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Seeking a large Emerald Cut

johnSD said:
Thanks for the info! We do like the one on Grace’s site. But she really leans towards modern... like this one attached. Likes these lines and step pattern.6FCADF70-AD5A-42B8-B62D-D91ECD06D127.png .
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The BN diamond is a closer match.
 
I missed where she said she didn’t want antique. I thought OP was going to just research.

Does she like the ones on Jogani’s IG? Could he do some hunting for them? I wouldn’t hurt to reach out. He has a great eye.

OP have you reached out to good old gold? They also do a great job of searching, and they take great videos too which should save you time and energy. Online without videos is such a hit and miss.
 
LLJsmom said:
I missed where she said she didn’t want antique. I thought OP was going to just research.

Does she like the ones on Jogani’s IG? Could he do some hunting for them? I wouldn’t hurt to reach out. He has a great eye.

OP have you reached out to good old gold? They also do a great job of searching, and they take great videos too which should save you time and energy. Online without videos is such a hit and miss.
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by johnSD » Yesterday at 5:04 PM
Just went to Yoram's site where he had a comparison of vintage and modern EC. My wife definitely does NOT want vintage EC!

It was mentioned earlier in a post on the previous page after John mentioned he'd spoken to Yoram. I had a look through Jogani's site, nothing really matches but he might be able to come up with something. Jon's no longer at GOG ( not sure if you know), not really sure who else is there that's great with fancy shapes, I'm sure there's someone though.
 
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I think when you’re searching for such a significant and specific stone it never hurts to reach out to the trusted professionals. Even though Jon is no longer there I would still reach out to GOG. He can’t be the only one with an eye for great ECs at GOG. And jogani has his sources too. I think these vendors don’t always immediately update their websites and has stones that aren’t even on their sites. It doesn’t cost anything to ask.

OP did you check with IDJ?
 
LLJsmom said:
I think when you’re searching for such a significant and specific stone it never hurts to reach out to the trusted professionals. Even though Jon is no longer there I would still reach out to GOG. He can’t be the only one with an eye for great ECs at GOG. And jogani has his sources too. I think these vendors don’t always immediately update their websites and has stones that aren’t even on their sites. It doesn’t cost anything to ask.

OP did you check with IDJ?
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Absolutely and John's going to speak to Karl too, so there's various people on the hunt.
 
Lorelei said:
Absolutely and John's going to speak to Karl too, so there's various people on the hunt.
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@johnSD , definitely ask Yeuketiul at ID jewelry as well. (Sorry always butcher the spelling of his name.) Yes more people on the hunt for you will result in a higher chance of finding the right stone for you.
 
Really great info everyone. Contacted Blue Nile, will probably hear from them Monday. In contact with Jonathon and he seems hopeful and excited he can deliver a custom EC with our desired specs. Did contact ID Jewelry a while back, didn’t speak to Y... don’t know the spelling:) but spoke to another gal. She couldn’t come with anything I had not already seen. Will keep you all informed more tomorrow!
 
I wanted to add a comment about culets.
My diamond from Yoram has what GIA graded as a large culet, and it is prominent in photos, but due to the nature of the performance of the cut, in real life the culet is not obvious.
 
johnSD said:
Really great info everyone. Contacted Blue Nile, will probably hear from them Monday. In contact with Jonathon and he seems hopeful and excited he can deliver a custom EC with our desired specs. Did contact ID Jewelry a while back, didn’t speak to Y... don’t know the spelling:) but spoke to another gal. She couldn’t come with anything I had not already seen. Will keep you all informed more tomorrow!
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Excellent!
 
Update...my wife spoke to Brian and Jonathan today. Both gave some great info on custom cutting. Most risky sounds like the color grading being from H-J. Question, why do most cutters send their stones to AGS after cutting? Because they grade in cutting/light return? I would want my wife’s to go to GIA which may be more strict on color?
 
johnSD said:
Update...my wife spoke to Brian and Jonathan today. Both gave some great info on custom cutting. Most risky sounds like the color grading being from H-J. Question, why do most cutters send their stones to AGS after cutting? Because they grade in cutting/light return? I would want my wife’s to go to GIA which may be more strict on color?
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It’s great that she got to speak with them. AGS and GIA both have excellent reputations for grading so don’t be worried about that. In fact, in some cuts AGS even has a slight edge.

