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I have a perfect square radiant and LOOOOOOOVE it (I keep saying one of these days I'll take a fancy shot of it...but no one should hold their breath). I get compliments on it all the time. At first glance, because it's square, everyone assumes it's a princess then they ask why it looks different. If anything, if I had to pick another cut, I'd prolly go cushion (but I do thing asschers are gorgeous!!) Good luck=)
I adore asschers, I think they have a really cool art deco quality that I think is beyond gorgeous! It sounds like both of them appeal to you so why not have your SO pick it out and surprise you??
I have an Asscher (well, actually a square-cut emerald. Apparently "Asscher" is a brand name and you pay major $$$ for that name!) I love my ring, but there are a few things I learned when researching them.
To get the steps (that make the stone so pretty) they have to use a deeper stone. This depth causes the stone to face up much smaller than rounds, cushions, radiants, etc. (basically they look quite a bit smaller than other stones with the same carat weight...). With Asschers, you also need a premium cut and excellent clarity since so much of the diamond's beauty relies on the stone's cut and quality (they can look dull w/o an excellent cut and show any inclusions much more clearly).
All that said, I love my ring and wouldn't change it. Have you visited pricescope.com? They have excellent info!
I feel your dilemma.. when my fi was shopping I couldn't decide between asscher, cushion, and radiant so I told him to pick! He picked a cushion cut which actually became my fav so that worked out, but both asscher and radiant are so beautiful!
Given the choice between the two I'd pick radiant and here is why:
1- radiants are generally more rectangular than square, and I really like that feature
2- because a radiant isn't square, less people will assume its a princess cut (not that there is anything wrong with princess cut, but I would rather people noticed my stone was different)
3- radiants will be more sparkly
That being said, asscher is definitely more unique. I've never seen anyone with an asscher in real life, and I agree with trail mix that its very art deco. So if you want unique and antique-ish... asscher is your cut!
Asschers are more unique, they kind of remind me like emeralds. More shine, less sparkle. But radiants are a sparkly stone, and i've only ever met one person in real life who has one, so they're probably unique also.
You could do a radiant engagement ring with an asscher eternity band. I thought about getting one for awhile; it looked cool!
Something to consider...
Good Old Gold sells a cut called an "octavia," which is kind of like an ascher but with more facets. Check out the pics, they're gorgeous. So sparkly!
Pictures:
http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=136357
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwnSvPyb6xU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUd9tzkCNpo&feature=related
Good Old Gold listings:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamondResults.php?shape=2&resultsColumns=268435471
Asscher....I have one from Whiteflash and boy oh boy does that baby sparkle like mad. I am in love with my asscher; she is just so gorgeous!!!! An asscher has a different kind of sparkle from a radiant, but a well cut asscher will shoot fire from the facets like no other cut. Radiants and asschers are cut completely different, so the sparkle thrown off by each cut is extremely different.
If possible, I'd call around to see if any local jewelers have any diamonds in those cuts to compare how much you like them. I had a princess cut and switched to an asscher because I love the uniqueness of the asscher, however, I went to a local jeweler to see if I would truly like the sparkle of the cut. Seeing them in person is probably the only way to truly determine which cut you like better; online pics do asschers no justice AT ALL!!!! Good luck!!
Thanks guys! maybe I'll drag the boy down to that jewelry shop again and see if we can go in this time and look at them side by side (loose maybe?) If I still can't decide then, than i'll take the wonderful advice several of you suggested and make him pick and surprise me (why didn't I think of that!?!?) or just eeny-meeny-miny-moe ;)
Every time I read one of your comments I was like "ok great! maybe i'm leaning toward Asscher" then i'd read a radiant comment "ok maybe i'm leaning toward radiant!" I really can't decide!!
Thanks guys!
I love both cuts. But keep this in mind:
Because they are step cuts, aschers (like emeralds) typically sparkle less. I've seen some people do a pave or channel set band if lots of sparkle is important to them.
Also, aschers usually "face up" smaller than some other cuts... not sure if they face up smaller than radiants. For example, a 1ct ascher will look noticeably smaller than a 1ct round.
I have an Asscher and I love it. But you have to get a higher quality stone because it shows flaws more easily and you need to consider the depth % (Try for at least 60%).
Oooh Goldfish good call! The Octavia came to my mind too when I read the OP! You reeeally can't go wrong with Good Old Gold!! We plan on getting my cushion from them. Amazing!!
