You can choose whatever diamond shape you like; it is completely up to your personal preference, but the cut of the diamond is what is crucial for giving it its sparkle, and even a diamond with high colour and clarity grades will appear dull if it has been poorly cut.
How a diamond is shaped and polished, particularly the angles, proportions and symmetry of its facets, is what the cut is all about. A well-cut diamond will maximise white light reflection and give the diamond its brilliance and sparkle that we all know and love.
Diamond cutting involves transforming a rough diamond into a faceted gem by arranging and proportioning the small facets that are found across the diamond's surface. A good cut allows the light to enter the diamond and reflect off the internal facets, creating bright flashes of white light when we look at it, which is otherwise known as its brilliance.
Fire is another term referred to with diamond cuts, which refers to the rainbow effect that is created as light disperses into different colours when it travels through the diamond. Scintillation refers to the sparkle and sparkle patterns that are caused by the way light reflects off the facets. Highly cut grades require skilled craftsmanship and time to produce, and will make a diamond much more desirable and valuable. A well-cut diamond has symmetrical facets and a polished surface, which is crucial for maximising fire, sparkle and brilliance.
Different Diamond Cuts and How to Choose One
There is a wide variety of different diamond cuts to choose from, but you should base your main decision-making on your personal tastes and preferences. The classic and most popular choice is the round brilliant cut, which is known for its meticulous arrangement of 57-58 facets in a circular-shaped diamond, maximising light return and creating a dazzling diamond sparkle with brilliance and fire.
Modern or unique diamond cuts include shapes like pear, marquise and oval, and offer a more contemporary look. The elegant oval shape offers a brilliance similar to that found from the round cut, but can often make the same-sized diamond appear larger, while the marquise is a smart, rectangular shape with tapered ends. The pear resembles a teardrop and offers a unique, stylish appeal. Vintage cuts like the cushion cut, which are square with rounded corners, offer a romantic style with balanced sparkle and historical charm. Bold cuts like princess or emerald cuts offer a more dramatic and angular style with sharp corners that offer a more vibrant and eye-catching sparkle.
Choosing the right cut for your diamond engagement ring depends on the look you want to create. Stylish and elegant, or dramatic and bold, it can all be achieved through understanding the different shapes and cuts of the stone.
Other Considerations to Influence Your Choice
Aside from personal preferences, consider the shape of the hands and fingers of the ring wearer when choosing the right cut, because you, or they, will be wearing this ring for a very long time (possibly forever), and you want it to look and feel exactly right. Elongated shapes like pear, oval and marquise can complement long and slender fingers, while oval and pear shapes can make shorter fingers appear longer, and round and princess cuts can help balance longer fingers.
Everyone wants to have the best diamond they can, but you don't want to break the bank right at the beginning of your beautiful, romantic journey, so understand the 4Cs and what they mean when making your decision, and it can help you balance your budget. The Cut quality significantly impacts the sparkle and brilliance of the diamond, the Carat, or weight of the diamond generally increases with the size of the diamond, the Clarity refers to the internal flaws and external blemishes of the diamond, with fewer imperfections making it more valuable, and the Colour grade goes from colourless to light yellow or brown, with colourless being the most valuable.
Prioritise which of the 4Cs is most important to you, and you can tweak your budget accordingly. If sparkle is your most cherished wish when purchasing your diamond, then focus on a higher grade cut, as a less expensive diamond will appear more brilliant with a skilled and higher grade cut. If it's size that matters, then choosing a larger diamond with less quality in cut, colour, or clarity may give you more diamond for your money. While colourless diamonds are rarer and more expensive, some people find that diamonds with a faint yellow tint will be cheaper, but can still appear white, making them a more affordable option.
The diamond's cut is the most important factor influencing its brilliance, fire and scintillation, so understanding the different cuts will help you to choose the perfect gem for your engagement ring!