As for the color, they probably guarantee an I +/- one grade, hence H-I-J.The people who select the roughs are incredibly experienced and rarely get it wrong. It does happen occasionally, but no one wants an unhappy buyer so you can bet that they’ll do their best to satisfy your requests.
 
Yes, exactly. We are shooting for an I so could go to H or J. Just have read quite a bit about AGS being "slightly" more lenient with color. Both Brian and Jonathan would have no doubt beautifully cut stones! But color is tricky and shows a bit more in ECs.
ILikeShiny said:
It’s great that she got to speak with them. AGS and GIA both have excellent reputations for grading so don’t be worried about that. In fact, in some cuts AGS even has a slight edge.

As for the color, they probably guarantee an I +/- one grade, hence H-I-J.The people who select the roughs are incredibly experienced and rarely get it wrong. It does happen occasionally, but no one wants an unhappy buyer so you can bet that they’ll do their best to satisfy your requests.
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Then we go up to G-I range and it may get a bit more costly. The trouble with custom cuts!

QUOTE="ILikeShiny, post: 4333707, member: 84979"]Agreed. So maybe ask for an H instead?[/QUOTE]
 
Have you vetted all of these options? Some look promising with their specs but you’d need to ask for images.
 
johnSD said:
Yes, exactly. We are shooting for an I so could go to H or J. Just have read quite a bit about AGS being "slightly" more lenient with color. Both Brian and Jonathan would have no doubt beautifully cut stones! But color is tricky and shows a bit more in ECs.
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Hi John,

Having a CC is definitely an option, just to bring this up that you'd need to check with Jon and Brian regarding if the stone in question broke or shattered during the cutting process, it's my belief the client absorbs the loss, not the cutter or any intermediary. I don't think this is something you can insure against either so do check carefully should you decide to go this route, it is albeit rare but still a factor you need to consider.

Some feel AGS is less strict than GIA for colour grading but generally the Superideals go to AGS because their performance based cut grading reports are the most coveted, but the colour issue is subject to opinion re any leniency from the labs.
 
I under no circumstances would consider custom cutting on a stone this size and price range. As you can see from looking at many diamonds, they are all different. If the stone came out within the expected range, you'd be stuck. There is no way I'd ever commit to buying a 3-4 ct stone I have not seen. There have been a couple of high dollar large stones custom cut that had difficult endings.

I personally would continue looking. I'd have Karl at Diamonds by Lauren looking or Yekutiel at ID Jewelry. Choose one person to look because they pretty much have access to the same lists.

The Blue Nile stone looked good. What's the status of that?
 
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That would be a deal breaker, no pun intended, if the stone was damamaged during the process. We wouldn’t agree to it.

Lorelei said:
Hi John,

Having a CC is definitely an option, just to bring this up that you'd need to check with Jon and Brian regarding if the stone in question broke or shattered during the cutting process, it's my belief the client absorbs the loss, not the cutter or any intermediary. I don't think this is something you can insure against either so do check carefully should you decide to go this route, it is albeit rare but still a factor you need to consider.

Some feel AGS is less strict than GIA for colour grading but generally the Superideals go to AGS because their performance based cut grading reports are the most coveted, but the colour issue is subject to opinion re any leniency from the labs.
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Wow diamondseeker! This is really good information but makes us nervous to think about it anymore than we already have. Both cutters seemed so confident in their ability to produce an ideally cut diamond with beautiful optics. It was so appealing to us because we could get the color we wanted, approximately, And get the spread we are looking for. Both cutters say they can cut a larger diamond by-not leaving a lot of weight in the bottom of the stone. The ones we have looked at online just don’t measure big enough and my wife would rather hold out for a larger measuring a diamond. The blue Nile one was beautiful, but still a little too small measurement wise.

After reading your reply we are definitely going to have to rethink this whole process. It seemed like such a winner before :confused:

diamondseeker2006 said:
I under no circumstances would consider custom cutting on a stone this size and price range. As you can see from looking at many diamonds, they are all different. If the stone came out within the expected range, you'd be stuck. There is no way I'd ever commit to buying a 3-4 ct stone I have not seen. There have been a couple of high dollar large stones custom cut that had difficult endings.

I personally would continue looking. I'd have Karl at Diamonds by Lauren looking or Yekutiel at ID Jewelry. Choose one person to look because they pretty much have access to the same lists.

