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Royal Asscher Opinion

M

moshmosh

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
7
Hi, been reading archives on posts relating to Royal Asschers. I learnt heaps but still not feeling too confident. I am about to pull a trigger on one but would like some opinion on the stone:

1.2 E VS2
Polish - Very good
Symmetry - Excellent
fluro: none
Table: 57%
Depth: 68.7
Very thick girdle

Now, I have seen some sites which have recommended for a thin - thick girdle. Should I be concerned about a very thick girdle?
 
The girdle thickness of very thick is not an issue. What is more important is the cut (light performance) of the stone. Maybe an ASET or a video of the stone would help.
 
A very thick girdle may cause the stone to have a smaller diameter and therefore looks smaller than it should. Along with the other specs, you always need to look at the diameter measurements. I'd want to know those as well as see a picture of the stone.
 
In general:
If we're talking abut a branded "Royal Asscher Cut", the look is fairly consistent.
Such stones are quite rare, if they are the true branded stones- so make sure about that.

When it comes to information generally available online- be it about diamonds, horses cars, or anything else...
Context is so often lacking.
Diamondseeker has a good point about thick girdles- however it's not always the case. Some stones with thick girdles can still have a nice size appearance depending on pavilion and crown angle and other aspects- which is why a general statement can be misleading in specific cases.
But if we're talking about Asscher cuts in particular, size for the weight is virtually never a strong point- even with branded Asscher cuts.
That is to say, a well cut 1.00ct round will generally "face up" a lot larger than a 1.00ct well cut Asccher.
That's not a reason to avoid Asscher necessarily, as the look is distinctive, and some people love it.
 
I'm an asscher lover and have owned a well-cut generic assher and two Octavia asschers.
I have always admired the branded Royal Asscher, RA.
Being branded every example must meet their criteria for cut and light performance.
Generic asschers are a gamble and you need to see them in person or get a video or see an ASET pic to evaluate the cut and light performance.

IMO you can buy a branded diamond like Lazar Kaplan, Hearts on Fire, Eightstar, ACA, Octavia, Crafted by Infinity, August Vintage Round or Cushion etc., without concern for cut quality.

You are paying a large premium for such high color, E.
A common misconception is that high color and clarity translate into better brilliance and light performance, not true.
Nothing wrong with buying an E if you do so after discovering what Es look like next to lower color diamonds.

Some people can't see the difference.
Others can but don't value the difference enough to pay the huge difference in price.
Then some others say they actually prefer diamonds with more body color enough to where they would buy them even if all color grades were the same price.
FWIW I believe the majority of informed buyers prefer diamonds near H as a compromise between price and minimum color, though after reading Pricescope for 10 years the owners of J and Ks seem particularly vocal about how wonderful their color grade is.

Because Es are so expensive you should get experience looking at diamonds live to discover your color preference/tolerance.
Pictures are worthless; PS is full of pics of yellow-looking Ds and colorless-looking Js.
With their long naked facets emerald cuts and asschers show more body color than 'busier' cuts like round, cushion or radiant.
Go out and see asschers and emerald cuts graded only by GIA and AGS since other labs may have incorrectly grade color.
After learning your color preference and the price difference if you still want an E then get it.
The color-preference of others do not matter, even when they disrespect diversity and come right out and tell you an E is a waste of money for everyone. :roll:
They are not paying for or living with this diamond; You are.

Also before buying a RA also look into well-cut generic asschers, and the Octavia.
Check out the vendor goodoldgold.com, they have well-cut generics and the Octavia asscher.
RAs have more rows of facets than most generics so they have a different look.
 
David, I am not sure that you intended for your comment to sound as it did, but I did post that...

"A very thick girdle may cause the stone to have a smaller diameter..."

So the intent of the message was to pay attention to the diameter measurements to see if this specific stone faces up within the normal range for that weight or smaller. It wasn't misleading since I didn't make a general statement that thick girdles result in smaller diameters. I always check diameter of any stone with greater depth or thicker girdles since they may sometimes have smaller diameters.
 
Thank you everyone for the advice.

Kenny, I agree with what you are saying with the colour. The only thing is the RA are so scarce and my dealer does not have any stones above 1 carat except for that and another 1.6.

I was also offered a 1.6 with exact same colour and clarity. But it will cost me a whopping extra ~AUD14,000. Does any of you think the .4 difference in size is worth another ~AUD14K (~USD13K)?
 
That sounds like a lot. How much is the 1.2 ct one and what are the diameter measurements?
 
diamondseeker2006|1383106847|3547247 said:
That sounds like a lot. How much is the 1.2 ct one and what are the diameter measurements?
Click to expand...

1.2 is around AUD18000 for the loose stone(AUD has 10% GST/VAT included in total price).

Measurements are 5.9 x 5.89 x 4.05
 
DBOF has 3 RAs for sale.

I believe these are left in their inventory from when they used to be a dealer for RA.
Last time I checked the prices were quite good.
I think the reports are a few years old, but IMO this is worth looking into.

