Q&A: Help Choosing a .5 to .7 Ct. Emerald Cut Diamond Within a $3,000 Budget

Hi! I just found your site after doing a little looking and it is a great resource. I’ve visited a custom jeweler locally and found a setting that I think will work well for my future fiance but the stone seemed a little disappointing, admittedly because I was expecting something that looked a little bigger.

I think my criteria is relatively reasonable but I’d appreciate a little help in figuring out if I have my eye dialed in right. My budget is ~$3000, all in, with the mounting about half of that. My girlfriend has relatively small hands and works in cosmetology, so a big stone mounted on prongs probably isn’t the right thing due to snagging or scratching clients. I also understand that staying under a carat in weight avoids a price cliff. So, I’ve mostly been looking at .5 to .7 cts in stones. The setting I found is vintage with a low profile that I think would work well.

My girlfriend likes the vintage look, so I’ve been mostly looking at emerald cut. I understand that clarity is pretty important there, since there are fewer facets to hide imperfections. It sounds like color is less important that I thought, from looking through your articles but I undestand that I’m probably looking for around a G.

To my eye, something like this looks pretty good (though perhaps not as colorless): www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.60-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-1133774?a_aid=dmnd1357

while this seems to have pretty noticeable flaws: www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.63-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-952702?a_aid=dmnd1357

Am I on the right track here? Is there something else I should consider? I just picked up that 1.4-1.5 LxW ratio is probably where I want to be for cut.

Thanks! 

Thank you for the quick response.

The G was an example of what I thought I didn’t want, so thank you for the confirmation. It does help to know that my eye is getting more dialed in. 🙂

I think I understand what you are getting at. When viewed straight on through the table, there are large bars of black, correct? I see the one you sent me has those bars more broken up.

Is there anything else I should think about, based on what I told you? I think I’m nearing a decision. 

I ordered it. Didn’t see any reason to look farther. 

I will. Thanks for the help! Just wanted to let you know that I used this email for the order.