DIAMOND SHAPES AND CUTS!

When most people think of the Cut of a Diamond, they automatically think about Shape.

The Cut of the Diamond is not only the Shape, or Physical outline of the Girdle, but it's also the Proportions, Angles, Percentages, and Symmetry of the Facets.

Cut is both the Shape and Cutting Style.

Diamond Shapes

Diamond Shapes are usually thought of as: Round, Square, Rectangle, Tear Dropped, Octagon, Boat Shaped or Triangle Shaped.

The truth of the matter is Diamonds can be cut into ANY Shape in the World.

They can be cut long and skinny, short and fat or anywhere in between (like Ideal Cut).

Popular Shapes

The most popular Shapes and Cuts of Diamonds, especially for Engagement Rings are:

Brilliant Cut (Round) Princess Cut (Square) Marquise Cut Pear Cut (Tear Drop) Emerald Cut Radiant Cut

Heart Cut Oval Cut Trilliant Cut Baguette Cut Tapered Baguette Cut Single Cut (Melee)

Take a look at the Pictures below to see the Facets.

Brilliant Cut	Princess Cut	Marquise Cut
Pear Shaped Brilliant Cut	Emerald Cut	Radiant Cut
Heart Cut	Oval Cut	Trilliant Cut
Baguette Cut	Tapered Baguette Cut	Single Cut

Let's take a closer look at these top 12 Shapes of Diamonds for Engagement Rings.

Brilliant Cut

The Round Brilliant Cut Diamond is the Standard Cut. It's the most popular Cut of Diamond there is, and also the most expensive Cut.

The Brilliant Cut has 58 Facets and out of all the Cuts of Diamond available on the market, the Brilliant Cut has the most Brilliance and Sparkle of them all.

The Brilliant Cut's Facets include:

1 - Table 8 - Bezel Facets 16 - Lower Girdle Facets 8 - Pavilion Main Facets

8 - Star Facets 16 Upper Girdle Facets 1 - Culet (optional)

An interesting thing to note about the Brilliant Cutting Style is that most Diamonds on the market today are Cut in this style and actually called "Modified Brilliant Cuts", which are Popular Cuts like the: Marquise, Pear, Heart, Oval and Cushion Cut (shown below).

Learn more about the Brilliant Cut Diamond and Ideal Cut Diamond!

Princess Cut

The Princess Cut Diamond (50-58 Facets) is normally thought of as a Square Diamond, but in reality, the Princess Cut is generally more Rectangular or if anything, slightly longer on one side of the stone than the other.

Princess Cuts are very popular and have taken the place of most Square or Rectangular Cuts of Diamond, like the Emerald Cut, or Step Cut (shown below).

GIA will list the Princess Cut on their Diamond Certificate as "Modified Brilliant Cut".

With 57 Facets, the Princess Cut looks quite large for it's size, mainly due to its 90 degree corners.

Marquise Cut

The Marquise Cut Diamond is an elongated Boat Shaped Diamond (like the Diamond in a deck of cards). It has pointed ends that look wonderful and tends to make your fingers look longer.

The Marquise Cut is a difficult Shape of Diamond to get right. Most Marquise Diamonds are short and fat and look more like Oval Stones instead. The proper proportions for a Marquise Shape are 2:1. That's twice as long as it is wide. That gives you the great Football shape and enhances the brilliance and sparkle in the stone.

Marquise Cuts are also known for their distinct Bow-Tie Effect, which is a dark shadow that falls in the center of the stone. The Bow-Tie is the mark of a GOOD Cut!

Pear Cut

The Pear Shaped Diamond, or Tear Drop (also called Pendeloque), looks like a rain drop. The Pear is a combination of two Cuts of Diamond; the Brilliant Cut (Round) and the Marquise Cut (Boat).

The Pear Shaped Diamond has 56-58 Facets and is also a Modified Brilliant Cut Diamond (the same Cutting Style as the Brilliant Cut).

Emerald Cut

The Emerald Cut Diamond (Classic Step Cut) with 57 Facets, is a Rectangular Cut of Diamond that has less sparkle than most Cuts because of the way it's Faceted.

Less Sparkle means it doesn't hide Inclusions as well as the Brilliant Cut Diamond does. Because of this you'll need a pretty clean stone (high Clarity like VS) in order for the Diamond to look good and face up well.

Emerald Cuts are beautiful, but ever since the Princess Cut emerged, it lost a lot of its popularity. Sparkle wins.

Radiant Cut

The Radiant Cut (a form of Cushion Cut) has 70 Facets. It's a great Shape for a Diamond because of the long sides and the Cut Corners.

Radiant Cuts look stunning, large and quite beautiful. Being NOT as popular as the Princess Cut, the Radiant Cut Diamond tends to stand out in the crowd. Not everyone will have one! :)

Heart Shape

The Heart Shaped Diamond is a wonderful Cut of Diamond that you either LOVE or you HATE! With 58 Facets, the Brilliance comes from the cutting style of the Brilliant Cut Diamond.

Some may think Cheesy and Cute, but others tend to think Heart Shapes are Romantic and Warms the Heart!

Oval Cut

The Oval Cut Diamond with 57 Facets is an awesome shape for a Diamond. Full of sparkle and beauty, the Oval Shaped Diamond tends to look very large for it's Carat Weight Size.

Ovals are showy Diamonds that look great in just about any Engagement Ring.

Trilliant Cut

The Trilliant Cut Diamond (also known as Trillion Cut, which is a Trielle Cut Diamond, or Triangle Cut as some will call it) is a Cut of Diamond that is so different and spectacular from the rest. Cut like a Brilliant Cut with pointed tips and slight curved sides, the Trilliant Cut was very popular in the 80's. Now you see very little of them.

