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Seeking opinions on oval Diamond - video/specs included

layercake11

layercake11

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 9, 2023
Messages
17
Hi all! Looking for an opinion on the oval Diamond below, which would be set in yellow gold halo. My checklist is below - do you think this hits the mark?:

- Faces up white and bright set in 14K Yellow gold french halo oval setting
- Good brilliance - 'fire and sparkle'
- Eye clean
- 1.5+ carat
- 6K budget for diamond

relinking the vid! https://frankdarling.com/diamonds/diamond-230625-28HK/
https://d3at7kzws0mw3g.cloudfront.net/video/Vision360.html?d=230625-28&btn=0&sv=0&z=0

specs: https://frankdarling.com/diamonds/diamond-230625-28HK/

Thanks in advance!!
 
Ovals are really difficult to evaluate. Videos at that angle dont really help that much either. Sometimes they can definitely tell you
that a stone wont be good but mostly they only tell you that a stone has potential to be good (but needs further evaluation).

Can you request an aset image? They may or may not have one but its worth asking. If they can get you one then post it here.

The issue with ovals is that the green areas will be decent facets that return light well while the areas marked in orange will
be virtual facets that hang on to tint (you're looking at an I) and do not return light well. You want to find a stone that has
fewer virtual facets and more facets that directly return the light. (An aset image can tell you how well the stone is doing this...
unfortunately, it is only one static picture of the stone and doesnt tell you what it's doing as it moves/rotates).

This is the stone you are looking at.

Screenshot 2023-11-17 082052.png


The stone you are looking at (and most ovals are cut this way) has 8 mains off center from the middle. You can see
this by looking at the GIA report pavilion view of the stone. Look at the areas that make up the star like pattern.
Ovals can come in 8 mains off set from center, 8 mains on center, 6 mains and 4 mains. Some Super Ideals come in 10 mains.

I have had better luck finding nice stones that are 6 main and 4 mains (ie stones with better light return). As I said though,
they are far and few between. If you are going to go with an 8 main off set from center like you posted you need to try
to look for stones that as they rotate bring more good facets* into view. By "good facets" I mean facets that directly
reflect the light (virtual facets are where the light bounces around several times inside the stone before exiting the stone).
Virtual facets lose light as it bounces around. The more direct facets the better the light return will be.

Google "oval aset image". The red facets are the more direct facet and show good light return, green is next best. I believe
blue will show up as contrast (which you need a little for scintillation). Black or white (depending on the background) is usually
leakage so not good.

I hope some of this helps. Like I said, ovals are hard.
 
tyty333 said:
Ovals are really difficult to evaluate. Videos at that angle dont really help that much either. Sometimes they can definitely tell you
that a stone wont be good but mostly they only tell you that a stone has potential to be good (but needs further evaluation).

Can you request an aset image? They may or may not have one but its worth asking. If they can get you one then post it here.

The issue with ovals is that the green areas will be decent facets that return light well while the areas marked in orange will
be virtual facets that hang on to tint (you're looking at an I) and do not return light well. You want to find a stone that has
fewer virtual facets and more facets that directly return the light. (An aset image can tell you how well the stone is doing this...
unfortunately, it is only one static picture of the stone and doesnt tell you what it's doing as it moves/rotates).

This is the stone you are looking at.

Screenshot 2023-11-17 082052.png


The stone you are looking at (and most ovals are cut this way) has 8 mains off center from the middle. You can see
this by looking at the GIA report pavilion view of the stone. Look at the areas that make up the star like pattern.
Ovals can come in 8 mains off set from center, 8 mains on center, 6 mains and 4 mains. Some Super Ideals come in 10 mains.

I have had better luck finding nice stones that are 6 main and 4 mains (ie stones with better light return). As I said though,
they are far and few between. If you are going to go with an 8 main off set from center like you posted you need to try
to look for stones that as they rotate bring more good facets* into view. By "good facets" I mean facets that directly
reflect the light (virtual facets are where the light bounces around several times inside the stone before exiting the stone).
Virtual facets lose light as it bounces around. The more direct facets the better the light return will be.

