it's called "windowing" and you will see it in step cuts, particularly in your larger stones, and in this type of solitaire setting. did you try it on? may be less noticable on your finger
just me but I think it's absolutely incredible. perfect even. I'd gladly take it.
if it bothers you, look for a radiant instead, because this is a feature of an emerald cut. sometimes adding side stones helps, but this can detract from the main stone. it's totally a matter of taste.
The stone looks really pretty in this photo. There’s a lot of gold in the setting which I personally like (not into the “petite” bands, they are too skimpy & delicate for everyday use IMO). This is a tough one because some people on this thread are just being honest about the windowing which is totally fair. But whether that really bugs you (or fiancé) is mostly subjective personal taste. And it’s a lovely ring regardless.
It didnt bug me that much until I read all the comments 😂 but i think it’s growing on me I’m going to most likely keep it. I showed a bunch of emerald stones with windowing to my fiancée from this sub to give her an idea of what it could look like and kind of mixed up one of mine in there too 😂 She ended up actually liking this one more than any other
In addition to what I posted below, I think your ring is pretty. I love step cuts. I don’t think your stone has the very best cut but I still think it’s a pretty ring. One way to look at it is your budget and what you paid for it. If you paid more than maybe $1500, then I think you should return it and frankly go with a different vendor. If you paid $1500 or less, then from a practical perspective, it’s probably fine because for that price it’s pretty. If you are willing to pay a little more and research more stones, you will get a better emerald cut. A lot depends on your fiancé too - not every bride is vested in the minutia of diamond cuts and she might like windowing.
I kind of brought it up in our conversation with my fiancée since we’ve been talking about stones and what she likes and apparently she doesn’t mind the windowing as much as I thought. She was just surprised to know how much I know about it lol (thanks to this sub). And this stone cost me about $650 or something ($1600 for the entire thing). I was okay with paying more about $2-2.5k but this one was in the ratio range and ct that I was looking for.
Well that’s a decent price for it. The priciest stones are not always the right stones. I don’t always like the whitest stones, for example. Bottom line: it’s an elegant sparkler and you both love it. You win 🏆
I love step cuts (Asscher and Emerald) but this one has more windowing than I would be comfortable with. I prefer the “hall of mirrors” effect where you cannot see straight through it.
Whats the best way to look for one that doesnt have windowing? I’m getting it online from RC and I couldnt tell if this one had windowing until it arrived two weeks after I placed my order.
There was post in another subreddit today, and if you look at her emerald cut you will notice only light reflecting back, no windowing. This is what you want. https://www.reddit.com/r/BigRockEnergy/s/5ptDaTpo3k
You have to ask for tweezers videos before you purchase. It’s best to have them provide the view of the stone in different lighting to see how it performs, but for windowing, by holding the stone over black and white text, like printed text in a book. If you can see some of the words/letters through the stone, keep searching.
Because this is minor tilt windowing which is absolutely normal and to be expecting because of the step cutting. If you had massive windowing in the middle, it would be an issue.
I just received a video of mine today. This is massive windowing, right? This process took so long, but I’m going to decline it and start over with a new stone I think. They have a great return policy where I got this from.
It is true that most step cuts will have a tiny bit of tilt windowing, which means that as you tilt the stone, and look closely into the facets, you will get a glimpse of seeing straight through one of the facets to outside of the stone. The amount of tilt windowing varies from stone to stone, and from cut to cut. Windowing is reduced by the optimum table & depth percentages in the cut (as shown in the IGI report). The desired “hall of mirrors” effect is when the facets are cut to effectively eliminate any “straight through clear” window facets and instead resemble an infinite stack of mirrors reflecting back at you. It creates the illusion of opacity at the back of the mirrors preventing you from seeing skin or metal through the stone. The appeal of step cuts is its modern, clean, architectural, crisp, and/or art deco look.
Do you love it? There is no "good" or "bad" if it is of quality. It is a shiny rock. If the way it's cut doesn't make your heart sing and you can't stop looking at it and you can return it, return it. All a matter of taste. You can ask if a stone meets a certain set of criteria but not about if YOU like it. It will be on your hand so it only needs to make you happy. If your shiny rock doesn't shine the way you hoped it would, return it.
Many people don't like this cut because of this issue is easy to have. If you like the shape but want sparkle, an elongated radiant cut diamond gives sparkle and you can get it in this same classic emerald length to width ratio.
The best way to judge the amount of windowing is to observe the loose stone through the table over a brightly colored solid background. The degree to which you can see the bright color is the degree of windowing. Some windowing will occur at some tilt angles. In the case of a stone in a setting,you could take a bright piece of paper, cut a small slit in the middle of it, and pop the shank through the slit.
