, I think), but it is much more brilliant then a lot of rounds that I have seen. This is a VERY cut/light return oriented message board so try to remember that just because a stone has less brilliance than the most ideally cut H&A stone does not mean that it is a dud.

As far as the clarity question, I REALLY, don't think that you need to go any higher then 'eye clean'. With a 4-6K budget, you can really benefit on carat weight by going down in clarity (and color).

Good luck and go with what your girlfriend wants. Exactly what your girlfriend wants. That was the best advise that I picked up from this board.

 

[poopoojones]

PS - the ring that I bought is 4 prong. It seems fine.

PPS - people here will ignore almost all posts about oval shaped diamonds except for a few posts about bowtie effects (where they will usually link you to old posts about bowties).

 

[Mara]

Don't know much about ovals but the 4 pronged oval should be fine. Just get it insured. Even if you got a round stone, and a 4 prong setting, there are still exposed edges...there are going to be exposed edges on anything you get anyway unless it's a bezel. So don't worry about that. I also think in general that they would not sell the 4 pronged settings for oval if they felt that they were unsafe--or the general public would not buy them.




Get the stone insured and you're fine.




Also..I would highly recommend an SI grade if you can find an eye-clean stone, it will save you $$ which you can then put into color and/or size, whatever is most important. I'm a size person so I'd always sacrifice some sort of color and clarity for a good cut and a good sized stone...

but you may not feel the same.




Good luck! BTW for help with your search, use the DIY cut grading tool at www.gemappraisers.com. It will be very valuable to you esp as alot of people on this board are not familiar with fancy cuts, so using the grading tool online will help you when people cannot answer your questions.