Ah… The oval.
Brilliant and charming with a dash of vintage flair!
The oval has gained tremendous popularity over the past few years and now sits snugly below the round as the second most popular diamond shape.
Designers have been working in overdrive to create stunning and interesting engagement rings built around oval-shaped centre stones. And they’ve done a great job.
It’s awesome to see the flood of fresh and new ideas.
Ovals are a fantastic shape choice for your engagement ring’s centre stone, and I’ll run you through all the reasons.
In the next few minutes, we’ll touch on the following important facets;
- Strengths of the oval cut.
- Optimizing the 4C’s for the oval diamond cut.
- Unique design ideas and trends.
- Some things to be wary of.
I hope this blog gives you some guidance and a good dash of #ringspiration for your own custom oval engagement ring.
The oval surge.
Oval shaped diamonds were the go to shape in 2020 with the vintage design craze at its height.
Although “vintage” isn’t a dominating theme anymore (for now at least) the exposure that oval diamonds received catapulted them onto many engagement ring shoppers’ radars. And with good reason… they’re beautiful in a timeless way.
Fun Fact: Perfectly round diamonds have only been around for +/- 80 years? Before the 1940s diamond cutters were unable to get a diamond perfectly round, and most efforts ended up being slightly oval in shape.
So although the round shape is often seen as the “classic”, oval shapes have been around for much longer.
Getting the 4C’s perfect
Regardless of your budget, some understanding and effort can ensure you get as much diamond as possible.
The price of a diamond is directly determined by it’s graded specifications/characteristics.
Higher specifications equal a higher asking price.
The diamond and jewellery industry has done a great job of condensing the main characteristics of a diamond into the straightforward 4C Model: Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat.
Each one of these C’s has a range that indicates the quality (and corresponding price) of the specific characteristic.
To get a great looking diamond at a reasonable price these 4 characteristics need to be finely balanced. I’ll show you where the sweet spots are since certain characteristics are visually more important than others.
Carat: The (very important) size of the diamond
Nothing upgrades the look of an engagement ring more than a larger diamond.
That doesn’t have to come at the expense of compromising other specifications like the clarity, colour or quality of the craftsmanship exemplified in the diamond’s cut.
For any given weight/size the oval appears larger than any other shape. Your eye is drawn down the long axis, giving it this larger impression. Some people choose this shape solely for this reason.
To illustrate, these two diamonds weigh exactly the same…
I recommend you prioritise the size but stick to my recommended range below for colour, clarity and cut. It’s a good roadmap.
Diamond Colour
Diamond colours range from “D” down to “Z”. As you slide down the alphabet the colour of the diamond turns from colourless to yellow or brown in tiny increments. It’s very hard to tell two adjacent diamond colours apart, but the difference in price from one colour to the next is significant.
Ovals have a unique way of working with color. Imagine taking a round stone and dragging it out into an oval shape. You get a higher concentration of facets at the outer points than in the middle of the stone. The concentrated facets at the outer edges concentrate colour slightly.
This only starts becoming obvious at “J”-colour, but I recommend you still take a look at lower colours as this phenomenon can create a very nice vintage feel. If you want the diamond to appear a shade of white, I would say draw the line at “I” colour and higher.
D-E colours are your high-end bracket. This is the crispest white you’ll find in the world of diamonds. Just know that unless you have very experienced eyes, and special white lighting, you’ll have a hard time distinguishing them from F and G colours.
F-G: The premium category, and usually my highest recommended colour range. In normal light they’re still piercingly white, but don’t carry the high premium of D and E colours.
H-I: This is the Goldilocks zone. These two colours are the most popular for mined diamonds because they still set up white in platinum, palladium, rose gold and yellow gold. They’re priced very well and really give you a chance to up the size without any obvious visual compromises on colour. If you’re opting for a lab-grown diamond I recommend staying in the D-E-F-G zone.
Diamond Clarity
Regardless of origin, all diamonds have impurities. Some are visible to the naked eye, others aren’t.
The clarity is graded taking the following into consideration: where the impurities and imperfections are located, the number of them and their size. Every diamond is unique and has its own clarity fingerprint.
Diamond grading laboratories issue their grade on clarity at 10X magnification. You and I… we see at 1X.
So, if a diamond is free from imperfections and inclusions when viewed with the naked eye – that’s good enough, right? The best value can be found in VS1 and VS2 clarities.
This chart gives you a rule of thumb of whether an oval diamond will be eye-clean at a certain size.
Colour and size upgrades offer way more visual improvement than maxing out clarity. That’s where your budget should be working.
Diamond Cut: The Most Important (And MISSING!) “C”
Diamond cut is often confused with the diamond shape (Round, oval, square).
The cut grade is all about craftsmanship.
A diamond has very special light reflection and refraction characteristics. You can think of a diamond’s facets (sides) as internal mirrors that reflect light internally to and from the diamond’s environment.
Proper cut = optimal sparkle, life and fire.
Grading laboratories take some measurements of proportions, dimensions and symmetry and then issue a grade based on how close these parameters are to perfect. This grading is called the Cut, and graded as;
- Excellent: Perfect.
- Very Good: Go for it. Indistinguishable from Excellent cut to 99% of eyes.
