Despite the exclusive-sounding name, fancy diamond cuts are available in various shapes. Round diamond cuts have dominated the market for a long time – they form around 78-80% of the total diamond in the current market. With the aim of diversifying the diamond market and introducing many other cuts rather than the rounded diamond cuts, suppliers introduced the term “fancy cut.”
Today, you might be in need of an engagement ring diamond with very little background information on where to start. Considering that there are many forms of diamond cuts to select from, you will face more challenges during your selection. The styles have remained constant for many years, but some research will help in your shopping. The following are five most popular diamond cuts to consider:
Round Diamonds
Did you know that round diamond is the most sought after in the world? This diamond cut makes around 75% of all purchased diamond cuts. Mostly, round diamonds feature 58 facets; this means that they have a flat face on the geometric shape that highly contributes to their brilliant appearance. Round diamonds are among the flashiest and most beautiful diamonds you will get in the market. The fancy diamond cuts are ideal for engagement rings, pendants and earrings.
Princess Cut Diamond
First created in the year 1980, the Princess cut diamond has become one of the biggest fancy cuts in the market, particularly for an engagement ring. Princess cuts are more flexible and can, therefore, work with almost any modern style of rings.
Furthermore, the rings tend to have slightly lower price-per-carat compared with the round cut diamonds. That is because princess cut diamond has a four-sided pyramid shape similar to one-half of octahedron rough stone – from which princess diamonds are cut.
Due to the similarity, two equal princess cut diamonds can be cut from one rough stone with little waste (about 60% of the original stone weight remains after cutting). The yield efficiency leads to a lower price.
Oval Diamonds
Lazare Kaplan designed the oval diamonds in the 1960s, but people have modified them to form brilliant cuts. Oval diamonds possessing fire and brilliance are suitable for customers who like the appearance of round cut diamonds but are in need of something unique.
One advantage of oval diamonds is that they boast an elongated shape that creates an illusion of great size. What’s more, the slender shape will make your finger appear slimmer and longer – which is the desired effect among many people. However, preferences highly vary on how thick or narrow an oval diamond should be. Therefore, you have to select what seems appealing to your personal taste. The diamond possesses some bow-tie degree, which varies from severe to near visible.
Marquise Diamond
What is Marquise Diamond? They are football-shaped, modified bright cuts. Marquise Diamonds are long and narrow; therefore, they will make a greater size illusion. One clue that you are actually dealing with marquise diamonds is that they have larger surface area than the other categories of diamond cuts. The feature makes them suitable for individuals desiring to maximize the perceived size.
Marquise diamonds got their name from the Marquise of Pompadour. Allegedly, King Louis XIV of France had a stone that he fashioned to resemble what he thought to be her perfectly shaped mouth. The marquise diamonds are narrow and long, and therefore they will make a greater size illusion. Just as with an oval-shaped diamond, the marquise diamond will make your finger appear elongated.
Pear Shaped Diamond
The Pear-shaped diamond is a combination of marquise and round shape but has a tapered point on its one end. You should wear the diamond with the narrower end pointing towards your hand. Like oval and marquise cuts, pear shaped diamonds are available in a variety of wide and slim cuts. When wearing it, a pear-shaped diamond ring will make your fingers appear slimmer and longer.
When choosing one, you should ensure that it possess good symmetry. The tapered point needs to line up with the apex of the rounded end. The wings and shoulders – the lower and upper curves on the left and right side – should uniform symmetric curves without any edges. The rounded top should not look squat or narrow – it should be more like a semicircle.
Hopefully, this information can help you get started on the journey to buying an engagement ring. Other important aspects to consider when going through this process are the setting and finally selecting the actual diamond for the setting. Searching for the right diamond after narrowing down the shape lends itself to a whole separate article. For more information about the four C’s feel free to check out https://www.ritani.com/education/diamond-education
Happy Shopping!
I love diamonds and will take them in any cut. Recently I was with a few people and the subject of diamonds came up and I was surprised that two adults did not know any cuts at all, as far as the name and shape. Therefore this is a good post with beneficial information.