How BIG is BIG

[zapato]

hey gang,

i''ve been following these posts for a while and i think you''re all really knowledgable (and nice!!!)!

i''m looking at a few cushion cuts for an ER and i''m confused as to why some stones have a higher carat weight but smaller length, width and depth dimensions. for example:

Stone 1: 1.5 carat measures 7.46x6.53x4.43 (appears larger)
Stone 2. 1.61 carat measures 7.23x6.48x4.42 (appears smaller)

can a heavier stone weigh less than a lighter stone?

what gives???

 

[Mara]

yes a stone can weigh more but look smaller and vice versa...it has to do with where the carat weight is distributed within the diamond.

some may be heavier in the depth portion of the stone (or bottom), so it looks smaller up top. others may have a smaller bottom and more weight in the crown/top area so it looks larger. some weight could be 'trapped' in the girdle area as well.

a well cut stone typically has a great balance between the two, i'm not familiar with cushions but hopefully someone else will chime in with what sort of specs you should be looking for in a pretty cushion cut. maybe you want more depth in the bottom and a smaller table and crown area...i'm not sure.

good luck!

 

[Kaleigh]

Stones that carry a lot of weight in their depth will appear smaller.

 

[valeria101]

That even isn''t an extreme example!


It is easier to look for diameter & weight to tell whether a diamond or another has more or less ''spread'' (looks larger for its weight). About .2mm is the least that makes a tiny bit of visual difference, IMO (a conservative statement, at least when mounted stones are concerned)... These tiny amounts start being very costly around full carat weight (1, 1.5, 2cts)... one thing to consider.

In theory, girdle width & total depth account for much of the size difference between two diamonds of similar weight, but... there may be other details of the cut that are not apparent on the lab report (between cushion.. a fat radiant style pavilion versus a pointy brilliant style one... or ???), so it may not be too useful to draw a sharp line for depth or what not.

These being said, the spreadiest diamonds may be quite ugly (imagining a 40% deep cushion with no crown to speak of and 80% table). And, IMO... we''re back at joggling 10 sets of ''numbers'' at a time without ever seeing what the diamonds look like

Any chance you could get a seller to line up a couple of decent options to choose from with better information at hand than the respective numbers?