Google "oval aset image". The red facets are the more direct facet and show good light return, green is next best. I believe
blue will show up as contrast (which you need a little for scintillation). Black or white (depending on the background) is usually
leakage so not good.

I hope some of this helps. Like I said, ovals are hard.
Click to expand...

Wow, first off thank you so incredibly much for your thoroughness in explaining this to me. I’m going to request if they have an aset image and also do some additional self education on this. You are right, most of what I’ve seen are the 8 mains, I didn’t even realize 4 mains was an option.

The link you shared for the Adiamor stone actually looks pretty appealing to me, so I’ll dig in. Would you expect that stone you linked to perform well?
 
Also, are the green and orange areas good or virtual based on your assessment, or are those where they are generally located across all diamonds.

Without having an aset image, are there any red flags about the stone I posted? Or does it appear to have a good chance of performing well. Do you think the stone would face up white?
 
layercake11 said:
Wow, first off thank you so incredibly much for your thoroughness in explaining this to me. I’m going to request if they have an aset image and also do some additional self education on this. You are right, most of what I’ve seen are the 8 mains, I didn’t even realize 4 mains was an option.

The link you shared for the Adiamor stone actually looks pretty appealing to me, so I’ll dig in. Would you expect that stone you linked to perform well?
Click to expand...
I would expect it to perform decently but it does show some darkness through the center
Screenshot 2023-11-18 083600.png
 
layercake11 said:
Also, are the green and orange areas good or virtual based on your assessment, or are those where they are generally located across all diamonds.

Without having an aset image, are there any red flags about the stone I posted? Or does it appear to have a good chance of performing well. Do you think the stone would face up white?
Click to expand...

The green areas would be areas that return light well (good). The orange areas are where the light bounces around more and will
be "mushier". In other words, will not show as good light return due to the many virtual facets.

What you want to look for in a good oval...
When the stone rotates you want to see more distinct facets light up in the center area headed up towards the rounded ends.
By "distinct" I mean facets where you can see the outline of them. The first picture shows the green area that I'm talking about
where you want to see more distinct facets light up.

The second image I posted shows in the orange area lots of virtual facets that are mushy and dont return light well.

Oh...and I should say, the more you learn about ovals the harder it is to find a good one that satisfies your needs.
 

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Last edited:
I'm going to point out some stones that have better than average light return. Ignore color/clarity/size...just look at faceting patterns
and light return.

4 mains
www.jamesallen.com

1.20 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 1.2 carat I color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

6 mains
www.jamesallen.com

1.02 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 1.02 carat K color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
www.jamesallen.com

1.02 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 1.02 carat K color vvs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
www.jamesallen.com

1.04 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 1.04 carat J color if clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
www.jamesallen.com

1.01 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 1.01 carat H color vvs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

8 mains
www.jamesallen.com

1.01 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 1.01 carat G color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
www.jamesallen.com

1.01 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 1.01 carat G color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

I'll leave it at that for now...
 
tyty333 said:
The green areas would be areas that return light well (good). The orange areas are where the light bounces around more and will
be "mushier". In other words, will not show as good light return due to the many virtual facets.

What you want to look for in a good oval...
When the stone rotates you want to see more distinct facets light up in the center area headed up towards the rounded ends.
By "distinct" I mean facets where you can see the outline of them. The first picture shows the green area that I'm talking about
where you want to see more distinct facets light up.

The second image I posted shows in the orange area lots of virtual facets that are mushy and dont return light well.

Oh...and I should say, the more you learn about ovals the harder it is to find a good one that satisfies your needs.
Click to expand...

Oh wow I definitely see what you mean by mushy. They sparkle but are kind of blurry and not ‘distinct’. Now I can appreciatewhy the video styles of James Allen (tilted 360) help to show this a bit more.

