Vintage Elegance: Emerald-Cut Diamond Engagement Rings 

Diamond has a wide variety of cuts, each having its charm and beauty. While some shapes and cuts offer a fun and captivating look, some boast a chic and classic look. The emerald cut is one such cut that gives off a vintage yet timeless and sophisticated look.

The emerald-cut was ingeniously inspired by the way emeralds were cut way back in the 15th century, also inspiring the name for the same. It rose to popularity around the early 20th century, the Art Deco period, with a focus on straight, linear settings and symmetry. Ever since then, this cut has remained one of the popular choices for jewelry, especially engagement rings. 

Initially known as ‘table-cut, the emerald diamond is a step-cut diamond with 57-58 facets which gives it its trademark ‘hall of mirrors’ or staircase effect with the interaction of light and dark planes. While less fiery, the long lines and dramatic flashes of light give the emerald cut an elegant charm.

Once diamond cutters used this kind of cut for diamonds, they realized that the cut made the diamond more elegant and sophisticated and enhanced its clarity. 

The emerald-cut is one of the oldest and original diamond cuts. The term originally used was ‘multi-faceted table cut’. It got its current name only around the 1920s.

Emerald-cut diamond makes any piece of jewelry look elegant, classy, and eye-catching by its subtle charm. That very property makes it a perfect stone for engagement rings. The emerald diamond ring is such a popular choice that many celebrities, like Amal Clooney, Sarah Jessica Parker, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce, and many more, are een donning them. The true appeal of an emerald-cut diamond ring: this stone shape appears bigger than others. That makes it a perfect choice for an impressing and awe-inspiring engagement ring.

The 4C’s of Emerald-cut Diamonds.

Just like every other diamond cut, the 4C standards can also be used to analyze emerald-cut. 

Clarity: Due to the way they are cut, the insides of the diamond are a lot more visible to the naked eye, hence it is always a good idea to go for diamonds that have high clarity When it comes to emerald-cut diamond engagement rings, the best-suited diamonds are those that fall under SI1 to VS2 grades. Diamonds of clarity higher than VS will look the same to the naked. Also, going for diamonds below SI2 might not be a good idea as the inclusions and blemishes to those diamonds are easily visible to the naked eye.

Color: The color variation within the emerald diamonds is a lot more visible due to its cut. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. 

Color selection in the diamond is quite a personal choice. Many people prefer the slightly warmer tones of a G-H grade diamond over the clear and colorlessness of a D-F grade diamond, paired with a white metal like platinum or white gold. Often, body-color is easily visible in an emerald-cut diamond because of the large, open facets. 

Cut: It is the most important and prominent aspect of the emerald-cut diamond as it dictates the signs of brilliance and shines the diamond will show. Cut also includes polish and details of facet shape and placement. The cut affects both the weight yielded and the optical efficiency of the polished stone. 

Carat: This is the weight of the diamond. The more the weight, the more is the carat and more is the price. Since carat is the measure of the physical weight of the diamond, two diamonds of the same carat can end up looking different based on their cut.

The final value of the emerald-cut is highly dependent on how successful the diamond-cutter is in balancing the 4Cs.

Furthermore, it is important to note that the 4C grading system is just a guideline or precept for the diamond’s quality and not the qualitative and quantitative measure. The 4c guideline doesn’t provide an absolute answer. 

A diamond’s appearance may have a lot more things that are beyond the 4C guidelines. Also, sometimes the provided information can be inaccurate and misleading, which might affect your thought process when you decide to go diamond shopping. 

In such a scenario it is best to buy what you like rather than what these guidelines dictate. Unlike other cuts, emerald-cut diamonds highlighted the stone’s clarity rather than shine and glimmer, making clarity and color grade important details to pay attention to when ring shopping. On top of the 4C of the emerald diamond, the length-to-width ratio is also important to be noted. The ratio is obtained by dividing the diamond’s length by its width. The length to width ratio tells how proportionate the diamond is with its shape (i.e. rectangular vs. square). The most preferred ratio is 1.50, which doesn’t mean that diamonds with other ratios would be any less appealing or beautiful.

THE BEST SETTING FOR YOUR EMERALD-CUT ENGAGEMENT RING

Before you decided to go buy a diamond engagement ring, it is better to analyze your lifestyles, fashion choices, preferences, and budget. It will help you find the setting that will provide you the best results in terms of view and protection when it comes to your diamond. 

Emerald-Cut diamonds provide a wide horizon of settings to choose from and every one of them is brilliant in its way. Simple solitaire settings and glittering halo settings are two of the most preferred emerald-cut engagement ring settings. 

Prong settings are quite a favored option for engagement rings and the go-to choice when it comes to settings. It makes the diamond appear bigger as it is the center of the setting. Prongs don’t obstruct the view of the diamond, allowing the stone to be seen.

Emerald-cut diamonds don’t sparkle. Rather, their beauty lies in the contrast of light and dark planes. The prong setting maximizes this effect, allowing excellent light reflection. The light allows for the contrast between dark and light in the steps to be visible, adding depth and dimension to the diamond.

