Diamond Education

Certified diamond dealer

11 Unique Shapes

Diamond Emporium offers diamonds in 11 unique shapes, each offering its own special characteristics, light reflection and aesthetic qualities. From the most popular round to the romantic heart and delicate pear, a diamond’s shape is just one of the many decisions engagement and wedding ring shoppers face.

Comparing Diamonds

When comparing diamond shapes, consider personal taste, personality, hand size and ring setting. The oval, marquise or pear shapes are ideal choices for enhancing fingers that are long and slender, while smaller hands pair well with round or princess-shaped diamonds. Fuller hands and fingers can carry-off more ornate or heavier ring settings and shapes. When considering shape, stay mindful of a diamond’s carat weight and how this impacts its ultimate size and appearance.

Round

The most popular cut, round diamonds were originally created to optimize the stone’s brilliance (reflected white light) and fire (spectral colour flashes). Round cut diamonds are distinguished by their constant and equal proportions, with multiple angles scattering light like no other shape can..

In addition to being the most popular and researched shape, a round diamond will typically give you more flexibility in terms of balancing cut, colour, and clarity grades while still getting the fire and brilliance you want.

Round brilliant cut diamond

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- Choose DE Ideal or Excellent Cut
- Colour is less noticeable in Round
- Shape offers exceptional flexibility

Oval

The Oval scatters light similar to the popular Round diamond, while even more effective in enhancing the beauty of slender hands.

With an increased surface area, an oval diamond optimises carat weight; this means that oval diamonds often appear larger than a round diamond of the same carat weight–an impressive and economical choice.

Ovals make up about 20% of our enagment ring sales, making them the 2nd most popular shape behind Round.

Oval cut diamond diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- The most popular ratio for an oval is between 1.30 to 1.45

- Watch out for a bowtie effect which can detract from an Oval's beauty

- Look at dimensions instead of carat as a measure of size

Emerald

The rectangular Emerald shaped stone highlights the gem’s clarity, with length-to-width ratios varying widely.

Review the diamond certificate clarity plot or talk with a Diamond Emporium professional if you’re interested in an Emerald-shaped diamond of a reduced clarity grade, as into your chosen setting.

Emerald cut diamond diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- Select 1.30 to 1.40 ratio for traditional shape

- The higher the ratio, the more elongated the appearance

- Choose VS2 clarity or higher

Pear

The Pear, a teardrop-shaped diamond, ranges in elongation and is distinguished by its alternate pointed and rounded tips.

The pear has a similar faceting structure to the round brilliant cuts. Because of this, it retains that coveted fire and brilliance that makes a diamond sparkle.

Pear cut diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- The most common length-to-width ratios range from 1.45 to 1.75

- To ensure the beautiful soft curves are even and the point is centred, choose a symmetry grade of Excellent (EX) or Very Good (VG)

Radiant

True to its name, this cut is truly radiant. While the octagonal shape and cropped corners do make it similar to the emerald cut, the faceting is reminiscent of the round brilliant cut. This combination gives radiant diamonds considerable fire and sparkle.

With 70 facets, the radiant cut is one of the most brilliant diamond shapes available today. It’s a new cut, created just over 30 years ago by master diamond cutter Henry Grossbard who worked to combine the best elements of the emerald and round brilliant cuts.

The radiant is often labeled as cut-cornered rectangular or square modified brilliant by the GIA when grading diamonds of this shape.

Radiant cut diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- The most common ratio for a traditional,
rectangular shaped radiant cut diamond is 1.25 although ratios range from 1.00– 1.50.

- For a square radiant cut, a ratio between 1.00-1.05 is ideal

Marquise

The stunning Marquise cut diamond, sometimes referred to as the navette shape diamond, dates back to 18th century France. King Louis XV ordered royal jewellers to cut diamonds to resemble the lips of his lover, Marquise de Pompadour.

Ideal for those who desire a considerable and impressive diamond look, the Marquise is a popular diamond shape among the brilliants. This shape dramatically enhance the look of long and slender fingers

Marquise cut diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- Shape optimizes carat weight appearance

- The classic Marquise
length-to-width range lies between 1.75 and 2.2

Princess

Second most popular, the Princess is square in shape with variable length-to-width ratios. The ideal ratio of a Princess-shaped diamond is between 1 and 1.05 for square or between 1 and 1.10 for rectangle.

For a princess diamond shape that is square, look for length-to-width ratios between 1 and 1.05. If you prefer more of a rectangular shape, look for length-to-width ratios greater than 1.10.

Princess cut diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

Add your own custom content to give more information about your store, availability details...

Trilliant

The Trilliant cut diamond is a triangular cut diamond that is often used as a side stone in diamond engagement ring designs. However, Trilliant cut diamonds can also be used as a single solitaire or centre stone in a diamond pendant or wedding engagement ring.

The greatest feature of a Trilliant cut diamond is that the cut makes the stone look a lot larger than a round diamond of the same size. This is done by cutting the diamond with straight sides and very slightly blunted tips, making the diamond look as if it bulges at the sides. Proper depth cut enhances fire and brilliance.

Trilliont cut diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- Offered with uncurved or curved sides

- Opt for 1:1 length to width ratio

Asscher

The Asscher cut diamond has 72 facets, which are larger and wider-set—three rows on top and three on the bottom. The elegant step cut draws your eye into the centre of the stone, both captivating and mesmerising anyone who catches its gaze with its flashes.

The Asscher is often labeled as a cut-cornered square step cut, a square emerald cut or an octagonal cut by the GIA when grading diamonds of this shape.

Ascher cut diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- Select 1.00-1.05 ratio for classic square

- Choose VS2 clarity or higher.

Cushion

This captivating shape emphasizes a diamond’s brilliance and clarity, with softly rounded corners forming numerous ratios that vary from the symmetrical square (1 and 1.0 length-to-width ratio) to elongated rectangle (1.15 or more length to width ratios).

Cushion cut diamond emporium

OUR GEMOLOGIST TIPS

- Shape optimizes diamond brilliance

- Choose 1 to 1.05 ratio for a perfect square

Heart

As its name suggests, this diamond is in the shape of a heart and is the ultimate symbol of love and romance.

It’s a fancy cut and contains 56-5 facets that capture and reflect light, resulting in visible brilliance. The wings of the heart should be symmetrical, with a graceful curve
that provides excellent fire, ending in a neat apex point.

Heart shaped diamond emporium