When you’re shopping for diamond earrings, necklaces, or bracelets, understanding the various diamond cuts is just as important as knowing about the four Cs. A diamond can seem bigger and shinier even if it’s small, thanks to its cut. Learning about each cut and its features is important so that you can select the one that suits your preferences.
1. Round Brilliant
This is considered to be the most popular of all diamond cuts. It has 58 facets that give it a maximum sparkling effect, creating a rainbow of colors that explains its popularity.
2. Asscher
This is a square step cut that is similar to the rectangular Emerald Cut. However, it has a higher crown, smaller table, and larger facets, which give it a strong sparkling effect.
3. Princess
This cut comes in second in terms of brilliance – following the Round Brilliant Cut – which helps hide inclusions and blemishes. It can either be square or rectangular and is best protected by prongs to prevent its corners from chipping.
4. Radiant
This cut combines the rectangular shape of an Emerald Cut with the round shape, and sparkle, of the Round Brilliant.
5. Cushion
Like a pillow, the Cushion Cut can be square or rectangular with either round or cropped corners.
6. Heart
For an ideal heart-shaped diamond cut, it is better to be no less than 0.5 carats, considering it will look smaller when prongs are added. It’s equally important to make sure that both sides of the heart are symmetrical and that there’s a clear separating line.
7. Pear
The Pear Cut, also called Teardrop, starts as a semi-circle and narrows down to a pointed end. It is known for making fingers look longer and slimmer.
8. Baguette
This cut is a long, rectangular shape with no more than 14 facets that are parallel to each other. Therefore, it doesn’t have the sparkling effect that most diamond cuts have and inclusions are easier to spot.
9. Emerald
The Emerald Cut is also rectangular in shape with step-like facets that create a hall-of-mirrors effect. And because it’s also easier to see imperfections and color, the clearer and more colorless the diamond is, the better.
10. Oval
A variation of the Round Brilliant Cut, the Oval Cut offers the same brilliance and sparkle of the round cut, but with a slight difference in the traditional round shape. The oval shape has the effect of making fingers look slimmer and longer.
11. Marquise
Due to its elongated shape, a diamond with a small carat weight can appear larger when it receives a Marquise Cut. Similar to the Oval and Pear cuts, the Marquise Cut allows your fingers to look more slender.
