Emerald-Cut Diamonds have been around for generations enhancing the look of many different jewelry collections. If you are unfamiliar with the different diamond cuts, you probably aren’t aware when you saw an emerald-cut diamond, but they are around everywhere. These diamonds look great on earring studs, rings, and even necklaces. This brilliant-cut diamond is something that adds sophisticated and elegant to modern pieces and it is highly sought after. Please read below for more information about the history of Emerald-cut diamonds.
Emerald cut diamonds have always been unique for a variety of reasons. Mostly it is due to their unique and elongated shape that incorporates step cuts on the gemstone for a “hall of mirrors” effect. They not only emit sparkle and elegance, but they look like long, extravagant stones that could potentially be worn by royalty. If you are looking for a gift for your significant other that appreciates the finer things and want an alternative to the traditional round cut diamond, getting this rectangular shape stone is certainly the way to go.
The hall of mirrors effect from these rings is beautiful, but you do need to be careful of what kind of stone you’re using. It needs to be a high cut grade, clarity grade, and color grade, because step-cut diamonds do not hide blemishes within the stone, according to diamond experts. The stones should have a high depth percentage and appear clean to the naked eye.
Celebrities Love This Style
Over the past few years, emerald-cut diamond rings have been the perfect selection for engagement rings for new couples who want to tie the knot. Engagement rings that come equipped with Emerald-Cut diamonds look modern and sleek. This style of engagement ring has been around for centuries and this art-deco look seems to always be in style.
Being that it one of the oldest diamond shapes, means that it has been worn by many different people of influence. For example, Amal Clooney was given a stunning ring by George when he proposed. Her 7-carat emerald-cut ring was set in platinum with two tapered baguettes on each side. Another famous star that was given a ring of this nature was Angelina Jolie. Jolie’s ring flashed an emerald-cut diamond ring in the middle that was 16 carats. Beyonce also has a massive 18-carat emerald cut diamond ring from Jay-Z.
Regardless of carat weight, though, an emerald cut diamond engagement ring looks absolutely stunning.
The History of Emerald Cut Diamonds
While celebrities are certainly unrelatable to the rest of us when it comes to finances, you’d be surprised that this style ring can be somewhat affordable if you know how to shop wisely. But before you can understand how much these diamonds cost, it is probably best to learn just exactly why the emerald shape grew to prominence.
Not to be confused with Asscher-cut diamonds despite the open facets they have in common, the Emerald-Cut style can be traced back to the 1500s and many people in high-class society appreciated this particular style due to the cutting process. Back then, the top surface of the octahedron was sawed off the diamond making the optical allusion that the stone and the surface area were bigger than they truly were. Also, people were starting to appreciate the culet of the stone.
Shortly after the improvements to the cut of the stone during the 15th century, the four corner facets that we see today were created. The process of getting the four corners is known old eight-cut or single cut process. The emerald-cut stones weren’t as pretty as they are today, but people just wanted these stones for their hardness. A large table cut diamond didn’t look like a sparkling stone that could be chipped off into many different unique stones. Instead, it appeared black and smooth. Stones like rubies and sapphires were much more popular because they provided the shine and sparkle you would want from a piece of jewelry.
The brilliant cuts that came shortly after the 15th century popularized the stone. Brilliant-cut stones were generally referred to as Mazarin’s, which is a term coined from the Cardinal Jules Mazarin. Cardinal Marzin had a collection of 18 different brilliant-cut stones. In the 18th century, the stone was updated to a different cutting process known as the cushion cut. It wasn’t until the 1940s that the diamond’s metamorphosis became the emerald-cut diamond which we see today in department stores because jewelers believed they could bring more fire to the diamond with the best settings possible.
Modern Day Use
These days, shopping for emerald cut diamonds has been made easy due to the popularity of the internet. You can sign online to get a good idea as to what your budget should be if you decided to go out and shop for one. The emerald cut style continues to be a favorite amongst future brides because the diamond is very simplistic in design and has quite a big sparkle factor. If you decide to go shopping for an engagement ring that has this style of cut. There are a few things that you need to keep in mind before you embark on bringing one home to your future blushing bride.
There are quite a few styles of engagement ring that you can choose from. First, the emerald-cut solitaire engagement rings show a level of sophistication and elegance due to the center stone in the middle of the band overshadowing the band itself. Halo engagement rings are also a popular choice. Emerald cut stones look stunning with all metals, from white gold to rose gold to yellow gold, just be aware that the metal you choose can affect pricing.
While you should get exactly what you want out of a ring, you should remember that sometimes less is more. If you want something a little more of a statement piece, you should go with an Emerald three stone engagement ring. This particular option comes with baguettes that show off the diamond but also stand out all on their own. Over recent years, this ring has grown in prominence and for a good reason. The baguettes can mimic steep cuts making it a natural pairing with the diamond.
Measuring an Emerald-Cut Diamond
Measuring an emerald-cut diamond can seem like a hard process, but it is actually quite simple if you know what you are doing. First, you have to realize that the width and the length, width, and depth are all equally important aspects of the diamond. Then, the width ratio can be found simply by dividing the length of the diamond with the width. The measurement is important in helping you find out if your diamond is a square shape or if it is more rectangular.
If you decide to go with bigger-sized stones, experts say that you should bypass the above ratio and just consider that the measurement of the stone is probably going to between 1.45 and 1.55. If longer or thinner is your thing, you should consider getting a stone that is 1.6. If you prefer the square look, you should go with a stone that is 1.3.
Check out our newest guide on emerald cut diamonds.
https://www.diamondmansion.com/blog/a-guide-to-buying-emerald-cut-diamonds/
Sources:
https://www.withclarity.com/education/diamond-education/diamond
https://www.rarecarat.com/education/diamond-shapes/diamond-emerald