Emerald City: Above the Cut

Aside from being famously rich, absurdly gifted, and an exemplar of a powerful woman, what does Amal Clooney share in common with Angelina Jolie and Beyoncé? Enormous emerald cut engagement rings. The gemstone of May is the emerald but the emerald cut deserves its own spot in the show. (Featured below is one of our very own custom designs, item CS16.)

Art Deco and the Emerald Cut

In the 1920’s, Art Deco was already bursting onto the scene as the design style of the next twenty years. From the interior of New York’s Radio City Music Hall to the spire of the then-tallest Chrysler Building, Art Deco’s fixation with clean lines and the prominence it placed on symmetry can be seen in sculptures, skyscrapers, automobiles, and even stamps. It also woke a sleeping giant in the gemstone market with what became termed as the “emerald cut (Photo Courtesy GIA).”

A Background of Borrowing

With origins dating back to the 1500’s, the emerald cut is named as such because, you guessed it, it was a cut used on emeralds. Because emeralds are not as hard as other gemstones (such as diamonds), step cutting reduced pressure to avoid damaging or even fragmenting the delicate green gemstone.

It didn’t take long for diamond cutters to recognize the aesthetic beauty of what was being done with emeralds and to begin cutting diamonds and other gemstones in similar fashion. (Click through to see item CS102 and center stone morganite in all its glory.)

The Emerald Cut v. the Brilliant Cut

The emerald cut, in comparison to the brilliant cut, has a distinct enduring aesthetic and quiet storm of subdued sophistication. Just as the latter has triangular or kite-shaped facets (producing much of the fire and brilliance associated with sparkling diamonds and other alternative gems), emerald cuts have majored and graduated in step cuts.

Paired with the perf amount of fire, the playful exchange of light and dark planes of long lines makes for an alluring hall-of-mirrors effect that has a fine-tuned elegance you just can't argue with. And the flames stoked by the Art Deco movement are still burning strong. Today, it remains as one of the most popular engagement ring choices. (For our selection of Forever Brilliant Emerald Cut Moissanite, see here.)

So, is the emerald cut for you? Let us know!