Also Read:  Antique & Vintage Engagement Rings: What You Need to Know

Solitaire setting: The solitaire setting spotlights the center stone. Such a design can be easily customized, to the taste of the person. 

A solitaire setting with a simple band is quite popular as the risk of being overpowered by any secondary stone or designer metalwork would be less.

However, some people prefer accent diamonds in the band, which can add that extra oomph to the ring.

Halo setting: Halo type settings are surrounding the centerpiece, that is, an emerald diamond with accent diamonds or detailed metalwork contouring it. Such a setting gives off a lovely, antique vibe. 

They create a surrounding sparkle that emphasizes the unique beauty of the emerald cut, all the while keeping the focus on the center stone.

One of the main advantages of the halo is that a smaller center stone with a surrounding halo can make the center diamond look bigger.

Halo settings are safer for emerald cuts than prong settings, as they form a buffer around the diamond. 

Other settings: While solitaire and halo setting are quite popular, they are not the only setting options one is restricted to. Another quite preferred option is a three-stone emerald setting. Settings where a center emerald diamond is accented with baguette diamonds on either side the baguette diamonds are also step-cut cut diamonds with linear or tapered edges. They compliment the center diamond and make the emerald cut diamond ring look much more beautiful. 

For women with wider fingers, the three-stone ring setting provides great coverage and fit the hand snuggly. There nothing like ‘too many emerald cut diamonds’, so setting them side by side is simply pretty and awe-inspiring. The emerald cut goes well with most engagement ring settings so choosing the right one will not be that hard.

The only setting that doesn’t suit this emerald cut to its best advantage is a bezel setting. Because the metal surrounds the gem, it reduces the amount of light that can enter the gem and refract through the facets. This can cause the gem to look dull, dim, and lifeless. However, some people preferred the subtlety offered by the bezel setting around the emerald cut diamond. It does provide a contemporary look. In such a case, other factors such as metal, other designs, and the accent diamonds could make it more appealing.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT METAL FOR YOUR EMERALD DIAMOND

Emerald cut engagement rings give off varied looks, appeal, and aura with each metal. The most popular metal with emerald cuts is either white gold or platinum. Lately, more brides are opting for rose-gold for its romantic and vintage appeal while yellow gold gives a classic and traditional look.

Choosing another color of metal or opting for a two-tone ring to create contrast is also a great option. The prongs that hold the diamond can be a white metal like white gold or platinum if the diamonds are D-F grade. 

Yellow gold prongs would be able to reflect some yellow tinge of its onto the colorless diamond making it appear a different color than its original. They would also suit the emerald diamonds that contain tinges of yellow or brown in them.

The likelihood of seeing the color of the diamond increases if the diamond is of grade M or lower. In that case, opting for yellow gold will highlight the yellowness of the diamond while opting for a white metal band will decrease the visible tinge of the diamond.

There also exist diamonds that do not adhere to the D-Z color grade spectrum of the diamond. Diamonds with vivid colors such as blue, brown, pink, yellow, and green are called “fancy colors” and choosing the correct metal to emphasize and suit these distinctive stones is key to achieving a breathtaking piece of jewelry.

For yellow diamonds, platinum or white gold metal can be chosen. That will help to highlight the natural yellowness. You can also go for yellow gold for the band that will harmonize natural the yellow tinge of the diamond. 

Also Read: Vintage Rose Gold Engagement Ring For Your Sparkling Moment 2021

WHY EMERALD CUT ENGAGEMENT RINGS ARE A PREFERED CHOICE

• Emerald cuts look bigger: The emerald cut makes the ring appear more pronounced hence making it appear larger and therefore, more attention-seeking and eye-catching. For example, an average 1-carat emerald-cut diamond has a 5% greater surface area than a 1 carat round cut diamond. Therefore, you are getting a diamond that looks bigger without the increase in price tag.
• Emerald-cuts slim down the fingers: Due to their elongated and step cut, emerald diamonds make it seem as if the wearer’s fingers are longer and leaner than they actually are. These diamonds draw attention to the length of the finger rather than the girth. Of course, not everyone finds a plus point of these diamonds but some people love this feature.
• Emerald-cuts will not burn a hole in your wallet:  Emerald cut diamonds generally lie on the less expensive side on the spectrum of the diamond price scale. Despite their rarity, the price is still about a quarter less on an emerald cut diamond than on any other cut
• Emerald-cuts make each ring unique: Moreover, emerald cut diamonds are a rarity. And considering the large options available for customization, each ring tends to be unique and different from the taste of the bride.

Emerald cut rings are versatile, chic, and classic. One cannot go wrong with this style. Given that such a style also lets you run wild with your creativity and creativity is just a bonus. Emerald-Cut Diamonds offer an ornate shape and unique Step Cuts.

When taken care, they not only maintain their original shine and brilliance, but they also develop a vintage aura that just increases the appeal of these rings. Emerald Cuts are a remarkable choice for those desiring a larger-looking Diamond without a substantial price tag. That is positive if a diamond ring is your preference for an engagement ring