Talk me out of it... 75% table on Asscher?

[evergreen]

I want to buy an Asscher for a necklace and found one which looks great in photos and video, has the really-clipped-corners/octagonal look i like, an inclusion I don't care about, and is in budget. But it's got a 75% table, 57% depth. Seriously, light performance looks *fine* from video, though with those numbers I'm kind of astonished; a little too much obstruction but not terrible. Is a necklace a situation when you'd consider a big table? I might be able to get an ASET, though maybe not; return policy is great.

And if you figure out which diamond this is, please be kind and don't "out" it.

 

[Matthews1127]

@Karl_K,
l’m thinking ASET.
You?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

A lot of the beauty in an asscher is the crown. A huge table means a tiny crown. I don't even look at asschers with tables over 65, and I prefer 60 or less. So I will say, I'd never consider an asscher with a 75 table. But I will look at a picture and tell you if I change my mind!

 

[evergreen]

@diamondseeker2006 it is a sadly flat crown. :/ I have an emerald cut ring I wear daily and my only regret is that the crown is quite flat (despite a decent 65% table) so from the side view it's the opposite of ring-pop. Still, on a necklace, I practically never see it myself, so I'm looking for something that'll catch light and sparkle from a distance...

@Matthews1127 I bet that's where this is heading. I made myself an ASET viewer using instructions posted on here, oh, about a year ago, so even if I can't get one from the seller I could try to do it myself.

 

[Karl_K]

run.....................
With those numbers it could be cut to be bright in some lighting but that would be all it would have going for it.

 

[evergreen]

Aw shucks. Well, tomorrow when I'm on my laptop I'll see if they'll hold it for a bit & if there's an ASET. This is a weird one, no matter what we think of the numbers alone. I have a hard time giving up on the weird ones.

ETA: sometimes "weird" is synonymous with "a stunning waste of crystallized carbon". I can be realistic, too.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Lol! You can find a MUCH better asscher than that! The very big downside of buying a poorly cut stone is if down the road you find something you like better and want to sell it. Well cut stones sell and poorly cut ones are very hard to sell.

 

[MarionC]

I just posted this elsewhere....
“When I scroll through hundreds of ascchers online I always find myself focusing on a very specific look. I like the ones where the center kind of pops out at you, a culet, more clipped corners, table mid-fifties, slightly off 1.0 ratio..
It makes me wonder if each of us prefers a certain flavor of cut because of the way we see and process images : ) “

Something in that stone is speaking to you : )
Can you see it in person?

 

[rockysalamander]

If they have a great return policy and you are not on a schedule, give it a try. But, why this stone? Is is much less expensive? It is the Charlie Brown tree of asschers?

 

[valeria101]

.
I am certainly not going to talk you out of those numbers - the one square step cut that was to become the model of my favorite diamond cut www ª, was 58% (depth), 67% (table) ...

____
ª the two squares are of the right style, not those proportions

 

[evergreen]

OK, JA is holding the diamond, though not surprisingly they're not able to get an ASET. @valeria101 can you show a picture of what you mean?? I'm really intrigued!! @Jimmianne it does speak to me, but I'm just not slam-dunk sure. @rockysalamander it might be the Charlie Brown tree. Poor weird little thing... return policy is awesome, though. @diamondseeker2006 , it's not an investment stone at all -- haha, at all, it's $660 for a F/SI1, the level where I'd be pretty bummed if I lost it, but not financially bruised, which is kinda my sweet spot for necklaces. So I'm not really thinking about resale.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/0.44-carat-f-color-si1-clarity-sku-3180369

Now you can see it in all its wonky glory, what do you think? Worth seeing in person?

 

[valeria101]

.
The stone is long gone ... I have seen even better since [imagine a grayhound with a nose for square step cuts ...]

The small square step cuts from GemConcepts look identical - shape, flavour of light return, everything: there are a few pictures on IS: face-up WWW & face-down www ! Those do not seem to have any crown at all - so the table % must be immense ...

I know that the look works for smaller diamonds - from nothings to perhaps two carats ... I have never seen a LARGE diamond cut this way, only for brighteness.

_____

RE. your stone: writing the previous post, I was thinking that the only way for those numbers to work with cut corners would be in a close to octagonal diamond, so that the corner facets would have approx. the same angles as the sides, since there isn't much room for them to vary & remain bright ... and this is exactly what the stone is ! .-) I imagiene that the darkness seen in the JA photos does depend on the video setup (distance to camera), so it may not be a problem in person. If the ASET comes pitch black with contrast, I'd still want to see the object, truth be told: there are uses in this world for a diamond signalling device (that can do a broadest flash of light), methinks.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, well it would have helped to know the size, because at that small size you won't be able to see the details all that much anyway. Light return matters, but even that is hard to say without seeing it.

 

[MarionC]

As DS said, the stone is so small that you won’t see much if any detail.
At that size the detail would be barely distinguishable, even the shape.
I'm speaking from experience with a 0.50 asscher. At arm’s length it looked like a round brilliant.
Not to put down your choice, I love the shape and think it’s a decent stone, but you might be disppointed.
Do you have it on hold?

 

[evergreen]

Yes, it's on hold. Only so much you can get for $660. So: I emphatically don't like the faceting in a RB at this size, but the face-up size of a 0.4ct round would be great as a necklace.

 

[evergreen]

I guess that is to say: would a 0.4ct Asscher like this one look different at a distance from a 0.4ct RB? I know I don't like tiny RBs... Too splintery. Tiny OECs are a little better but the faceting still gets lost and gets tiny/random/mooshy sparkle at a distance. Wondering if "tiny octagonal step cut" would give bigger, more organized flashes...

