Need Help Choosing Emerald Cut

[thatjos]

Hi! I'm trying to find a good emerald cut natural stone for an engagement ring, and I have found some contenders that I would love a second opinion on. I'm not super familiar with step-cut diamonds. Given the specs, GIA report and ASET images, I was hoping to get some help learning whether these are good options.

Option 1 - 2.20 carat / E color / VVS1 [link] [GIA report] [video]
Option 2 - 2.30 carat / F color / VS1 [link] [GIA report] [video]

My main concern is regarding the cut and the resulting light reflecting, which I find hard to judge from videos online. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Karl_K]

1st aset looks ok but it has a larger table and low crown height and is not very lively.
2nd the images are not showing.
The gia report shows a larger table at 67.

 

[thatjos]

1st aset looks ok but it has a larger table and low crown height and is not very lively.

Thanks for your thoughts! I felt similarly about the first one but couldn't put my finger on it. Do you think for an emerald cut, a larger table is not desirable? I wonder whether it feels not lively because of the lower framerate video or not.

2nd the images are not showing.

I just added a direct link to the video for the second option, hopefully that works now. Apologies for the inconvenience.

 

[Karl_K]

There are very nice larger tabled emerald cuts but they do favor being bright over being flashy but they need enough crown height to go with it to give them life.
Many people prefer to keep the table under 65 but even then you can still find flat tops.
Flip them to the side in the videos and view the profile and you can tell right away.

I can't see the second video, the site hosting it is insecure with a bad security cert.

 

[thatjos]

I see, that makes a lot of sense. I hadn't considered the crown height yet, and the table being large compared to the crown height especially clarifies maybe why it seems to lack liveliness.

 

[Karl_K]

I see, that makes a lot of sense. I hadn't considered the crown height yet, and the table being large compared to the crown height especially clarifies maybe why it seems to lack liveliness.

yep
The the next thing to check for is if a lot of the diamond flashes at the same time. You want different parts flashing at different times not one whole side of the stone flashing together.

 

[thatjos]

After deciding neither of the abovementioned diamonds, I did some more digging and am offered the next following two. One has a very long length/width ratio (1.6), which I don't necessarily mind but I wonder whether that comes with consequences I'm not seeing yet. Also, it seems like I can see two specs on the video around the center, right where the GIA report notes pinpoints. Given that it's a VVS2, I'd expect those to not be visible - am I just getting into my own head about it?

The other one looks to be a great diamond, but the video looks a tiny bit milky to me? I'm not sure whether that is milkiness or just better light reflection. I was hoping to hear what people here thought about the two options and their potential drawbacks.

Option 3. 2.20 carat / D color / VVS2 [link] [GIA]
Option 4. 2.21 carat / E color / IF [link] [GIA]

 

[ecf8503]

Option 4, hands down

 

[Karl_K]

Option 4, hands down

yep
only downside is IF makes it pricey.

 

[bright&shiny]

Option 4 is a beautiful stone! I noticed the speck of dust on it and couldn't help chuckling - I'd think with an IF beauty like that they'd make extra sure the stone is clean - especially on the table. It reflected all over the stone.

 

[thatjos]

Option 4 is a beautiful stone! I noticed the speck of dust on it and couldn't help chuckling - I'd think with an IF beauty like that they'd make extra sure the stone is clean - especially on the table. It reflected all over the stone.

LOL I thought the exact same thing

 

[lovedogs]

Option 4 by a loooonnnng shot.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

No. 4. Holy balls.

 

[valenledge]

Option 4. It's beautiful and IF!!!! It's so dreamy for this kind of very clear cut.

P.S. That speck of dust is really mirroring everywhere!

 

[Wink]

As per forum ruIes, I am not going to talk about any specific diamonds.

In my opinion, when you are dealing with emerald cut diamonds, ovals, marquise, pears etc., you need to be able to pick up the phone and talk with a dealer who can walk you through some of his inventory and tell you which are the optical beauties and with are the less than magnificent.

Numbers on a grading report seldom tell you anything about how such diamonds are going to look.

The vendor should be able to make comparison photos, or better yet, comparison videos of the stone, preferably in different lighting situations.

Some can and will do it, some will not, many cannot. For the kind of money you are wanting to spend, you may well want to narrow your field down and arrange a visit to the vendor you are working with to see two or three magnificent diamonds side by side to let YOUR eyes do the walking.

 

[Karl_K]

As per forum ruIes, I am not going to talk about any specific diamonds.

In my opinion, when you are dealing with emerald cut diamonds, ovals, marquise, pears etc., you need to be able to pick up the phone and talk with a dealer who can walk you through some of his inventory and tell you which are the optical beauties and with are the less than magnificent.

Numbers on a grading report seldom tell you anything about how such diamonds are going to look.

The vendor should be able to make comparison photos, or better yet, comparison videos of the stone, preferably in different lighting situations.

Some can and will do it, some will not, many cannot. For the kind of money you are wanting to spend, you may well want to narrow your field down and arrange a visit to the vendor you are working with to see two or three magnificent diamonds side by side to let YOUR eyes do the walking.

Or pick one with high potential from the report and video and bring it in to live with for a while on a 30 day return policy.
Finding a dealer with a selection of nice in stock EC's is not likely and NYC had a lot of picked over so-so stuff even before covid.