How To Buy The PERFECT
Emerald-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

The Emerald-cut Diamond Engagement Ring is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Emerald-cuts are a classic shape, evoking elegance, grace and nostalgia of the glory days. This is Wilt scoring 100 and holding up the sign in the locker room. This is Bill swatting 5 shots and snatching 3 times as many rebounds. Emerald-cuts are the Golden Age of Diamonds.

• Scouting Report: Gorgeous elongated shape, huge surface area by Carat Weight, perfect for 3-stone Rings and “Art Deco” designs.
• Needs improvement: Color and Clarity need to be higher than an equivalent-size Brilliant-cut Diamond (Rounds, Ovals, Pears, Marquise, Radiants, Princess-cuts, Cushions, Hearts), to mask easily visible Clarity imperfections and shades of included coloration.
• Popularity Rank (Current): #5
• Surface Area / Carat Weight Rank: #3
• Light Return Rank: 10th. Emerald-cuts are all about elegance, not light return.

Want the quick steps instead of reading the whole Playbook? We got you covered.

1. Set Cut Grade from “Ideal” to “Excellent”
2. Set Color Grade to “E”
3. Set Clarity Grade from “VVS2” – “VS1”
4. Open Advanced Filters and set Polish and Symmetry to “Excellent”
5. Set Price to your ideal budget for the whole Ring, minus a $1,000 buffer for the Setting
6. Select “IGI” as the Lab
7. Set Depth from 60 – 68%
8. Set Table from 58 – 68%
9. Manually check that Crown Height is between 11 – 16%
10. Manually check that Pavilion Depth is between 47 – 53%
11. Manually check that the Diamond is CVD Type IIA (always passes diamond tester)
12. Set your Carat Weight range. Factor in:
    1. How large of a Diamond she’s comfortable wearing
    2. How large of a Diamond looks nice but not “overpowering”
    3. The cost of the Setting (let’s say roughly $1,000)

Cut Grade of an Emerald-cut Diamond

Cut Grade refers to how well your Diamond reflects light. An “Excellent” Cut Emerald-cut Diamond reflects lots of light around the corners and edges, a beautiful combination with the long, elegant facets in the center. Who says the fundamentals can’t be brilliant?

Straight from the IGI’s Fancy-shape “Excellent” Cut Guidelines, below are the Proportion #s behind an “Excellent” Cut Emerald-cut Diamond. “Excellent” Cut means maximum sparkle from all parts of the Diamond and no dark shadows.

Let’s look at a real “Excellent” Cut Emerald-cut Diamond’s IGI Report below…

All Proportions within “Excellent” Cut range…

• Table % is 68% in the Report above ✅ Optimal light received into the Diamond.
• Depth % is 67.4% in the Report above ✅ Optimal Carat Weight distribution, no shadows, and Diamond looks like a proper 2 carat (overly-deep Diamonds look smaller once set in a Ring, since most of the weight is on the bottom, which you can’t see).
• Crown Height is 13% in the Report above ✅ Optimal balance between fire (rainbow-colored light) and brilliance (white light). Too much brilliance and the Diamond looks “glassy”, too much fire and it looks like a Moissanite.
  • Crown is a Diamond’s top half, above the girdle.
• Pavilion Depth is 52% in the Report above ✅ Maximum volume of light is being reflected from the Diamond.
  • Pavilion is a Diamond’s bottom half, below the girdle.
• Girdle is Medium in the Report above ✅ The Diamond is durable and bears no risk of chipping while being set in your Ring.
  • Girdle is the Diamond’s border dividing crown and pavilion.
• Polish is “Excellent” in the Report above ✅ Each of the Diamond’s facets are polished to the highest degree possible.
• Symmetry is “Excellent” in the Report above ✅ If you split the Diamond in half, right down the middle, one side would look exactly like the other. Fire, brilliance and scintillation (contrast between light and dark areas) are displayed evenly.
• Length/Width (8.79 divided by 5.92) ratio is 1.48 ✅ If you prefer a more “boxy” look, stay around a ratio of 1.35-1.40. For a longer look, 1.50-1.56.
• Cutlet is “Long” ✅ The pavilion facets all meet at the flat bottom of the Diamond, which has been cut proportionally and isn’t visible when looking down at the Diamond.
• Comments Section: This isn’t a Proportion, but since we have the Report open, make sure you’re looking at a CVD Type IIA Lab Diamond. These are the purest form of Diamond, and they always pass diamond pen testers.

When you’re searching for a Diamond online, let the Report be your guide. If you’re unsure or just want to confirm the Diamond’s beauty, call or text us @ 305-796-6143.

You see the “Additional Requirements” section at the bottom left corner of the “Excellent” Cut Guidelines chart above? Our team will double-check that in person by analyzing the Diamond under ASET Scope to confirm there’s no bowtie. 