 

[Lula]

I have five 3.5 x 3.5 mm carre-cut diamonds. They are approximately .25 carats each. They are loose now, but when they were set in a five-stone band, they definitely did not look like round brilliants! The flash and fire is completely different; they show bars of color, not splinters. The eight .08 carat carre cuts that are channel set into the band of my right-hand ring also do not look like round brilliants, even at that small size. Carre cuts have large tables and square (not clipped) corners. The diamond you are considering looks like a carre cut with clipped corners. The stone you are considering may display a distinct on-off geometric pattern, and flash bars of color. It will also display a lot of table reflection, which some people dislike. James Allen has a great return policy, and it is an interesting stone. I don't think you'll be able to judge much about it unless you see it in person.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

No, an octagonal step cut is not going to give bigger flashes at .40cts. The facets are very tiny at that size. But as Lula said, the little facets are organized differently so it won't look just like a round. However, you can fairly easily get a .40 round that has edge to edge light return. You really have to search to get an asscher with that kind of light return, and you'd need an ASET or several stones to compare in person to judge which had the best light return. I have a one carat asscher and it has excellent light return, but the facets are still tiny and it's hard to really appreciate the asscher characteristics at that size.

 

[Karl_K]

OK, JA is holding the diamond, though not surprisingly they're not able to get an ASET. @valeria101 can you show a picture of what you mean?? I'm really intrigued!! @Jimmianne it does speak to me, but I'm just not slam-dunk sure. @rockysalamander it might be the Charlie Brown tree. Poor weird little thing... return policy is awesome, though. @diamondseeker2006 , it's not an investment stone at all -- haha, at all, it's $660 for a F/SI1, the level where I'd be pretty bummed if I lost it, but not financially bruised, which is kinda my sweet spot for necklaces. So I'm not really thinking about resale.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/0.44-carat-f-color-si1-clarity-sku-3180369

Now you can see it in all its wonky glory, what do you think? Worth seeing in person?

That is a really interesting diamond and shows a lot of cutting skill or luck.
Move it around in the video and pay attention to the flashes, large and slow to flash with little to no small and medium flashes.
That is what is meant by lack of life.
That it is small actually is to its advantage.
It is actually a stone I would love to see in person.
Kinda quirky in a kewl way.
If you decide to get it for that factor I will revise my run statement.
Looking at it as wanting a well performing asscher in a variety of lighting its still run.

 

[evergreen]

Ha! @Karl_K "lack of life" sounds terrible, but maybe it's actually what I want - big/slow flashes (which, on a small diamond, might really be medium-size flashes). I definitely don't like pinfire. And I'm seriously ALWAYS attracted by quirky! @Lula good point about the table reflection... But i think I'm gonna see it in person. My curiosity is piqued, too!

 

[Karl_K]

be sure and view it in a lot of lighting conditions if you see it in person.
It will definitely do better in some than others.

 

[MarionC]

Evergreen
did not mean to say it would perform all splintery like a rb,
just that the shape of mine, in its setting, was hard to distinguish, but the right setting will accentuate the beautiful shape.
Meanwhile, I'm so glad you are the one who put it on hold!

 

[valeria101]

Ha! @Karl_K "lack of life" sounds terrible, but maybe it's actually what I want - big/slow flashes

If you weren't half a world away @Karl_K , I'd have a beer & talk of 'life' & light, 'flicker' & 'flare', 'glare' & 'glint' ,-)

I have no idea why these shards of light appeal to me more ... I wish there were a way to see @diagem an Octavia between such crownless square step cuts - likely as different as sapphire & ruby !

Digressing ...

 

[whitewave]

OK, JA is holding the diamond, though not surprisingly they're not able to get an ASET. @valeria101 can you show a picture of what you mean?? I'm really intrigued!! @Jimmianne it does speak to me, but I'm just not slam-dunk sure. @rockysalamander it might be the Charlie Brown tree. Poor weird little thing... return policy is awesome, though. @diamondseeker2006 , it's not an investment stone at all -- haha, at all, it's $660 for a F/SI1, the level where I'd be pretty bummed if I lost it, but not financially bruised, which is kinda my sweet spot for necklaces. So I'm not really thinking about resale.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/0.44-carat-f-color-si1-clarity-sku-3180369

Now you can see it in all its wonky glory, what do you think? Worth seeing in person?

No. Those large dark steps are a deal breaker for me.

 

[evergreen]

@whitewave you mean the obstruction? Yeah, it's not great, but I also feel like flat table often means obstruction, so not surprised... Hoping that since it's for a necklace it will be ok anyway, since it's never really viewed up close.

 

[whitewave]

Yes, I assume it means they flash off at the same time. Still, I'm interested to hear of what you think when you see it.

 

[evergreen]

OK, so: it's got really good light return (and it's completely adorable). The table reflection thing is real, and the low crown means it has basically no fire, but it's such a white-white diamond and the actual light performance is great in all light. I managed an ASET with my home-made viewer, and it aligns with what i see in person. I really don't notice the obstruction that the JA video suggested was there. I think it'll make a great DBTY-style necklace. Sorry for the phone camera shots.





Thanks for your advice and curiosity about this stone -- I love weird diamonds and this one is not only weird but a good performer! Pretty excited to get it set.

 

[whitewave]

It is darling! I love the shape. I can't wait to see it set: please be sure to post pics!!!

 

[OoohShiny]

Those pics are teeny tiny! But it looks interesting and the ASET is not at all bad

I'm looking forward to more pics when it's set!

 

[evergreen]

Haha @OoohShiny I know. Lazy cell phone pictures! Gotta find the real camera... But anyway, the humongous JA video did a great job; it looks even better in person since the obstruction isn't really that prominent.