Prices are in US Dollars.
1.05 carat E VS2 $9,895 ... http://www.dbof.com/jewelry/asscher-1-05-ct-e-vs2/
1.23 carat H VVS2 $10,350 ... http://www.dbof.com/jewelry/asscher-diamond-1-23-ct-vvs2-h-royal-asscher/
1.41 carat F VS2 $13,500 ... http://www.dbof.com/jewelry/asscher-diamond-1-41-ct-vs2-f-royal-asscher/

I cannot testify as to the reputation of Diamond Brokers of Florida though.
I believe they've posted here but have been banned a few times over the years.

One thing I did not like about DBOF ...
There was a thread in which a poster was considering lab-created blue diamonds.
DBOF posted to plug their own 'blue diamonds' and called them 'natural', when in fact the color was the result of treatment.
Sure the material may have been mined from the earth but fully natural means the material AND the color are natural.
IMO, this is unethical.

If you proceed with them watch your back.
I don't trust them fully, like I trust GOG, JA, WF, and Leibish.
But if you can really get a real RA (I'd run the GIA report numbers by RA in Europe) at a low price, it may be worth a looking into.
 
JulieN,
You pick out the loveliest asscher cut diamonds. Both are gorgeous!
 
That's a LOT of money for not a lot of stone.

If I was spending 18k on an asscher I'd want a lot more size.
 
i think the RA you're thinking about getting is a little expensive in my book... i would suggest to consider a generic asscher with 4 steps... julieN posted several nice ones... you can find generic asschers with big corners and 4 steps...

however, having said that... i do own a RA, 1.23 I VVS2 6.01 x 6.05 measurements... i got it from DBOF... they were very easy and nice to deal with... it is ABSOLUTELY SUBLIME! i love RA...

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/acebruin-leon-mege-intro.79622/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/acebruin-leon-mege-intro.79622/[/URL]
 
Julie and Gypsy, thank you so much for the suggestions. I will definitely look into it. I, too, would want something bigger for the amount I would be spending. But I know the missus is quite set on a RA. :?
 
If you show a woman (or a man!) a significantly larger stone for a slight trade off like 2-3 color grades or a slight decrease in performance but still very attractive, and most people will pick the larger one.

Jon at GOG made a video, I think it was of asschers or emeralds, and many PSers liked the large, K-L stone over smaller, higher colors. The customer ultimately bought that one.
 
I wouldn't want her to be disappointed. So why don't you discuss it with her and see what she says. Show her the video of the JA stones.
 
Julie, those Asschers you picked looks amazing. Mind you, I am an asscher newbie and seen alot of bad looking ones on JA but would not have a clue on how to pick the really well-cut stones. Now, I am in a dilemma and whether the extra facets of the 1.2 RA would be better than the 1.5 - 1.7 JA asschers.

Gypsy, I wish I could discuss as openly but I need to keep it as subtle as possible lol
 
have you tried contacting Royal Asscher company yourself? they've always responded to my emails on a timely manner... maybe you can get a better price from them to cut out the middle man... just a thought... i would look for an H stone to get a bigger one than a 1.2 E...
 
acebruin|1383186410|3547912 said:
have you tried contacting Royal Asscher company yourself? they've always responded to my emails on a timely manner... maybe you can get a better price from them to cut out the middle man... just a thought... i would look for an H stone to get a bigger one than a 1.2 E...
Click to expand...
Very good advice. I'd want at least a 1.4 carat (larger honestly) if I was spending 18k.
 
moshmosh|1383184789|3547898 said:
Julie, those Asschers you picked looks amazing. Mind you, I am an asscher newbie and seen alot of bad looking ones on JA but would not have a clue on how to pick the really well-cut stones. Now, I am in a dilemma and whether the extra facets of the 1.2 RA would be better than the 1.5 - 1.7 JA asschers.

Gypsy, I wish I could discuss as openly but I need to keep it as subtle as possible lol
Click to expand...


OK so, can you tell us WHY she's set on an RA? Does she know a lot about diamonds? Has she seen generic asschers?
 
Gypsy|1383188085|3547926 said:
moshmosh|1383184789|3547898 said:
Julie, those Asschers you picked looks amazing. Mind you, I am an asscher newbie and seen alot of bad looking ones on JA but would not have a clue on how to pick the really well-cut stones. Now, I am in a dilemma and whether the extra facets of the 1.2 RA would be better than the 1.5 - 1.7 JA asschers.

Gypsy, I wish I could discuss as openly but I need to keep it as subtle as possible lol
Click to expand...


OK so, can you tell us WHY she's set on an RA? Does she know a lot about diamonds? Has she seen generic asschers?
Click to expand...

I guess it's an emotional attachment rather than a practical one!

Acebruin - I was thinking about it but they have local retailers here in Australia.
 
Well its an emotional purchase not a practical one so ... you might be getting an RA.
 
i didn't even have to finish watching the video... not knowing which one was which, at firs sight I picked the far right... hahahahahaha
 
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