Ughh do we have to pick one?! :) I love them both! It's so hard to decide! But if I had to choice one I would pick radiant! I have a princess cut so I like the more square shaped diamonds better, and I also like how the corners are not so pointy!
I have a radiant cut (which is more of a rectangular shape - don't know the exact dimensions) and I love it. It's really sparkly and I notice, more sparkly then my other engaged/married friends who have round cut diamonds.
I seriously love it!
Go with radiant cut - you will not regret it.
Before I got my ering, I was in love with the ascher cut. It was so...just what i wanted. Well, FI decided to pick the radiant cut and honestly I am so glad he did. The sparkle of a radiant cut is simply fantastic. I still like an ascher cut, but I would pick a radiant cut 1,000 times over again in a heartbeat.
I voted Asscher cut because I have one and couldn't imagine another diamond on my finger.
We found a nice local jeweler that puts loose stones in settings right in front of you to get an idea of what you like. I totally recommend this. When we went looking at rings I was between princess and asscher. It is really just a matter of your style/taste. They are both gorgeous but its all about what you like. For me, the asscher just looked higher quality which actually the diamond has to be for the step cut and it was just more me. Mine looks a little different as my asscher is in a 6 prong setting instead of a 4 so it gives it a bit of a different look.
Hope this helps.
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I love, love, love my radiant!! It is so sparkly! Just this morning, I was in the elevator with a coworker who I've never met and she shrieked "Oh my god, what a gorgeous ring--It lights up the whole elevator!" It was such a nice complement! :-)
That said, you can't go wrong either way! I agree with some other posters that you should go to a shop that will get out a variety of loose stones for you to look at (and preferably more than one of each cut). That should really help you get a better feel for your preference. I was torn between cushion and radiant, and when we were making the final decision, one particular radiant really, really stood out to both me and FI. I still love cushion cuts, but this particular stone was too lovely to pass up. So I really recommend spending some time checking out a variety of loose stones.
I vote for Radiant! I have one
Sorry for the ridiculously large pic
I love the Asscher cut. So romantic, vintage and art deco all in one. I was torn between the Asscher and a Princess cut. I ultimately went with the Princess and regret it....... I guess I thought the Asscher would be a little to "different", since I don't see a lot of people wearing that cut. Sigh.....regrets..... If I had it to do over again, I would def go with the Asscher. Maybe someday....
I vote Asscher. I love, love, love my ring. I will admit that people who aren't in the know assume it is a princess but when I explain the difference and they actually look at it they see the huge difference.
I agree with the others that say you need a good quality stone, if you can swing one that would be my suggestion.
While a box radiant is stunning, an Asscher is much much much more unusual to see. That is why I voted for the Asscher. I wanted an Asscher, and the store didn't even have one! They pulled out a box radiant, which, while beautiful, is the more common version of the unique and orginial Asscher. Asscher is so uncommon it is really a stunner.
I vote radiant! I also have a perfect square radiant.. they are hard to find because most radiant's are rectangular. But if you can find a well cut high quality square one.. go for it! I love mine. It's extremely sparkley.
ETA: I've never had anyone ask me if it's a princess. Princess cuts are really not my style beacuse I don't like the hard 90 degree corners... I think Radiant's (even square ones like mine) look quite different. Unless maybe they are quite small and you can't see the detail.
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Asscher def. has my vote! They're unique and differet and timeless, elegant, beauties! The liklihood of seeing this stone on other brides to be is more unlikely than a radiant cut stone. However, I do think both stones are lovely but Asscher exceeds the radiant to me. :-)
I vote for Asscher, one with good cut quality will sparkle nicely!
Though radiants are pretty, they tend to look a lot like Princess cuts unless you're looking extremely close up.
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So my ring situation is a little weird. I have a ring, but it doesn't have a stone. We've been saving up for a "traditional" engagement ring and we've got the center stone we like narrowed down to two: Asscher cut and Radiant cut (with 1:1 side length ratio).
We like the square shapes of both and i LOOOVE the cut corners on both!
So what separates the two? The Asscher is definitely more "interesting" looking. The facets of the stone aren't something you see every day, I love that. However, the Radiant, I have been led to believe, is more brilliant (read: sparkley).
I love sparkles and I love interesting. We were set on the Radiant cuz we'd never seen a Asscher and then we walked past a jewelry shop the other day and they had them both there right in the window. Omg! They were both so beautiful! How do I decide?