DIAMOND SHAPE POPULARITY; WHAT JEWELERS ARE BUYING AND SELLING!

As you know by now, the round is, and always has been the most popular diamond shape one can buy. Rounds are the most brilliant cut diamond shape. All the other shapes (oval, heart, marquise, princess…) are called fancy shaped diamonds.

Picture this; just about every solitaire, every commercial, every jewelers advertising, catalog, and flier, shows a classic engagement ring, a plain band, with a large single (solitaire) round diamond in the center. It’s traditional, timeless, and the #1 choice for both buyers and sellers.

No one disputes that. It’s fact!

So why is knowing what’s popular and what’s not important to you?

Because it tells you many things;

• The most popular shape is also the most expensive shape
• The fancy shaped diamonds are more unique
• The fancy shapes are also cheaper
• But fancy shapes don’t bring the same trade-in, or resell value

It’s something that can play a huge role in deciding what shape to purchase.

Do you go mainstream and get a round brilliant cut diamond that costs more but holds it’s value better? Or do you get something more fun, longer, different, that may not bring you as much in trade-in value, but will bring you more joy? Plus, some jewelers just may not even want to buy them back. They could be sitting on 1,000 marquise shaped diamonds that don’t sell well, and they may not want another. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to stray into fancy.

Round diamonds also hide inclusions and internal flaws better than any other shape. This is because it’s perfectly symmetrical and all of the crown facets tend to hide and block flaws from eyesight. Some other cuts, like the emerald cut diamond, shows off inclusions extremely well and makes them stand out like a sore thumb.

Keep these things in mind, when venturing into the jewelry store. For not only are rounds the best buy, but they also carry the most sparkle and fire as well. It’s a win-win.

To prove popularity, let’s do a test…

Let’s head over to some leading online jewelers and see what shapes are being stocked. Seeing what the quantities are will tell you what shapes jewelers are buying the most. This tells you what’s popular, and what’s not (at the time of this post). I have ranked these stones in order of quantity on hand. First up…

James Allen Diamond Shapes:

• Round Brilliant Cut: 191,357
• Oval Cut: 19,488
• Cushion Cut: 16,660
• Pear Cut: 14,123
• Princess Cut: 13,620
• Emerald Cut: 12,736
• Radiant Cut: 7,283
• Heart Cut: 4,607
• Marquise Cut: 3,263
• Asscher Cut: 2,173

See these diamonds here at James Allen.

Keep in mind, this is all qualities of diamonds (all different 4c’s) and all carat weights. If you narrow down the search by clarity, color, or weight, then these numbers will change drastically.

Did you see that leap from rounds to ovals? Only 10 fold… Eye opener, isn’t it?

Blue Nile Diamond Shapes:

• Round Brilliant Cut: 215,021
• Oval Cut: 22,458
• Pear Cut: 16,713
• Princess Cut: 16,385
• Cushion Cut: 15,525
• Emerald Cut: 14,875
• Radiant Cut: 7,900
• Marquise Cut: 4,376
• Heart Cut: 4,035
• Asscher Cut: 2,543

See these diamonds here at Blue Nile.

Kay Jewelers Diamond Shapes:

• Round Brilliant Cut: 34,882
• Cushion Cut: 8,286
• Oval Cut: 8,190
• Emerald Cut: 6,250
• Princess Cut: 5,582
• Radiant Cut: 4,160
• Pear Cut: 4,143
• Asscher Cut: 1,959
• Heart Cut: 1,496
• Marquise Cut: 1,066

See these diamonds here at Kay Jewelers.

I could go on and on…

But I think you see the point. The range, and variety of round cut diamonds is extreme. You’ll never run out of diamonds to price and compare (which is great). The other fancy shapes are more difficult to compare, since most jewelers (especially independent jewelers and even mall jewelry stores), don’t carry a vast selection to choose from. In fact, looking for a VS2, D Marquise, may only show you one or two in your entire city. Keep that in mind when shopping or selling.

So, after seeing what’s popular in diamond shapes, what’s your go-to diamond?

What shape do you prefer?

Let me know in the comments below.

Cheers! :)