A year filled with elegant oval diamonds — SUSAN MCGINNESS JEWELLERY

This year I had the pleasure of creating several handmade oval diamond engagement rings. This stone cut is becoming a favourite of mine because the elongated shape gives the stone length that also compliments the hand it is to be worn on.

Beginning of the creation process. An oval cut diamond sitting alongside 18ct rose gold stock gauge.

I wanted to share with you what I have observed when selecting each stone for these handmade engagement rings. While the 4 C’s are important to understand, there are also some characteristics that apply specifically to the oval cut diamond.

The cut. If the oval diamond is cut well you will get as much sparkle out of an oval shape diamond as a brilliant cut round diamond. So take notice of the centre of the stone. A dark bow tie shape can appear in the centre if the diamond facets are not well cut.
The carat weight. The measurements of the oval diamond is just as important as the carat weight. The oval cut diamond tends to be longer and narrower than a round cut diamond of an equal carat weight. If the size of the diamond is important to you then an oval diamond can give the illusion of a larger stone.
See the stone in person. When looking at diamonds all of the characteristics can become overwhelming when deciding on your budget and a stone you are going to spend the rest of your life with. I always recommend looking at stones in person before purchasing because there is such a large variation in quality available and you will be able to see these characteristics for yourself.

Below are some of the rings I have created this year. I wanted to share with you what I had learnt while creating them. If you have fallen in love with ovals like have, let me know.