• Note: An Emerald-cut with a bowtie will have blue (contrast) as the primary color across the middle under ASET Scope. An “Excellent” Cut will have red (max light return) and green (lesser light return) as the primary colors across the middle under ASET.

Quick Note:
“Ideal” isn’t an official Cut Grade for IGI graded Fancy-shape (non-Round) Diamonds. The highest Cut Grade they can receive is “Excellent”.

When a jeweler lists a Emerald-cut Diamond as “Ideal”, it’s a marketing gimmick, not an official Cut Grade shown on the Diamond’s Grading Report (aka Certificate). Keep an eye out for this! Trust the data straight from the Laboratory that’s grading the Diamond (the IGI or the GIA).

Set Cut Grade from “Ideal” – “Excellent”, Table from 58-68% and Depth from 60-68%.
On the IGI Report, check Crown Height (11-16%) and Pavilion Depth (47-53%).

What’s the best Color Grade for my
Emerald-cut Diamond Engagement Ring?

When it comes to picking your Lab-Grown Emerald-cut Diamond’s Color Grade, the place to be is the “Colorless” Range- D, E and F. Our favorite Color Grade is “E”, because it’s the perfect mix of price and quality. This applies to any size Diamond, from 1 carat all the way to 6 carats+.

• “D” Color Diamonds have no included coloration. They’re perfect. The ‘72 Dolphins but make it a Diamond.
• “E” Color Diamonds have the SLIGHTEST amount of coloration. Just like “D” Color Diamonds, they’re a bright, crisp white. Think 72-10 Chicago Bulls. Perfect season? Almost. Championship-level? Absolutely.
  • The difference between a “D” Color and “E” Color Diamond is SO SLIGHT that it begs the question, “Is that tiny upgrade worth $500, $1,000, etc. more?”. That’s totally up to you, but in my opinion, “E” is the sweet-spot. 
• “F” Color Diamonds are the last grade in the “Colorless” range, with a minor amount of included coloration. Remember, Emerald-cut Diamonds don’t sparkle as well as Brilliant-cut Diamond shapes. This makes any included coloration easier to see, as it doesn’t get lost in the sparkle. The drop to “F” Color will be even more noticeable here, “E” is a much brighter shade of white.

Set your Color Grade filter to “E” and move on to the next step. 

What’s the best Clarity Grade for my
Emerald-cut Diamond Engagement Ring?

If you’ve read our guides for any Brilliant-cut Diamonds, this paragraph doesn’t change. If they can’t stop your bigs, keep dumping the ball into the post (AKA if it ain’t broke don’t fix it). BUT, when it comes to Step-cut Diamonds, Clarity Grade DOES matter. Don’t panic. We’ll fix that below.

Again, all that you care about in terms of Clarity is that your Diamond is eye-clean. An eye-clean Diamond has no imperfections that are visible to the naked eye.

Usually, the best Clarity Grade for your Emerald-cut Diamond Engagement Ring is either “VVS2” or “VS1” depending on your Diamond’s size. Every Diamond is different, but as a general rule of thumb, once you break 3.50 carats, consider a “VVS2” Clarity Diamond. And once you break 6 carats, consider a “VVS1” Clarity.

Below, VVS1, VVS2 and VS1 Clarity 3 carat Emerald-cut Diamonds. HERE THE DIFFERENCE IS REAL 🚨

On an Emerald-cut Diamond, you’re safe with a “VS1” Clarity under 3.50 carats. Above that, start looking into “VVS2”.

Set your Clarity Grade filter from “VVS2” – “VS1”.

What’s the right Carat Weight for my
Emerald-cut Diamond?

This one’s totally up to you. A 5 or 6 carat Diamond might fit within your budget range, but is your lady comfortable wearing that? Do you live in a well-lit neighborhood?? Does she keep that thing on her???

Left to right: 4.07 carats (D Color and VVS2 Clarity), 3.50 carats (E Color and VS1 Clarity), 3.01 carats (D Color and VS1 Clarity), 2.50 carats (E Color, VS1 Clarity)

All IGI graded Lab-Grown Diamonds, “Excellent” Cut
Ivana’s a finger size 6!

If you’re unsure of what size Diamond she wants, ask her. Bring it up casually. Show her a Ring from our Instagram around the size you’re shopping and see what she thinks of the main Diamond. Too big? Too small? Just right? Show her a few, see which one she thinks looks best. 

With Lab-Grown Diamonds, the sweet spot seems to be between 3 and 4 carats. Not too big, and definitely not too small. Yes, some couples go with 2 carat Diamonds. And others go with 5, 6 and 7 carat Diamonds. Don’t worry about what everyone else is wearing- pick the right Diamond for you. Diamonds symbolize forever with your soulmate- no matter how big they are.

Set your Carat Weight range (3.00 – 3.25 carats if you’re unsure).

You’re ready! The PERFECT Diamond awaits.
Let’s go find it.