WHAT ARE DIAMOND FRENCH TIPS?

French tips?

“Waiter, waiter, there’s a fly in my soup…” ha!

Not the French tip I’m talking about…

If you look close enough as some fancy cut diamonds, like the marquise cut, heart shaped cut, and pear cut, you’ll notice that some cuts look different than the rest.

The faceting is different.

That’s because some fancy cuts have French tips.

No… not the fingernail kind…

So what is a French tip?

A French tip is a variation of the cut in which several small facets replace one large bezel facet at the end.

Take a peek at the diagram below to understand what a French tip looks like…

The French tip makes the points of the diamond look more like a star, and it also adds a touch more sparkle to the ends.

But these little flashes of reflected light aren’t the real reason why French tips are added to some stones.

So why are French tips added?

For one main reason…

It makes the tip of the diamond (which is the weakest spot of the stone) a little bit more durable because it adds bulk or mass to the end.

French tips don’t add any more monetary value to the stone, nor does it take any away, it just makes the end a bit thicker and more secure.

French tips are the way to go.

If a fancy cut diamond (heart, pear or marquise) has French tips, the only way to find out is to look closer at the stone under a microscope or a 10x jeweler’s loupe. French tips will not be listed on a GIA diamond report (why, I don’t know). Loupe the diamond and see if the ends are French or not.

And that’s the last word on French tips.

Makes you want to go microscope a few and see for yourself.

See if you can find some French tipped diamonds here: heart cut, marquise cut, pear cut.

Cheers! :)