Can I ask your advice of the below diamond. I’m in love with one of the settings from this jeweler and want to avoid having to deal with logistics of Diamond and setting from different vendors. For the Diamond below, it looks very eye pleasing to me, I would just want to understand potential concerns with brilliance and fire, and then if you had any concerns on the feather compromising the durability of the stone. Would be set in halo so I’m less concerned that it would be extremely visible

360 https://d3at7kzws0mw3g.cloudfront.net/video/Vision360.html?d=230525-253&btn=0&sv=0&z=0

Specs https://frankdarling.com/diamonds/diamond-230525-253HK/
 
Have your jeweler bring it in. (should be free of charge). Dont have it set until you see it and decide you like it.

It looks like one of the better "typical" cuts. It has a wide area of decent facets through the center. How well they
do as the stone turns at an angle is sort of up in the air due to the angle of the video. It does have a big feather on
the side which might make it Not eye-clean...you ok with that? Sometimes we give on certain things to get other
things (give on clarity to get size).

What does the setting look like that you are interested in?
 
It is an online jeweler (Frank darling). This particular Diamond is overseas, which means they can’t bring it in house for review ahead of purchase. However if I purchased, once it is brought in, I would be able to get a refund if I didn’t like. I would make sure they don’t set unless I was okay with the Diamond.

Setting is here https://frankdarling.com/engagement-rings/the-french-halo-oval/

Would you have concerns with the feather compromising integrity of stone (ie if it’s surface reaching, could it cause a chip)?

I asked the rep from the jeweler about this one and she said that it could potentially be cloudy (not sure I see this). And that the GIA states that additional clouds not shown, and given it’s an SI1, that may have been contributing to the rating, since it’s otherwise pretty clean. Could the feather alone have driven an SI1 rating or was the jeweler onto something? Just trying to figure out if it would be worth the hassle to purchase it so we can review it.

Thank you again!!
 
Gorgeous setting! I see why you like it.

It would say "Clarity based on clouds not shown" if the clouds were causing the SI1 clarity. Its definitely the feather.

I tend to think that clouds arent really a problem when I see what's on the report for the stone you're looking at.

Let me take another look at Frank Darling and see if they have any other stone that might* be a good/better choice.
I think I already checked early on (a few days ago) but it doesnt hurt to check again.
 
You are so incredibly sweet for helping me! I hugely appreciate it. While the ratio is a bit high on that stone , I’m warming up to it! I love the spread on it too - more visual carat for the buck.
 
As far as the feather, though it’s may be eye visible, I don’t mind this inclusion as much. To me it feels more characteristic than like a defect to me, if that makes sense. And I think the prongs on the setting might help distract from it, that’s my hope!
 
tyty333 said:
Gorgeous setting! I see why you like it.

It would say "Clarity based on clouds not shown" if the clouds were causing the SI1 clarity. Its definitely the feather.

I tend to think that clouds arent really a problem when I see what's on the report for the stone you're looking at.

Let me take another look at Frank Darling and see if they have any other stone that might* be a good/better choice.
I think I already checked early on (a few days ago) but it doesnt hurt to check again.
Click to expand...

Hi there, wanted to get your thoughts on this Diamond. I started to explore this site after you showed a Diamond here. This looks eye pleasing but would you consider the facets blurry here?

1.50 Carat I VS2 Oval Natural Diamond GIA Certified 1455708602 Excellent Cut - D55315768

1.50 carat, Oval, I Color, VS2 clarity, GIA Certified Diamond, Excellent Cut Natural Diamond, D55315768
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
 
what about the elyque by AV (Rhino). Read somewhere that he eliminates the bowtie in middle of stone and the mushiness at the north/south ends of oval.
www.distinctivegem.com

The Elyque Oval by AV Inc.

The Elyque Oval by August Vintage Inc. is the first oval of it's kind that eliminates the bowtie effect, eliminates blatant light leakage as well as color absorption producing the brightest, most stunning oval diamonds to ever hit the market and are confirmed AGS Ideal. Each day I am alerted to...
www.distinctivegem.com www.distinctivegem.com
 
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