Oval Diamond Rings
An oval is almost like a stretched circle, sometimes tapered on one end more than the other. It is gentle, with no sharp edges unlike most geometric shapes, and it flows endlessly from one end to another and back again in a never-ending loop. It is gender-neutral, and is therefore usable by both men and women.
Ovals are old, but their use as a shape for diamonds is fairly recent. Its use was spurred by the diamond design boom in the 1960s, which was also the period of birth of several diamond cuts. The shape was perfected for diamond shaping by one Lazare Kaplan, one of the master jewelers of his time. Today oval diamond rings have transcended time and appear to us virtually unscathed since their creation half a century ago.
Care should be taken that the shape of the diamond is not mistaken with its cut. The shape of a diamond refers to, well, its shape – or perhaps it could be easier be seen as its ‘outline’, whereas the cut of a diamond refers to a style or a design guide to shape diamonds; cuts by themselves do not determine the shape of the final product.
Shapes, as most of you would know, refer to geometric shapes like circles, triangles, and rhombi, and inorganic shapes that are free-flowing and do not fall into any of the three geometric categories. A diamond cut may refer to styles such as the marquise cut, the Asscher cut, the princess cut and the baguette cut.
As with everything in this world, oval diamond rings cannot escape flaws; however, it also has plus points that have endeared it to many for decades.
Advantages
- Versatile
An oval, having no defined edges, is universal in meaning. It can be used by either gender without discrimination. It is also said to elongate the fingers of the wearer, though this depends on several other factors such as the dimensions of the oval and the fingers and hand of the wearer.
Ovals are a staple design in jewellery like necklaces, pendants and rings. As such, several different methods of setting oval diamonds, or positioning them then holding them in place, have been devised to best showcase the gems. Some of these include the pave setting, the bevel setting, and the ballerina setting. Most, but not all, of these settings make use of multiple precious stones, giving the jeweler and the buyer (assuming it was custom-ordered) the freedom to use different types of stones. One could, for example, flank an oval diamond with a smaller pair of sapphires or rubies, or perhaps surround it with a multitude of tiny emeralds. The colors of the gems must be taken into account when multiple diamonds are to be used to ensure there is no clashing.
This also means that oval diamond rings can be solitaire rings, which are rings set with a single diamond, or multiple-diamond rings, with the oval diamond as a centerpiece. The elongated shape makes it less suitable for small, closely-placed designs like the pave setting in comparison to its round cousin, unless the number of accompaniment diamonds is few.
Width-to-length ratio combinations are practically endless for oval diamonds, making them able to suit a great many types of hands. However, an oval diamond ring with a ratio greater than 1:1.6 should probably be used only by those with slender fingers, lest it overwhelms the hand of someone with stockier fingers.
- Brilliant Degree of Sparkle
Perhaps one of the more intriguing aspects of an oval diamond ring is the degree of its sparkle. Despite having less facets than its round cousin – only 56, for that matter – and thus expected to have less sparkle, oval diamond rings actually stand pretty well on their own in the sparkle department. Depending on the skill of the jeweler they might even sparkle more than the standard round brilliant diamonds.
The sparkle they emit is also noticeably different from that of round brilliant diamonds, partially due to their elongated shape compared to the latter. This trait makes them stand out even more. After all, it is not just the facets that make the sparkle; in fact, too many facets may well ruin it. As they say, too many cooks spoil the broth. How apt a saying!
However, oval diamond rings have their flaws, such as:
- Bow Tie Effect
This refers to a darkened area somewhere in the middle of a diamond; its presence, even just a tiny smidgeon of it, can lower the value of the gem, so jewelers try to avoid falling into this trap if possible. Even so, jewelers are only human and it is inevitable that some of the diamonds they churn out have this impairment. It is a bane to jewelers, but if you are diamond-savvy and are not very picky, the bow tie effect can actually be a boon.
Oval diamond rings with a bow tie effect can be a great deal more affordable than their unblemished counterparts. The key lies in balancing the trade-off between the size of the black mark and the amount you are willing to pay for an oval diamond ring. You will have a perfectly usable ring for a good price if you play your cards right.
- Unable to Hide Imperfections
Unfortunately, oval diamond rings are quite unabashed when it comes to showing off any imperfections in the diamonds. Any mistakes or naturally-occurring blemish like bubbles will be obvious to the observer, and these can sometimes be noticed by even a casual onlooker who might not know diamonds intimately.
As you might be able to guess, these imperfections greatly lower the value of oval diamond rings – and this principle applies even post-purchase. An accidental scratch or chip on the surface of the diamond will be there to stay if you’re not careful, so watch out.
Conclusion
Oval diamond rings can be considered antiques due to their timelessness regardless of the time you bought it, and they make perfect heirlooms to be passed down from one generation to another. However, solitaire oval diamond rings might be hard to find, so you might have to squint and look harder in order to locate one of those. Multiple-stoned rings might be easier to find, if possibly more expensive, so if you have exhausted your options on solitaire rings you might want to consider them instead. Hey, the more the merrier, right?