This is the Lei è Engagement Ring Journal.
Discover how to maximise your budget, decode the diamond industry, and ensure a smooth consultation experience.
Series Two…
Getting the most out of your budget
This week we are looking at an under-appreciated ratio cuts, that visually punches well above its weight.
The 'Spready' Cuts PART II
Last week we touched on the visual wizardry of pear cut stones and how they look far bigger than the carat weight suggests.
We also laid a few seeds for thought… In reference to low pavilion cuts. There’s a great discounted-value opportunity here.
HOWEVER, this one needs a bigger disclaimer than most. As I feel the hot breath of the industry on the back of my neck.
So, let me lean in and stress this point;
You WILL sacrifice brilliance and effective sparkle returns by going with a lower pavilion.
A shallow pav' will lose a lot of the light through the bottom that is absorbed through the table/top of the stone.
These ratios DO matter.
However, as always, our angle is finding these arbitrage opportunities. Sometimes it is through illogical industry standards, other times it is genuine flaws in the ideal structures of the stone - like this instance.
Then our approach; how to capitalised on these flaws in the most effective way.
So spready stones… Let’s do it. How should we be tackling this approach?
I’d hedge everything on this;
WHEN, the main feature of the stone is not ‘ideal sparkle’ or ‘distribution of light’, then this is a good option.
Features such as;
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Unique colours;
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especially in a diamond, such as a remarkable champagne or pale yellow, you could afford to lean more on this as the key attraction and sacrifice on the perfect cutting ratio for a wider look from the top
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Unique colour zoning or patterning
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Different to the singular colours mentioned above, it can actually be a substantial asset having a lower pavilion, as it will well return less of a sparkle and allow for the viewer to see the unique patterns in the stone with much more ease.
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Cuts such as portrait cut are a great showcase for unique needles and inclusions in the stone - as they won’t disperse the colour with a lot of brillance.
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We just recently purchased the most amazing warm white diamond, with a ‘less than ideal’ ratio that the customers is over the moon with, as it is massively spready for it’s carat weight and they’re able to retain their main focus of a warm white diamond.
To get specific, the stone is only a 1.70ct warm white, with a length of 10.20mm. Most ovals around the 2ct mark only just hit 9 - 9.5mm. So it looks absolutely huge.
Also, when we say “sacrifice” sparkle, especially in the context of diamonds - its worth mentioning, it is often so subtle in nature that most untrained eyes wouldn’t notice a difference, whilst enjoying the cost effectiveness.
So, look for;
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Darker gemstones, that won’t falter to the translucence of a shallow cut
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Unique coloured diamonds, from the ‘forgotten’ range of light browns/greys, champagnes, cognacs, warm whites and anything that doesn’t perfect fit into the colour categories (as these will fetch extremely high fancy colour prices)
This is a range in which you can find significant value.
Onwards!