Trilliant Cuts have tons of Sparkle and Brilliance, but are hard to set because of the pointed corners. You need just the right type of mounting to pull this look off.

Baguette Cut

The Baguette Cut (french name meaning little sticks or rods), is an extremely popular cut of Diamond that most don't think about. This is because Baguette Cuts (also called Step Cuts) are often used as Accent Stones or Side Diamonds in Engagement Ring Mountings.

With only 13 Facets, the Baguette Cut Diamond doesn't have much sparkle. They look wonderful, but you have to keep them clean in order to keep them from dulling up or looking dark.

Baguettes look stunning in Channels that run down the sides of rings, it gives them a Clean, Elegant, Classy look.

Tapered Baguette

The Tapered Baguette is practically the same Cut as the Baguette Cut except for the fact that the sides of the Diamond are tapered, or angled.

Tapered Baguette Cut Diamonds are generally laid side by side so they form a solid, flush wall for Channels or Accent Stones in Engagement Rings.

Single Cuts

Single Cut Diamonds, or Melee Cuts (also Accent Diamonds) are small Diamonds under .20 points (generally) that only have 16-18 Facets on them.

Single Cuts work well as any side stone in any type of mounting (Diamond or Gemstone) and even in Watches.

Chances are very good that if you look at any small Diamond in any setting, it's a Single Cut (versus the Full Cut Diamond which is the Brilliant Cut).

Fancy Cuts

Now that you've seen the popular Cuts of Diamond, let's explain Fancy Cuts.

Fancy Cuts are a name given to Every Single Cut of Diamond there is other than the Round Brilliant Cut Diamond. Fancy Cuts are Fancy Shapes!

Most Fancy Cut Diamonds will be cheaper than the Brilliant Cut (That's if you compare identical Color, Clarity and Carat Weight).

There are literally thousands and thousands of different Fancy Cuts and Designer Cuts. Some are patented with trade names like the Leo Cut (Kay Jewelers & Osterman Jewelers), the Celebration Cut (102 Facets), which is a round cut Diamond patented by Zales Jewelers, and the Radiant Star (145 Facets) exclusive to Helzberg.

Many Cuts have been around since the beginning of Diamonds. Some older Cuts can still be found on the market, like: Old Mine Cuts, Old European Cuts, Rose Cuts, Step Cuts, Trapeze Cuts and the Table Cut which could all be found in Antique Jewelry or Vintage pieces.

100 Diamond Shapes

Below are 100 Different Shapes of Diamond.

This list could go on and on, for I have left out some crazy cuts like: The Christmas Tree, Web Cut, Quadrillion Cut, Cushette Cut, Barocut, Eight-Eight Cut, Ashoka Cut, CrissCut, Gabrielle Cut, PrinceCut, Corona Cut, Tiana Cut, Spirit Diamond and the Virtue Cut Diamond.

Take a look at some of the different Shapes, Styles and Facets below. It really is an endless journey and it may peak some interest.

I present to you: 100 Different Shapes of Diamond!

Do keep in mind that these views are the top down view showing only the Facets on the top of the Diamond, they do NOT show the bottom view or bottom Facets!

Enjoy the Pictures!

Ariella Cut	Asscher Cut	Astree Cut
Baguette Cut	Barion Cut	Baroness Cut
Bead Cut	Bevel Cut	Boat Shaped Rose Cut
Brazilian Cut	Brilliant Cut	Bullet Cut
Butterfly Cut	Cherry Blossom Cut	Chiffre Cut
Context Cut	Cross Rose Cut	Crown Of Light Cut
Cushion Brilliant Cut	Dahlia Cut	Double Cut Brilliant Cut
Double Cut	Double Cut Rose Cut	Dragon Cut
Duchess Cut	Dutch Rose Cut	Emerald Cut
Empress Cut	English Round Cut Brilliant Cut	English Square Cut Brilliant Cut
Fan Shape Cut	Fire Rose Cut	Flame Cut
Genesistar Cut	Grace Cut	Half Dutch Rose Cut
Half Moon Brilliant Cut	Heart And Flower Cut	Heart Brilliant Cut
Hexagon Cut	Infinity 88 Cut	Jubilant Crown Cut
Jubilee Cut	Jupiter Cut	King Cut
Kite Cut	Korloff Cut	Lazare Cut
Leo Cut	Lisbon Cut	Lozenge Cut
Lucere Cut	Lucky Leaf Cut	Magna Cut
Maharaja Cut	Marigold Cut	Marquise Cut
Melee Cut	Movado Cut	Octagon Cut
Old European Cut	Old Mine Cut	Old Single Cut
Oval Cut	Pampille Cut	Pear Shaped Brilliant Cut
Pentagon Cut	Portuguese Cut	Princess Cut
Profile Cut	Queen Cut	Radiant Cut
Rhomboid Cut	Rondelle Cut	Rose Cut
Semi Navette Cut	Shield Cut	Single Cut
Six Faced Rose Cut	Spiral Cut	Square Antique Cut
Star Cut	Star Facet Cut	Star Of America Cut
Star Of The Shepherd Cut	Step Cut	Sunflower Cut
Swiss Cut	Table Cut	Tapered Baguette Cut
Tear Drop Shaped Brilliant Cut	Three Faced Rose Cut	Trapeze Cut
Triangle Cut	Trielle Cut	Trilliant Cut
Tulip Cut	Tycoon Cut	Whistle Cut
Xtreme Cut	Youngman Ideal Cut	Zinnia Cut

So there you go, over 100 Shapes and Cuts of Diamonds that will make your eyes glisten and your heart sing.

The real question is...

What shape are you?

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