Classic Diamond Faceoff: Round Brilliant Vs. Emerald

In our previous post we  presented a diamond faceoff between oval and pear shape diamonds. Today we will be looking at round brilliant vs. emerald cut diamonds. The round and emerald cut diamonds are easily the most classic diamond shapes available. 

This is a funny one to write about because these diamonds are truly night and day. However, we have plenty of clients who are stuck between these two beauties and honestly, we can understand why.

Round brilliant vs. emerald cut diamonds

The round brilliant cut offers the most brilliance from any diamond shape. This round cut loses most rough diamond during the cutting process. It is more tedious to cut which is why it costs more per carat than any other diamond shape. The emerald cut diamond does not offer brilliance but instead interacts with light in an understated way- catching the eye
with subtle but breathtakingly beautiful flashes of light. You will definitely find that when looking at round vs emerald cut diamonds, emerald are less expensive.

Round halo engagement ring

One of the things that will help when looking at round brilliant vs emerald cut diamonds is that emerald cuts do not have brilliance. You will not see the emerald cut sparkle from across the room. If you envision others seeing your ring from across the room then you definitely want a diamond with brilliance. The emerald cut will not offer that same brilliance. However, our clients also appreciate how unique and smooth the emerald cut is and sometimes brilliance isn't the end goal. The emerald cut will elongate the finger just as the oval and pear do and invites you to look closer to appreciate the cut.

The round brilliant gives back in a few ways when trying to keep the price down- you can work low in both color and clarity while still maintaining a high quality look. The emerald cut however can only work lower in color- it actually hides color very well- but not clarity. We recommend working in the VS range+ for all step cuts, even more so VS1+.

One other compromise you can make with an emerald cut to get some brilliance is to place it in a diamond halo, or on top of a diamond band. This way the setting will boost up the sparkle factor!

Check our our round brilliant ring designs and our emerald cut custom ring designs on our website and contact us today to find out more about designing your engagement ring with any diamond center.