The emerald cut ring enhances the properties of strength, elegance, and new traditions. In fact, many renowned celebs, including Amal Clooney and Beyoncé, are truly in love with this beautiful shape. This is a shape, which perfectly reflects all the qualities of the diamond, unlike many other diamond shapes. Simply put, an emerald cut ring is something, which is worn by a confident woman.
The Origin of Emerald Cut
The “emerald cut” was first discovered in the 1500’s for the emerald gemstone. At this time, stonecutters made their first attempt to cut true emeralds into a rectangular shape. The stonecutters also found out that giving “stepped” facets to the emerald gemstone increased its stability, which is likely to break off otherwise. You would be able to see the stepped facets running parallel to the longest side of the gem, which looks similar to the steps of the ancient Aztec temple. Therefore, the expression “step cut” represents any gem having parallel and receding lines along its length.
Soon, the emerald cut made its way through to the diamond industry as well, when diamonds were cut in the same “step cut” pattern. The beautiful emerald cut diamond features a number of rows of stepped facets running parallel to the grids. This could be seen clearly on its crown and pavilion. This diamond shape, like any other diamond shape, has a total of 57 or 58 facets, but the concentric arrangement of facets in the cut is responsible for creating a “hall of mirrors” kind of effect in the emerald cut diamond.
Emerald vs. Radiant vs. Asscher Cut Diamonds
Radiant cut and Asscher cut are the two trendy shapes, which are most likely to be confused for an emerald cut. The silhouette of a radiant cut diamond looks similar to that of an emerald cut with their cropped rectangular corners. However, their similarities also come to an end with this because the facets of the radiant cut diamonds are smaller in order to maximize their sparkle. On the other hand, emerald cut diamonds is made up of larger facets having more depth and less scintillation. You would get a much clearer picture if you compare the droplets of water with the surface of a lake.
When it comes to Asscher cut, it features the same step cut as that seen in emerald cut diamonds. However, they look very dissimilar. An Asscher cut diamond has a square shape with cropped corners and they have a unique X outline on their top facet. In fact, the excellent placement of the facets of the Asscher cut diamond gives it a more brilliant look than both emerald cut and radiant cut diamond.
The Popularity of Emerald Cut Diamonds
Emerald cut diamonds rose to its fame in the recent years when many buyers started preferring fancy diamond shapes other than the classic round shape. That being said, the emerald cut is actually a very rare and unique shape with only a few numbers of customers choosing this diamond cut. So this beautiful diamond cut would surely make you stand out of the crowd.
The emerald cut diamonds give off an elongated look, which makes them appear much larger than a round cut diamond of the same carat weight. Simply put, when you compare a 1 carat emerald cut diamond with a 1 carat round cut diamond, the former would appear to be much larger. Putting on an emerald cut diamond ring would actually make your fingers appear slim and longer.
Buying an Emerald Cut Diamond
Just like any other diamond ring the standards of the emerald cut ring also varies a lot, and hence, it is your personal taste that should be considered primarily when buying this diamond cut.
You would be able to determine an ideal length-to-width ratio by dividing the length of the diamond by its width. The LTW ratio of the stone would determine how the diamond looks – thin, rectangular, long, or roughly square shaped. At the same time, the depth of the diamond also plays a big role in how much brilliance it produces. To get the most brilliance out of the diamond it would be perfect to go for a depth percentage of 60% to 70% of the width of the stone.
Since there are long and open facets in an emerald cut diamond, it would be difficult to hide its imperfections, and therefore, clarity of the diamond is very important. The VVS1 clarity grade or a much higher clarity grade would look perfect for this diamond. Similarly, the cut grade of emerald cut diamonds signifies the symmetry and proportions of the stone. It is always best to choose an emerald cut diamond having excellent symmetry and polish for getting maximum sparkle.