Things to Know, Before Buying Emerald-Cut Diamonds
Posted by Hari Krishna
July 8, 2021
Emerald-cut for diamonds is probably the only cut, which has got its name from the name of another gemstone – emeralds.
The reason behind this is quite simple – this cut was earlier popular only on emeralds as emeralds are generally more fragile than diamonds and have more inclusions.
Hence, to keep emeralds safe from chipping during the cutting process, this linear cut with step facets was developed and given the name emerald-cut.
If we trace the origin of the cut, then we can find its roots in the 14th century in point cut. In point cut, the octahedral facets of the crystal rough had polished to smoothen the surface.
Later in the 15th century, the point-cut got transformed into a table cut with half of the octahedron (the rough crystal shape) was sawn off. So, you can describe table cut as the lateral half of point-cut.
The table-cut then transformed into the popular old eight cut or single cut, which had the basic shape of the table cut with the four corner facets and a small culet.
However, all these diamond cuts lacked brilliance/fire, and the first cut that got brilliance was Mazarin’s in the mid-1700s.
As time went on, the gem cutters brought variation in the table cut with step faceting and used on emeralds. This cut soon became so popular.
In the 1920s, the term emerald-cut was first used officially and used in diamond-cutting. At this point, the cut got even more recognition with the rise of Art Deco.
Finally, in the 1940s, the cut standards for unique and elegant emerald diamond-cut got standardized (in terms of range) to bring more fire/brilliance to diamonds.
Today, GIA describes emerald-cut as rectangular step cuts in its diamond grading report. However, it only grades the symmetry and polish of emerald-cut diamonds apart from clarity, color, and carat.
As the cut standard for emerald-cut diamonds still varies in the ranges to maximize their fire. But do not worry, we are here to decode the layered Art-Deco look of emerald diamond-cut for you!
So, without further ado, let us take you through the clean lines of emerald cut diamonds:
As stated earlier, there is no commonly accepted notion on emerald-cut standards but a range of parameters to maximize the brilliance in diamonds.
As we all know, the emerald diamond cut is an elongated rectangular shape with cropped corners (to add stability & prevent fractures) & chiseled step-cut linear facets parallelly arranged down the stone.
Unlike other diamond cuts, the emerald diamond cut does not have the traditional kite or star-shaped facets but small rectangular concentric facet rows (generally 3 to 4), like stairs.
Typically, the emerald diamond cut has 57 facets. Of which 25 on the crown, 8 on the girdle, and 24 on the pavilion.
The corners of the emerald diamond cut should be at 45 degrees and layer on the underside of the pavilion to create an illusion of infinite depth.
Getting back to the cut standards, ideally, the depth & table percentage for emerald diamond cut should fall between the range of 61-67% & 61-69%, respectively, for maximum brilliance.
If the depth & depth percentage falls beyond this range, then the diamond looks clumsy when viewed from the table.
Now comes the crucial aspect of an emerald diamond cut, which is the length to width ratio. The ideal range of L/W ratio for the rectangular emerald diamond cut is 1:1.4 to 1:1.5.
Although most emerald cuts are rectangular, some can be square. For square emerald cuts, the ideal L/W ratio is 1:1.
Whether square or rectangular, the emerald-cut diamonds have an open table facet with other facets stepping down from it, both on the crown and pavilion.
While the open table is a dominant feature of the emerald diamond-cut, it provides an easy unobstructed window to the diamond center.
Hence, the diamond inclusions in the emerald cut are more visible than any other brilliant cuts, which emphasizes diamond clarity.
Consequently, the emerald-cut diamonds look best in higher clarity grades, i.e., VS2 & above, and if included, then the inclusion should not be located in the center but on sides.
Generally, the step-cut diamonds have subdued sparkle than brilliant cuts. But the emerald cuts have an elegant sparkle effect akin to a hall of mirrors, with the interplay of light and dark planes.
This hall of mirrors optical effect is because all facets of emerald-cut diamonds reflect each other across the pavilion, which gives them an artistic look by creating less fiery and long flashes of light.
Even all of these were not enough to buy the mesmerizing emerald-cut diamonds, let us give you some reasons why one should buy them.
Here are the three primary reasons to buy emerald-cut diamonds over any other diamond shape:
The first and foremost reason is that emerald cut diamonds look slightly bigger than other diamond shapes of the same weight.
For example, if you compare emerald cut diamonds to round cut diamonds, the former looks approx 5% bigger than the latter due to their greater surface area.
Hence, by going with emerald cut diamonds, you will get a larger diamond without the larger price tag.
Here comes the second reason to buy emerald-cut diamonds online over any other shape, which is cost.
Despite their rarity, the emerald cut diamonds are comparatively less expensive to approx 20% than round brilliant cut diamonds.
It is because emerald-cut diamonds yield higher from the diamond rough compared to round brilliant cut diamonds.
Also, there is a lower demand for emerald cut diamonds in the market than the round-brilliant ones.
However, emerald diamonds are a little more expensive than other fancy shapes. They tend to be in line with the price of cushion-cut diamonds.
Usually, when buying emerald-cut diamonds, it is better to go with higher-clarity or eye-clean pieces as inclusions are more visible through the large table of emerald-cut diamonds.
But as mentioned, emerald-cut costs a low per-carat price, so you can get a premium clarity emerald-cut diamond at reasonable prices cheaper than round-brilliant diamonds.
Last but not least, you can experiment with distinct jewellery settings in emerald-cut diamonds and personalize your jewellery.
Emerald-cut diamonds look stunning in traditional jewellry settings like solitaire setting, bezel setting, four/six prongs setting, etc.
They also go well with modern jewellery settings like pave setting, three-stone setting, halo setting, etc.
You can go with any of the above settings or mix & match from them to make unique jewellery settings for yourself.
Also, as we have seen earlier, emerald-cut diamonds are rare, so very few people will have the same jewellery settings as yours.
So, what are you waiting for?
Get the best-suited emerald cut diamond online for yourself in our wide range of diamonds now.
