How To Buy Emerald Cut Diamonds

*Note: ODBA no longer recommends EnchantedDiamonds.com

Q:

Hi Liz,

Great site! I was wondering if you could tell me what the girdle should be on an emerald cut diamond? Also, do you have any specific area of your website that gives detailed info on emerald cuts? I’m looking for a 1.5ct with a budget of around $13,000 for the diamond and ring.

Thank you,

Isabelle

A:

Hi Isabelle,

That’s a great question. As emerald’s are step-cut they are not as predictable in cut grade as round brilliant and therefore the guidelines for dimensions and proportions are very loose. However, we can aid our search by looking for emeralds with the following characteristics:

Table: 60% – 65%
Depth: 60 – 67%

Length/Width ratio: 1.30 – 1.75 (most people prefer the 1.40 range)

Girdle: Very Thin to Very Thick (as a general rule)

First and foremost we are looking for how the diamond is cut and the resulting light reflection from within the internal facets. As emerald’s are step cuts, they will not show as much brilliance as a brilliant cut (round, oval, princess, etc.) but they should still have light reflection that is evenly distributed and mostly from direct light sources.

Another thing to consider is clarity grade with step-cut diamonds. As the step-cut makes it easier for inclusions to be visible, it is best to keep clarity grades at VS1 or better (generally). We also need to consider length/width ratios which a traditional shaped emerald would have a l/w ratio of between 1.30 – 1.75. As with most diamond shapes you are looking for a girdle that is even and not excessively thin (vulnerable to fracture) or thick (excessive carat weight held in girdle along with poor cut proportions).

To make your search easier, ODBA has a diamond search tool with over 120,000 different loose diamonds from four different online retailers. The advantage here is searching through actual magnified images rather than trying to decipher GIA reports with limited data and no actual images. The Diamond Genie also lists proportions and suggested color/clarity for this shape and filters all these results for you automatically so it is a super easy way to find ideal cut diamonds online.

As an example, I just ran a search for you and found this beautiful 1.52ct F VVS1 with ideal cut grade and beautiful light performance for only $11,200.00: https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/E152-CVDQP1

1.52ct Emerald Diamond with ideal cut proportions showing excellent direct light return in it’s ASET image.

This diamond has a table of 61%, depth of 65.4%, girdle is slightly thick to very thick, and length width ratio of 1.458. It’s exceptionally clean with a VVS1 clarity grade and shows beautiful light performance as indicated by the ASET image. Overall, it’s an excellent choice and fits well within your budget range.

Let me know what you think!

Kind Regards,

Liz

Q:

Hi Liz,

Thanks for the quick feedback and recommendation. That diamond looks fantastic!

Isabelle