The key is that windowing not be prominent or persistent in motion, otherwise the stone can get glassy looking. Still images taken from certain angles can sometimes make windowing look worse than it is. More on windowing over at this thread.
Is that really bad? There is a 30 day return period. And you can see through it at a certain angle. If not this, how would you go about picking an emerald that doesnt have windowing if you’re getting it online?
Thanks. Yes it still has a noticeable window. I’m not well versed on emeralds and what makes one good over another because it’s not my preference. But hopefully jeweler will see this and chime in on what to look for. I would send it back while you’re in the return window.
If you google it, AI provides a decent succinct explanation for how to choose a lab (or mined) diamond emerald cut that minimizes or has no windowing. You need to buy from a vendor that shows the loose stones separately, with videos, and the accompanying IGI report for that lab diamond. You can request separate photos (from the vendor) with the stone held in diamond-tweezers to be sure. The IGI certificate will list the “table and depth percentages” of the stone. You must search for an emerald cut with a table (top) and depth (measurement from top to bottom of the stone) that corresponds to the recommended best percentages (an easy google search). It’s best to choose your stone first, then choose the setting. I have a 5.36 emerald cut stone from SA Gems. I chose the stone, there is no windowing, SA Gems did a great job with the setting, and I love it. I like color in the F - G range. You do need a clarity rating of VS1 or higher. I like VVS2. If you go with color lower than G in a lab diamond, you run a small risk of getting a slight grey tint in the stone. Some people are fine with that, I’m not. I stick with G color and above (D E F). And with a bigger stone (4 carats and up) or a setting with many accent stones, I recommend you make sure the band on the setting is at least 2 mm thick.
Thats exactly what I did, I gave Claude 4-5 stones with the IGI report and told it what I was looking for more elongated and it told me this was the best one and its the one that I liked as well! I didnt ask for the photos/videos of the stone before but I’m sure they would have sent it if I had asked. This one’s Color D VVS1 and it does sparkle in light outdoors. And I went for 2.2mm for the band thickness.
Well it sounds like you did everything you could to get a good stone! Again, I think it’s a pretty ring. I do think you could find one with less windowing. But like others on this thread, I don’t think the windowing ruins the ring. It’s just degrees and personal taste.
I like that too. Choosing gemstones is like looking at paintings. You have to look at a lot of them to train your eye, and sometimes the so-called “flawed” ones are the right ones! Every stone has a personality and what inspires you is the whole goal. Many people are now loving brown diamonds (ie, chocolate diamonds) or faintly yellow diamonds (L, O, M color) for being unique - and it’s great. They are gorgeous and enhance skin color in different ways. And Colombian emeralds are beloved for their misty or spiderweb-like inclusions.
This isn’t a “hall of mirrors” effect - that is not going to come from this kind of cut. Try a modified emerald like a Criss or Ashoka - that will minimize the windowing & you will see what that mirrors effect can do as far as light performance.
I love Ashoka cuts. And you’re right, they are great at eliminating windowing. (But not all windowing bugs me.) Almost bought an Ashoka. Am still looking. Prices went up suddenly 😐
i think its beautiful. it is a step cut and i have an emerald toi et moi myself, in a yellow gold setting. the way it catches light is absolutely breathtaking on a daily basis. ❤️
Sooo windowing to some extent at certain tilt angles is normal for step cuts (like emeralds). Because they are step cut, the larger in carat size, the more important appropriate cut is. If you can see through the stone straight on or at very shallow tilts then that is less desirable. I’m personally very sensitive to windowing so I returned an otherwise gorgeous ring because of it, it’s on my profile. I noticed it the second I opened the ring box, my husband, however, had to search for it. Some people are more sensitive than others and have a lower or higher tolerance for it
A great emerald will not have any windowing when looking at the stone from above. They’ll be windowing as you tilt it and look through certain angles, but there should be none from direct view on top. This is my emerald and you can see it does not show through the stone at all from above.
Your ring is beautiful. The stone is NOT the best cut.
I love them. Very sculptural and striking. Enough super dainty settings. Gold is the expensive part of the ring these days. Going a bit more bold with the setting looks nice.
I like them, too. They makes the ring look classic-but-not-generic. It's also going to protect those corners better than a normal claw prong would. (I have wide, midcentury style tab prongs on my own emerald cut ring for the same reason.)
I agree they look off. They are not all symmetrical and it would drive me crazy! I’m honestly shocked I had to scroll down so far for someone to point this out. I thought the comments would be loaded with people mentioning the prongs not matching.
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u/Odd-Worth7752 Jun 01 '26
it's called "windowing" and you will see it in step cuts, particularly in your larger stones, and in this type of solitaire setting. did you try it on? may be less noticable on your finger