All About Fancy Diamond Shapes

The emerald cut diamond comes from a cut that was originally used for cutting emeralds.

2.50 Ct Emerald Cut Diamond and Emerald Platinum Engagement Ring

The shape is rectangular and is step-cut with cropped corners. Sharp corners are weaker and can break and chip more easily. When a diamond shape is step-cut, it is square or rectangular with rectilinear facets that are parallel to the girdle. Because the corners are cut flat and are not sharp, the emerald cut diamond takes on an octagonal outline. There can be a variety in length and width ratios. The emerald cut diamond is a good cut to accentuate clarity, whiteness and luster.

The pear shaped diamond, also referred to as the teardrop shaped diamond, is a combination cut between a round cut and a marquise cut.

The pear shaped cut allows the diamond to be fiery with lots of sparkle. It is usually a very sophisticated cut with elegant lines, but still has flash. Pear cut diamonds look great in either a simple setting, while they also look ideal in a more elaborate setting. Two things to look for when shopping is the bow tie effect, and uneven shoulders. The bow tie effect is when you can see a bow tie shape in the middle of the diamond. Uneven shoulders occur when the round end of the cut is not perfectly rounded, or the pointed end is rounded or flat. These are two features that you do not want to see in your pear shaped diamond.

Cushion cut diamonds are usually hard to find, other than at estate sales or antique jewelry dealers.

Recently, more exclusive diamond jewelers have started carrying them as they are becoming a more popular diamond cut. The cushion cut is a cross between the modern oval shaped cut, and the old mine cut, popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is sometimes referred to as a pillow cut (resembling the shape of a pillow) and a candlelight cut, in which it sparkled beautifully in candle light before electricity. With its classically romantic look, it stands out in a crowd, despite the fact that it may not be as brilliant as much as a more modern cut diamond.

The princess cut is a mixed cut. It combines a modified brilliant cut and a step cut.

Most mixed cuts, including the princess cut, combine the effects of brilliance with the dimension and weight of a step cut. Princess cut diamonds look like a square when face up, but usually have high fire and brilliance. It is similar to a round brilliant diamond except for the fact that a round cut resembles an inverted cone, where the princess cut resembles an inverted pyramid with beveled sides. It has gained popularity in recent years because it is slightly cheaper than a round cut diamond because as a square, it has more of the rough diamond than a round cut.

The marquise cut diamond is a modified diamond cut from the round brilliant; therefore it contains the same brilliance of a round cut.

It is an elliptical shape, with its ends coming to a point. Marquise cut diamonds can be set in a horizontal or vertical position on the setting. Most prefer the vertical set because it seems to make the finger look longer and thinner. Much like the pear cut diamond, the bow tie effect is not preferred, and the cut may also show more inclusions, but the face up position seems to make it seem larger than another cut of the same carat size. The points on the ends of a marquise cut should be protected, as these points can break or chip easily.

As the cut, clarity and size may be important to some, the meaning behind the diamond engagement ring is the most valuable thing.