The elegant emerald cut

With fancy shape diamonds in high demand, we thought we would take some time to take a good look at each of our favorite fancy shape stunners.  And of course, there is no where I'd rather begin than the ever-so-elegant emerald cut diamond.  A personal favorite of mine and the diamond shape that adorns my engagement ring.  

Emerald cut diamonds are one of the oldest diamond shapes around with its origin estimated at over 500 years ago.  The style of cut was first established for the beautiful green emeralds we are very familiar with today and then adapted to the diamond as it was thought to prevent chipping and damage with its cut corner design. Their cutting style is quite different from the round brilliant cut diamond as each facet is linear, long and extremely clear to the unaided eye.  This type of cutting style is what we know today as step cutting.  

Emerald cut diamonds were not extremely popular until the 1920's when the clean and simple lines of the art deco era came into popularity.  We saw a surge of emerald cut diamonds set into iconic jewellery pieces such as the engagement rings that adorned the fingers of past beauties Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy, to the more current engagement rings of Beyonce, Angelina Jolie and Amal Clooney. Each ring the epitome of elegance.

Shopping for an emerald cut diamond is a little different than what you would expect for any other diamond shape.  Because of their step cut cutting style, you can see right down and into every stone allowing no where for blemishes and imperfections to hide.  This is why we put a lot of emphasis on clarity for these shapes of diamonds.  

Cut is also another very important characteristic to keep in mind for the emerald cut diamond.  No two emerald cut diamonds are the same, unlike the round brilliant cut diamond where a round is a round.  Each emerald cut diamond can have a slightly different rectangular shape from long and slender to a little shorter and chubbier.  Each client has a shape and length to width ratio that they prefer, but we like to stick to a ratio of 1.40-1.50.  

When it is all said and done and you have narrowed down your selection to a few beautiful diamonds, last but not least is to trust your eye.  Only you can decide what looks perfect to you and what shape of emerald cut diamond makes your heart skip a bit.  

If you are in the market for an elegant and classic emerald cut diamond, pop by or check out our website for some beautiful, timeless pieces.