shape preference determined by size

[Almosthome]

I''ve been getting an education from my SO on diamonds, cause she has certain deeply held likes/dislikes. There''s one thing that really is hard for me to figure, perhaps it''s just her particular preference, hoping I can get some feedback cause I see/hear others voicing similar preferences.

Basic outline is that there''s not much interest in rounds for her, it''s pretty much between cushions or asschers. Of those two, it''s cushions xct. Is there some general understanding regarding a minimum size/weight for asschers on an e-ring? I suppose the ability to see into them would be lost below a certain size.

There was a salesperson in Cartier who mentioned that she thought one of their cushions was less attractive because it was under 1.x ct. Is there a similar size/weight thing for cushions?

Don''t intend for this to offend anyone who purchased a smaller stone of either or any cut. I''m not working with a massive budget myself and know that at the end of the day, it''s all personal preference. But I notice others voicing similar thoughts with these shapes and that a lot of asschers tend to be on the larger side. Are there common preferences for minimum sizes in these fancy shapes? I''m generally checking out the 1-2ct range and guess it would fall in there somewhere?

Thanks

 

[bgray]

a properl cut asscher will look smaller for its size than almost any other cut--assuming all are well cut. a cushion can be deep too but doesnt require some extra depth the way asschers do................. i would imagine a 1.5 carat cushion but be much larger looking than a 1.5 carat asscherassuming equal cut parameters.

 

[Almosthome]

Yeah, I''ve come to understand that a decently cut assher will face up smaller. But I''m trying to figure out whether that kind of preference is common enough to be considered a matter of style vs. taste, or if it''s really entirely a personal preference that''s really varied.

In the a similar vein, I personally think a 3ct round in a standard 4-6 prong setting starts to really stand out, almost to the point that it''d be hard for a youngish person to wear daily without being defined by such a thing. Heard others refer to it as a doorknob effect so I don''t think that''s an uncommon view. There are all kinds of quips women make to one another, and I just have no idea how the shape thing in particular fits into it.

I rarely see/hear people with <1ct asshers. I''m sure there are a good number, but maybe less so than other shapes? Would many women agree that asshers aren''t the preference below 1, or 1.5, or 2? Similar for cushions?

Am I making any kind of sense?

 

[sera]

I was initially looking at Asschers and decided against going with one since my stone would not be >1ct. I guess it''s mostly personal preference, but the pattern to a smaller Asscher will be more difficult to see.

I was looking at some around 5.2mm (keep in mind if you''re looking at 1 - 2ct yours would be bigger than this)... I could see the pattern but felt if I was pointing out the pattern to others unfamiliar with Asschers they might have trouble seeing it (though most people are unfamiliar with well cut anything and it all goes over their head anyway). It was my personal preference to wait for an Asscher for a RHR when I could go larger (say 1.25ct) so the pattern really stood out. It''s not to say the smaller Asscher wasn''t pretty... it was... and it was obviously uncommon and I know if I had gone with one from Good Old Gold, it would be amazing. There are some here with smaller Asschers and they are beautiful! Actually, for a RHR I would love a GOG Asscher in any size!

Personally, in the range you''re looking at I wouldn''t worry about it being too small for the pattern and looking into it... unless you are looking at a certain mm size that the Asscher won''t hit with that carat weight.

 

[arjunajane]

Sera
thats so funny, u and me are diamond journey twins!
some may remember I was originally looking to get an asscher but I too could only afford in the >1ct range. I also learnt that because of the step cuts u need to go reasonably high in colour and clarity as these will show more in general than brilliant cuts. For this reason I decided against an asscher and went the same as Sera with a PoH. This way I could drop colour and clairty a bit and get a slightly larger size.
If your girl likes the square shapes, the modified squares from GOG could be the way to go. They are very well cut and have performance simliar to an RB (ie. really good!

).

 

[sera]

Date: 3/14/2008 1:36:55 AM
Author: arjunajane
Sera
thats so funny, u and me are diamond journey twins!
some may remember I was originally looking to get an asscher but I too could only afford in the >1ct range. I also learnt that because of the step cuts u need to go reasonably high in colour and clarity as these will show more in general than brilliant cuts. For this reason I decided against an asscher and went the same as Sera with a PoH. This way I could drop colour and clairty a bit and get a slightly larger size.
If your girl likes the square shapes, the modified squares from GOG could be the way to go. They are very well cut and have performance simliar to an RB (ie. really good!

).

Yeah jane, lol. I did love the square shape too. Another deciding factor was that I was also a bit concerned I would miss the brilliant type of sparkle and decided I wanted that look for my ering and would wait for the Asscher. I was looking at cushions from ERD and the sq.H&A from GOG as well because I didn''t want round... then the PoH was born and the rest is history!

Almosthome, you might want to take a look at the cushions from ERD and the Asschers (and other square shapes like PoH, Sq.H&A, etc) from GOG. I''ll say again that personally I wouldn''t worry about a 1-2ct Asscher being too small to see the pattern... if you want it to look as big as possible then that''s something else.

 

[strmrdr]

I think ~1.5cts is around the ideal size for an asscher.
not too big not too small.

 

[monarch64]

Get her a ~2ct cushion and you have the best of all worlds, hee hee.

 

[pixley]

Date: 3/13/2008 11:47:42 PM
Author: Almosthome
Yeah, I've come to understand that a decently cut assher will face up smaller. But I'm trying to figure out whether that kind of preference is common enough to be considered a matter of style vs. taste, or if it's really entirely a personal preference that's really varied.

In the a similar vein, I personally think a 3ct round in a standard 4-6 prong setting starts to really stand out, almost to the point that it'd be hard for a youngish person to wear daily without being defined by such a thing. Heard others refer to it as a doorknob effect so I don't think that's an uncommon view. There are all kinds of quips women make to one another, and I just have no idea how the shape thing in particular fits into it.

I rarely see/hear people with <1ct asshers. I'm sure there are a good number, but maybe less so than other shapes? Would many women agree that asshers aren't the preference below 1, or 1.5, or 2? Similar for cushions?

Am I making any kind of sense?

If given the opportunity, I'd stay above 1 ct. for an asscher - with the happy place being in the 1.5~ range like Storm posted. But you could easily go into the 2 carat range without it going doorknobby. With cushions, it sort of depends on the type of cushion. Antique style cushions (see Boston_Jeff, Pauly1, Fatafelice, Cehrabehra, CrookedRock, Dmarielevin, Silverlily and myself) show off the chunkier facets better when they're large, and you can easily get into the 4 carat range without them looking like a doorknob, mostly because of their understated brilliance and inner glow. If you're going for the medium to smaller faceted cushions, I think they look great under a carat and still look fab at 2 carats plus.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I looked at several 1.25, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.75 and 2 carat asschers before making a final decision. Basically, my husband was pushing for a 2+ carat asscher because he felt the cut was so understated that 2 carats looked nice and not flashy. Two carats was more than I was comfortable wearing (I''m not a very girly girl), so I planned to stick closer to 1 carat. To my surprise, I found that the pattern of an asscher started to get a little lost around the 1.3 carat range. I think it''s because the steps get thinner, so it just becomes a little more difficult to see. I ended up deciding on a 1.5 carat that is a bright drop (this was all pre-pricescope, so I didn''t know that at the time), and I think it makes the pattern a little bolder.

So I would just take her to look at as many asschers and cushions as you can so that she can decide at which point she''d like to switch from asscher to cushion, only her eyes can make the decision.