The Blue Nile stone looked good. What's the status of that?
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You need to ask for written details of the Custom Cutting terms and conditions - each cutters' approach may be different, and you should definitely go into it with your eyes open.

I thought that some custom cutting involved setting a range and a target price, and then if it comes out larger/higher colour/higher clarity, you still pay the same and come out with a bonus, whereas if it comes out smaller/lower colour/lower clarity, you pay less and the cutter takes the hit.

That is only one method, though, and others may be different!
 
johnSD said:
That would be a deal breaker, no pun intended, if the stone was damamaged during the process. We wouldn’t agree to it.
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Understood, it's definitely something you would need to clarify, Jon or Brian's terms may differ but it's usually the case that if anything happens, the owner of the stone absorbs the loss or the one commissioning the cut, definitely something you need to make sure of.

I really think you'd be better off buying a stone that matches as closely what you want as possible, as there are no guarantees of anything, be it the finished weight, look, performance and colour and clarity of the stone, or its integrity. It's a risky thing to undertake but that's me.
 
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johnSD said:
Wow diamondseeker! This is really good information but makes us nervous to think about it anymore than we already have. Both cutters seemed so confident in their ability to produce an ideally cut diamond with beautiful optics. It was so appealing to us because we could get the color we wanted, approximately, And get the spread we are looking for. Both cutters say they can cut a larger diamond by-not leaving a lot of weight in the bottom of the stone. The ones we have looked at online just don’t measure big enough and my wife would rather hold out for a larger measuring a diamond. The blue Nile one was beautiful, but still a little too small measurement wise.

After reading your reply we are definitely going to have to rethink this whole process. It seemed like such a winner before :confused:
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The biggest risk is the cut. What if you get your I color, VS2 clarity, but it has no ""life" to it... dead spots, no hall of mirrors effect, etc....? Stepcuts aren't graded on cut, so you can't put that in the contract. And since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you can't put an arbitrary "approval of cut" clause in the contract either.

The only stepcut I'd ever have custom cut of that size is an Octavia, and that's because it's cut to exact, precise measurements so you know what you'll come out with. Until an emerald cut is created with that same kind of formula, it's really a huge risk.
 
This is going to be a process, one we are definitely going to have to think through and be patient with. A lot of unanswered questions to be worked out. I do believe I would be guaranteed a J and if it went higher in color or higher in clarity, that would be a bonus without an additional charge. Brian has started to cut custom emerald cuts so I really do not have a fear of the quality of his diamonds. Jonathan seems very encouraging as well, but he hasn’t produced any modern ECs as of yet. However, Brian will only cut a 1.35- 1.4 EC where as Jon will give us more of what my wife wants... 1.3 or below. My wife is extremely patient as this is not her first time diamond and she wans it to be spectacular. So I will keep you all informed and anyone that has any more information please chime in. Thanks again!
 
One last note, Jon’s ovals on his website are amazing! He prides himself on light return And optics, and did say he would send out the EC to his oval cutters.
 
HI Johnsd!
Welcome to PS_ and wow- exciting journey.
I'm an emerald cut lover myself.

Speaking from personal experience, I've found that custom cutting involves too much uncertainty.
Just as one example- it's not possible to say, with 100% surety that a given piece of rough is NOT fluorescent.
If I'm looking for a type of stone which is commonly cut, I've found that buying a finished diamond is far less stressful.

Good luck in your search!!
 
johnSD said:
One last note, Jon’s ovals on his website are amazing! He prides himself on light return And optics, and did say he would send out the EC to his oval cutters.
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Everyone here can tell you that I have the highest regard for Jon and his diamonds. I am one of his very biggest fans! My stone in my avatar picture was designed by Jon and cut by Yoram. It’s a treasure!

But you mentioned the ovals. They are gorgeous modern ovals with the best light return an oval has ever been! But to get that light return, the stones are cut deeper and face up smaller than most generic ovals. So do not assume that a custom cut one is going to face up larger in diameter. Plus, I’d never be the guinea pig on a cut that hasn’t been produced before.

There has been a circumstance of a 5 ct stone (different shape) being custom cut for someone and the clarity fell below the agreed upon terms. So the seller was totally stuck with a stone hard to sell and worth much less than the rough was estimated at and purchased for. The converse could happen if the buyer didn’t love the cut of the stone or a clarity issue.
 
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