What are the Ideal Statistics for a pair of 1 CTW Diamond Earrings?

[vicstasi]

What are the ideal depth, table, crown and pavilion angles for a pair of 1 ctw diamond earrings?

Does 14k, 18k and platinum make a difference in the setting?

Looking to purchase a pair of 1 ctw diamond earrings that are eye blinding sparkly and that look larger than 1 ctw and pay around 22oo+ Is that possible?

Thanks for the advise!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/21/2010 2:35:38 PM
Author:vicstasi
What are the ideal depth, table, crown and pavilion angles for a pair of 1 ctw diamond earrings?

Does 14k, 18k and platinum make a difference in the setting?

Looking to purchase a pair of 1 ctw diamond earrings that are eye blinding sparkly and that look larger than 1 ctw and pay around 22oo+ Is that possible?

Thanks for the advise!

Hi Vic and welcome!

You can go with the traditional ideal cut proportions which I will post for you or you can go for slightly shallower proportioned " spready" stones which although not always suited for a ring due to obstruction ( visible darkening of the stone due to head shadow), can be super for earrings, they can look large for the weight and very bright and brilliant although fire or coloured light can be down somewhat. However don't look to be going for diamonds which look much larger for the weight as this could involve sacrificing cut quality. Also it might be an idea to look under your carat weight target to help the budget as there can be price jumps involved at ' magic weights' such as 0.50ct.


You can run any contenders through the Holloway Cut Advisor to see which proportions score below 2, shallower proportioned diamonds often score below 1 on the HCA which as noted previously can be fine for earrings or pendants. There are various proportion configurations which could work for shallow stones but the HCA is very useful to help with this and always confirm with Idealscope images.
Alternatively you could look at preset diamonds or ask your chosen vendor to match you a pair within your budget.

For the best visual balance then the ' Near Tolkowsky" proportioned diamonds might be your best bet, here is a guide you can use to help you find 2 well cut stones.

Concerning the metal for the setting, I would personally be inclined to go for 14k white gold so you can put as much money as possible into the stones, I would also look at I or J colour and SI clarity to try to get as much weight / size for the budget.


depth - 60 - 62% - although my personal preference is to allow up to 62.4%
table - 54- 57%
crown angle - 34- 35 degrees
pavilion angle - 40.6- 41 degrees
girdle - avoid extremes, look for thin to slightly thick, thin to medium etc
polish and symmetry - very good and above

Note - with crown and pavilion angles at the shallower ends ( CA 34- PA 40.6) and steeper ( CA 35- PA 41) check to make sure these angles complement in that particular diamond - eyeballs, Idealscope, trusted vendor input - check as appropriate!

As the above implies, configurations depend on each other. A little give here can still work with a little take there.

From expert John Pollard.

With that said, here's a "Cliff's Notes" for staying near Tolkowsky/ideal angles with GIA reports (their numbers are rounded): A crown angle of 34.0, 34.5 or 35.0 is usually safe with a 40.8 pavilion angle. If pavilion angle = 40.6 lean toward a 34.5-35.0 crown. If pavilion angle = 41 lean toward a 34.0-34.5 crown.

GIA "EX" in cut is great at its heart, but it ranges a bit wider than some people prefer, particularly in deep combinations (pavilion > 41 with crown > 35).

If you wanted to go for preset, you could get 0.75ct for your budget in this listing.

http://www.whiteflash.com/Fine-jewelry/Diamond_Studs/Four-Prong-Diamond-Basket-Earrings--READY-SET-TO-GO_822.htm

 

[oldminer]

You can afford about H-SI1 in well cut stones. What you really can''t do is get the best in bright, sparkly ones AND have them be visibly larger than their proper range of diameter. You might find a pair 0.1mm larger than another pair but we are not talking about some major variance in size without sacrificing their light performance in some way which may be meaningful to you. I suggest gold mountings for this project to keep the overall cost in budget range. 14 karat gold is just fine for most earrings. If a person is sensitive to the alloy in white gold earring wires, you may need to consider yellow gold or platinum wires, but most folks can tolerate 14 karat in white or yellow.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

For studs, 14K makes the most sense. If your diamonds sparkle, nobody is going to see the settings. Platinum just adds additional costs that take away from your diamond budget!

