Emerald cut diamonds sports an octagonal shape with great symmetry, but they look more rectangular to the naked eye. If the stone has a more square-looking profile, then it is called the Asscher cut. The unique diamond cut is not as popular as the round cut or many other fancy diamond cuts, which makes it much more affordable than round brilliant diamonds having the same quality characteristics.
An emerald cut diamond also differs from round cut stones in terms of its brilliance. Where the round cut aims to maximize the fire and brilliance of the diamond, emerald cut stones do not exhibit the best brilliance. This is because the facets in emerald cut diamonds are not arranged in order to bend and reflect light properly as that seen in round cut diamonds. It also means that the flaws and inclusions in emerald cut stones will be more apparent than in round diamonds.
Emerald cut engagement rings feature a stone that has a simple, yet not so common, shape. Yet an important thing to note here is that the Gemological Institute of America does not grade the cut quality of emerald cut diamonds. You can only find the Polish and Symmetry report in the grading report of an emerald cut diamond.
There are no standard measurements for defining how an ideal emerald cut diamond should be either. However, it is generally said that a good quality emerald cut diamond should feature a 60% of the total depth corresponding to 70% of the width of the stone. People usually go for a lower depth percentage in emerald cut engagement rings though, because that makes the diamond look bigger on the ring.
Evaluating The Qualities Of Emerald Cut Diamonds
Due to the lack of brilliance in emerald cut diamonds, the yellowish tints in the stone will also be more noticeable. That is why you may need to go for a higher color grade to ensure that the diamond looks appealing on your engagement ring.
A good option to conceal some amount of the yellowish tone in emerald cut diamonds is to choose a warm-colored metal like yellow gold or rose gold. This will blend the colors in the diamond with the engagement ring perfectly. However, it is recommended to go for at least H color grade when choosing emerald cut diamonds, because lower grades may look less attractive in any metal setting.
You should also choose a good clarity for emerald cut diamonds because the inclusions in the stone can be clearly visible in low clarity diamonds. The best choice will be to go for at least the Very Slightly Included (VS) clarity grade. Anything below that, like Slightly Included (SI) clarity grade, may leave you with flaws that will be readily visible in the diamond.
This means that the price of your emerald cut engagement rings may go higher than what you may have expected. However, you can look for VS1 and VS2 stones in emerald cut to find an eye-clean diamond for your engagement ring at a reasonable price.
How Emerald Cut Diamonds Differ From Radiant And Asscher Cut Diamonds
Emerald cut diamonds are often confused with radiant and Asscher cut diamonds because all of them feature a somewhat similar shape. It is seen that radiant cut diamonds sport a silhouette that is very similar to emerald cut stones. They both have a rectangular shape and cropped corners. However, radiant cut diamonds will have smaller facets that are aligned properly to maximize the fire and scintillation of the stone. Emerald cut diamonds, on the contrary, have larger facets that offer more depth but at the cost of less fire and scintillation.
Likewise, Asscher cut diamonds may also look similar to emerald cut stones, which is because they both are step-cut diamonds. However, Asscher cut diamonds are square in shape and feature a distinctive cross pattern on the top facet. They have cropped corners too, but the facets in Asscher cut diamonds are aligned properly to give the stone more fire and brilliance. This makes emerald cut engagement rings a bit less attractive than Asscher cut diamond engagement rings. However, this also reflects in their price difference.
Are Emerald Cut Diamonds Popular?
Emerald cut diamond engagement rings have started gaining more popularity in recent years. That is because people look for more distinctive and out-of-the-box ideas for their engagement rings these days. Going for a classic round diamond shape seems clichéd, while having a rectangular rock on the fingers on your big day is sure to turn heads.
Many popular celebrities have also been spotted flaunting emerald cut engagement rings. This includes Angelina Jolie, Amal Clooney, Beyonce, and many others. So going for an emerald cut engagement ring will not only make you stand out from the crowd, but it will also unleash the fashion-forward diva in you who follows the latest style trends. Besides, with an emerald cut diamond, you will always have a visually bigger stone to show off.
