All About the Oval Shape
Hello everyone! Welcome back to the #RequiemReportBlog. Today we are going to talk about a diamond shape that has recently become very popular, the oval. I’m going to teach out about everything from evaluating the Four C’s for oval shaped diamonds, to ratios and the infamous bowtie effect. Here we go!
So… let’s begin with the Four C’s for oval shapes. Don’t remember what they are? Fear not! The Four C’s of diamonds are carat, cut, clarity, and color. (If you want to go back to the basics before reading the rest of this post, learn more about the Four C’s here). Of course, all of the C’s are important, but you could argue that the most important “C” when evaluating an oval is cut, so we are going to save that for the end. So for now, let’s chat color and clarity.
If you’re shopping for an oval shaped diamond, the good news is that ovals do a really great job of masking imperfections. The faceting pattern offers a ton of brilliance, and therefore allows you to stay in the ‘mid-range’ of color and clarity and still have a diamond that looks fantastic to the naked eye. So what does that mean? When you’re looking for your perfect oval, its not necessary to spend the extra money on a VVS1 or VVS2… you can afford to go a little bit lower, and the diamond will usually still look fabulous! Ovals don’t mask color quuuuiiite as well as a round brilliant, but they still do it very well. No need to buy a “D” color oval shaped diamond! (Of course, if you want a “D” “Flawless’, you do you! I am just here to tell you that it is not entirely necessary with this shape).
As far as carat weight goes, you can actually get a little bit of a bigger bang for your buck with ovals. As goes with all elongated shapes, the longer cuts can create a bit of an optical illusion, making the stone appear bigger than it really is. For example, an oval might look slightly bigger than a round brilliant of the same carat weight. So there you have it! Color, clarity, and carat are pretty easy to manage with this shape- but cut is a bit trickier. Let’s start with ratios!
One of my favorite things about oval shaped diamonds is that they can all look so different from one another, and that is due to the many options there are for length to width ratios in this shape. First, a little math lesson: the ratio is the length measurement divided by the width measurement; and the ‘classic’ ratio for an oval is about a 1.3. Now, this is the ‘classic’, but they come in all sorts of sizes, from a 1.1 ratio and up. If you like that chubbier/chunkier look, you could go 1.3 or lower; if you like that more elongated look, you could go 1.4 or higher. I personally adore the dramatic extra-long look, but the ideal ratio is really all personal preference! I love that ovals give you the flexibility to find one that suits your unique taste.
This image shows various oval diamond ratios. Photo from debebians.com
So ratios are something you can kind of play around with and figure out what you like, but for all oval shaped diamonds the main factor you want to look out for is something called the ‘Bowtie Effect’. The Bowtie Effect happens because of the elongated shape of the oval, and it occurs when the center facets are just a bit too stretched out, and it doesn’t allow for much light reflection in the center of the stone. This creates two triangular-shaped areas of darkness in the middle of the diamond that make it look like it’s “wearing a bowtie”, but its not as cute as it sounds! All ovals are going to have the bowtie effect to some degree, it’s just the nature of the elongated shape; but, you want to make sure yours does not have a super intense bowtie effect, because it can be really obvious to the naked eye. The Bowtie Effect is not something that’s going to be mentioned on a diamond certificate, so having an expert evaluate your diamond and let you know that it’s not a problem is the best way!
This image shows an intense Bowtie Effect in the left oval, next to a well-cut oval on the right. Photo from frankdarling.com
So if you love rounded shapes but you want to do something a little bit different than the classic round brilliant cut, an oval could be a great option for you! They do a great job of masking imperfections, they’re super finger flattering, and you can find one that suits your taste with its unique length to width ratio- just keep an eye out for that Bowtie Effect! So if you want more information about oval shaped diamonds, or you want to start searching for your perfect oval, Requiem is here for you! Contact us via email at samantha@requiemjewelry.com or call 815-575-1978.