SHAPES
ROUND
The round brilliant diamond is the most common diamond shape and typically carries the largest price tag. Today, we can see that the round brilliant diamond has become the most popular diamond shape for the engagement rings.
PRINCESS
The princess cut is a brilliant-style shape with sharp and pointed uncut corners. It is typically square in appearance (length-to-width ratio 1.05 or less), rather than rectangular. The princess was developed in 1980 by Betzalel Ambar and Israel Itzkowitz, of the Los Angeles based Ambar Company.
OVAL
Created by Lazare Kaplan in the 1960's, oval diamonds are a modified brilliant-cut. Because the two shapes possess a similar fire and brilliance, the oval is an ideal choice for a customer who likes the look of a round diamond but wants something more unique. Oval diamonds have the added advantage of an elongated shape which can sometimes increase the weight of the diamond.
MARQUISE
The football-shaped marquise diamonds are a modified brilliant-cut. The name is derived from the Marquise of Pompadour, for whom King Louis XIV of France allegedly had a stone fashioned to resemble what he considered her perfectly shaped mouth.
PEAR
The pear shaped diamond is also called the "teardrop diamond" because of its shape. The pear shaped diamond is a combination cut of the round-brilliant and the marquise cuts.
EMERALD
The term emerald refer to diamonds with an emerald cut. This is a distinctive type of diamond cut that is coveted by many diamond enthusiasts. Simplicity of form and its rectangular nature gives the emerald-cut diamond a graceful appeal.
HEART
The Heart shaped diamond is considered to be the most romantic of all cuts. A Heart shape generally contains 59 facets and is cut in a similar fashion to a pear-shaped diamond.
ASSCHER
The Asscher cut diamond is also called a "square Emerald-cut" because it employs the step-cut process and has cropped corners. Because of its cropped corners, it is almost octagonal at first glance.
CUSHION
The Cushion cut diamond is an antique cut that has a classic and romantic appeal. It is a cross between the Old Mine cut, which was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a modern Oval-cut diamond.
RADIANT
The Radiant cut diamond is considered the father of branded fancy cut diamonds. The radiant cut diamond is the first rectangular cut to have a complete brilliant facet pattern applied to both the crown and pavilion and as such presents a much more dazzling and brilliant diamond than its sister emerald cut