- Good: Very broad grade. Some are fine some look terrible. Rather avoid.
- Fair: Avoid.
- Poor: No.
*Although this image displays round diamonds, the same goes for ovals.
You can have the highest known quality diamond – if it’s poorly cut it looks like nothing more than a dull piece of glass.
Imperfections in diamonds are also much more visible in poorly cut diamonds. When a diamond is properly cut the sparkle and life of the diamond easily masks minor imperfections. When it’s poorly cut – most specks and imperfections are easily visible. Not very beneficial.
There is never a reason to compromise on the integrity and quality of the cut. No colour, size or clarity can save a poorly cut diamond.
So why doesn’t an oval diamond have a “Cut” grading on the certificate?
Some grading laboratories do issue a cut grade for an oval, but if you’re looking at GIA or IGI graded diamonds you’ll see the cut grade is missing in action on the certificate.
There’s an interesting reason though.
If you consider a round diamond, the shape should obviously be perfectly circular.
What is the perfect length-to-width ratio of an oval cut diamond? This comes down to personal preferences according to most grading laboratories. Some people prefer a longer-looking oval than others, and there’s no penalty for that. Here are three examples, with the center one being the most popular;
If you’re looking at an oval diamond option without an indicated cut grade, simply ensure that the polish and symmetry grade on the certificate is Very Good or Excellent. Then you’re set.
There is one thing to look out for while we’re on the topic…
Bow ties!
Just like all humans have faces… oval diamonds have a bow tie.
*These vary in severity, but can you see the obvious bow tie effect?
The concentrated facets at the edges of an oval shape creates more brilliance and sparkle than in the centre area. Think of it as changing gradients of sparkle throughout the oval.
For more homogenous brilliance; minimise the bow tie.
A cut grade can help you out here, but since you often don’t have one it helps if you know what to look for. The best way to get a feel for bow ties is to look at a few oval diamonds when selecting a diamond.
This is definitely an area that a reputable and knowledgeable diamond dealer or jeweller can help you out with.
Please don’t break your head on this, engineers. It’s part of the life of an oval diamond. See it as them dressing up fancily for you.
The best styles for oval cut diamond engagement rings
Solitaire
A solitaire setting contains only a single diamond – the centre stone.
*Our Ava engagement ring.
The oval shape is unique, eye-catching and speaks for itself. Setting an oval solo style, ensures it stays the star of the show by working it’s magic without distractions.
Benefits include making the finger look more elongated and the diamond to metal ratio is low increasing the sparkle-factor.
By now you know oval diamonds appear to be the largest for any given weight, so they’re a wonderful fit for solitaire engagement rings.
Halo
Halo’s work magic with oval diamonds.
A halo simply refers to a circle of small diamonds around the main diamond. Regardless of the shape of the centre diamond it increases the perceived size considerably.
*Our Franci halo engagement ring.
A halo stunningly frames the oval shape, and since the small diamonds are usually round the contrast is stark and accentuates the main diamond.
Just a match made in heaven in my opinion.
3 Stone
Three stone rings need a relatively large centre diamond to make the proportions striking.
Our Finlee 3-stone engagement ring.
An oval diamond draws the eye to it’s longest axis, so creating stunning and harmonious proportions is easier than with other diamond shapes.
To be frank, these rings also look expensive and luxurious (AF).
Pros and cons of oval diamonds
Pros of Oval Diamonds
- Unique Shape: Oval diamonds offer a distinct and elegant shape compared to the more common round diamonds, making them a standout choice.
- Size Appearance: Due to their elongated shape, oval diamonds often appear larger than round diamonds of the same carat weight.
- Brilliance: Oval diamonds are well-known for their brilliance and sparkle, which is comparable to round diamonds.
- Finger Elongation: The shape of an oval diamond can make the wearer’s finger appear longer and slimmer.
- Versatility in Design: They fit well in a variety of settings and styles, making them versatile for different types of jewelry.
- Price: Generally, oval diamonds can be less expensive than round diamonds of similar size and quality.
Cons of Oval Diamonds
- Bow-Tie Effect: Some oval diamonds can display a dark area in the center that resembles a bow tie, which can detract from the stone’s overall appearance.
- Symmetry is Key: It’s crucial to have good symmetry in an oval diamond; otherwise, it can look off-balance.
- Hiding Flaws: Due to their shape, it can be harder to hide inclusions or color tints in oval diamonds compared to round ones.
- Less Traditional: For those who prefer traditional diamond shapes, oval diamonds might seem too modern or unconventional.
- Sizing Issues: Finding the right ring size and style that complements an oval diamond can sometimes be challenging.
- Variability: There’s a wide range of length-to-width ratios in oval diamonds, making consistency in appearance harder to find.
Find the perfect oval diamond
If this blog has been useful all I ask is that you please make us your first stop.
I promise you the following:
- I’ll take as much time is needed to ensure the ovals I offer you have the absolute best value.
- I’ll ensure the diamonds aren’t milky or have visible impurities.
- Bowties will be minimised.
- I’ll put in all the effort to get your ring’s design to your definition of perfect. Nothing less.
You can reach me at info@lumendiamonds.com, and I really look forward to meeting with you.