 

[Rockdiamond]

Date: 1/21/2010 2:35:38 PM
Author:vicstasi
What are the ideal depth, table, crown and pavilion angles for a pair of 1 ctw diamond earrings?


Does 14k, 18k and platinum make a difference in the setting?


Looking to purchase a pair of 1 ctw diamond earrings that are eye blinding sparkly and that look larger than 1 ctw and pay around 22oo+ Is that possible?


Thanks for the advise!

I do believe you can buy a nice pair of 1.00 studs in your price range.
However to do so will require you to find a vendor who has the diamonds in hand, and can both match a pair, as well as evaluate them for you.
I do not agree with the percentages posted above- although they are oft repeated here.
Stones with slightly larger tables- around 60%, and are slightly shallower ( no more than 61%)- look better in studs IMO- and also have a much better shot at looking large for the weight.

Regardless of that- trying to do this by picking diamonds based on formulas likely won''t get you where you want to go nearly as much as having a trusted source pick stones- and match them for you.

I agree that in your price range, sticking with 14kt white gold makes the most sense.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/21/2010 3:32:40 PM
Author: Rockdiamond

Date: 1/21/2010 2:35:38 PM
Author:vicstasi
What are the ideal depth, table, crown and pavilion angles for a pair of 1 ctw diamond earrings?


Does 14k, 18k and platinum make a difference in the setting?


Looking to purchase a pair of 1 ctw diamond earrings that are eye blinding sparkly and that look larger than 1 ctw and pay around 22oo+ Is that possible?


Thanks for the advise!

I do believe you can buy a nice pair of 1.00 studs in your price range.
However to do so will require you to find a vendor who has the diamonds in hand, and can both match a pair, as well as evaluate them for you.
I do not agree with the percentages posted above- although they are oft repeated here.
Stones with slightly larger tables- around 60%, and are slightly shallower ( no more than 61%)- look better in studs IMO- and also have a much better shot at looking large for the weight.

Regardless of that- trying to do this by picking diamonds based on formulas likely won't get you where you want to go nearly as much as having a trusted source pick stones- and match them for you.

I agree that in your price range, sticking with 14kt white gold makes the most sense.

David, just to clarify, the above percentages were posted as an option for this poster as they requested actual guidelines along with the suggestion to consider shallower proportioned " spready" stones which could also be matched by an experienced vendor skilled in evaluating cut quality. Of course you do not have to agree with those proportions but they could well be relevant and useful to the poster.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Sorry Lorelei, I only noticed the part in bold.
My goal is always to assist a person asking-.
To further clarify:
vicstasi- In the $2200 price range my suggestion about working with a trusted vendor is even more important.
Basically, if the supplier is working with a parcel of diamonds, they need to pick pairs for earrings based on their visual characteristics. It's likely that in this price range, the diamonds won't have GIA reports ( it's possible, but lack of reports is not "deal breaker" in this price range IMO)
Trying to do it by Table/Depth/CA/PA is going to handcuff the person picking.
Sometimes two diamond with ostensibly identical measurement don't match visually.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/21/2010 4:38:59 PM
Author: Rockdiamond
Sorry Lorelei, I only noticed the part in bold.
My goal is always to assist a person asking-.
To further clarify:
vicstasi- In the $2200 price range my suggestion about working with a trusted vendor is even more important.
Basically, if the supplier is working with a parcel of diamonds, they need to pick pairs for earrings based on their visual characteristics. It''s likely that in this price range, the diamonds won''t have GIA reports ( it''s possible, but lack of reports is not ''deal breaker'' in this price range IMO)
Trying to do it by Table/Depth/CA/PA is going to handcuff the person picking.
Sometimes two diamond with ostensibly identical measurement don''t match visually.

No problem David!

 

[vicstasi]

Thanks everyone for the information! I appreciate it very much.