Elegant and unique, the emerald-cut diamond is a beautiful choice for your diamond jewelry. If you’re considering the striking emerald cut for your engagement ring or another diamond design, read on. In this guide to emerald cut diamonds, we’re sharing everything you need to know about this fancy shape. We’re going over the emerald cut diamond’s characteristics, history, sparkle, and best settings, then detailing what you should look for when buying an emerald cut diamond.
What is an Emerald Cut Diamond?
The emerald cut has been one of the most popular diamond shapes for hundreds of years. This diamond shape looks like a rectangle with cut corners when viewed from above. Emerald cut diamonds have step-cut facets that are long, linear, and arranged in parallel rows. These step-cut facets produce beautiful flashes of light and make it easy to see inside the diamond. This gives emerald-cut diamonds a pure, clear look.
The History of Emerald Cut Diamonds
The emerald cut was created in the 1500s, making it one of the oldest diamond shapes still used today. This cut was first used for emerald gemstones, which are brittle due to their high level of natural inclusions. Stonecutters started using the emerald cut because it put less pressure on the fragile emerald, thereby reducing the risk of chipping the gem during the cutting process.
The emerald cut was originally called the table cut. The name emerald cut was coined in the 1920s after the cut became extremely popular for diamonds. Emerald cut diamonds were in high demand during the Art Deco era of the 1920s when the shape’s beautiful symmetry and strong geometric shape were perfectly on-trend.
The emerald cut diamond hit peak popularity during the Retro era of the late 1930s and 1940s. The diamond shape was perfect for the style of the period, which celebrated eye-catching designs, romance, and sophistication. Because emerald-cut diamonds were so in demand during the Retro era, they’re often considered to have a vintage style that harkens back to the elegant glamour of the age.
Emerald-Cut Diamond Sparkle
The emerald-cut diamond produces a unique type of sparkle because it has step-cut facets, rather than brilliant-cut facets.
Most diamond shapes feature a version of the round brilliant cut diamond’s faceting. This type of faceting, called brilliant cut faceting, features many tiny facets that break up light and create dazzling shimmer. The majority of today’s popular diamond shapes feature a brilliant cut. Examples of brilliant-cut diamonds include princess cut, oval cut, pear-shaped, marquise cut, radiant cut, and round cut diamonds.
Emerald cut diamonds, on the other hand, feature long and linear step cut facets that create larger flashes of light. The emerald-cut diamond’s facets are arranged in a parallel fashion, resulting in a beautiful interplay of light within the diamond. The mesmerizing reflection of an emerald diamond’s facets is referred to as its hall of mirrors effect.
If you’re shopping for a diamond for your engagement ring or another piece of jewelry, you have options. You, of course, have your choice of diamond shape, carat weight, and quality. Then, you can also choose whether you want a natural diamond or a lab-grown diamond.Read More
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