A Guide to Diamond Shapes & Cuts
Updated: Aug 28
When choosing a diamond, one of the first decisions to make is its shape. The classic round brilliant remains the most popular, but there are many beautiful alternatives – known as fancy shapes – such as pear, oval, or heart, each with its own unique character.
Every shape has its own advantages, from maximising sparkle to creating a distinctive style. The right choice comes down to personal taste and what best reflects the wearer.
To help you decide, we’ve outlined the most popular diamond shapes below. And if you’d like more guidance, our experts are always happy to assist – either in our London and Manchester showrooms or through a virtual appointment.
Round Brilliant Cut Diamond
The round brilliant is the most popular diamond shape, accounting for more than half of all diamonds sold today. With 58 carefully cut facets, it offers maximum brilliance and light reflection, producing the most sparkle of any shape. Its versatility makes it the top choice for engagement rings across all styles. Hearts and arrows diamonds display a perfect pattern when viewed through a special scope, indicating precise cut and craftsmanship. This ideal cut enhances their overall sparkle.
Oval Shape Diamond
Part of the brilliant cut family, the oval cut stretches the round into an elongated shape. Introduced in the 1960s, it provides excellent sparkle with 58 facets and a graceful outline. Ovals often display a unique “bow-tie” effect across the centre, which adds character. They are a flattering choice, appearing larger for their carat weight compared to rounds.
Pear Shape Diamond
Also called the “teardrop,” the pear shape combines the brilliance of the round with the elegance of a point. Ideally cut with a length-to-width ratio between 1.5 and 1.7, it offers a full, balanced silhouette. With up to 58 facets, it delivers stunning sparkle and, being slightly shallower, gives more spread per carat than many other shapes – making it excellent value for money.
Princess Cut Diamond
The princess cut is the most popular fancy shape, recognised for its sharp square outline. Developed in the 1960s, it is essentially a square version of the round brilliant, usually cut with 57 facets to deliver exceptional sparkle. Modern and elegant, the princess cut is a striking alternative to the round.
Emerald Cut Diamond
First created for emerald gemstones, the emerald cut is known as a step cut, featuring long, parallel facets that highlight the clarity of the stone. Its rectangular shape with cropped corners produces flashes of light rather than a traditional sparkle, giving it an elegant, vintage appeal. For best results, we recommend clarity grades of VS2 or above.
Cushion Cut Diamond
The cushion cut combines a square or rectangular outline with soft, rounded corners, resembling a pillow. Popular since the 19th century, it remains a timeless engagement ring choice, often offering better value per carat than other shapes. Typically cut with 58 facets, it can display a “crushed ice” effect, and is available in both square and elongated forms.
Heart Shape Diamond
The heart cut is the ultimate symbol of love, used in jewellery for centuries and first seen as early as the 1600s. With 56 to 58 facets, it delivers sparkle along with its romantic outline. Whether set as a solitaire or accented with side stones, the heart shape is a bold and sentimental choice for those seeking something truly distinctive.
Marquise Cut Diamond
The marquise cut was commissioned by Louis XIV of France and inspired by the smile of his mistress. Perfected in the 20th century, it features pointed ends and an elongated shape that flatters the hand by making fingers appear longer. Beautiful as a solitaire or accented by smaller stones, it offers a bold and distinctive style.
Radiant Cut Diamond
Radiant cut diamonds combine the vibrant sparkle of a round brilliant cut with the clean, geometric lines of an emerald cut. Featuring 70 facets and cropped corners, it offers high brilliance, durability for daily wear, and often a better price-per-carat value than more popular shapes. It is a modern hybrid design created in 1977, making it relatively new compared to traditional or antique cuts.
Certainly more fancy diamond cuts are being developed as diamond cutting is evolving into a true fine art. Modern gem cutters and luxury houses keep introducing bespoke shapes that break away from traditional geometry.
Comparing Brilliant and Step-Cut Diamonds
Sparkling brilliant cut diamonds are the most popular styles. They’re identified by their numerous facets and often conical shape that provides the best light performance. It is the widest of the two categories, with 8 different diamond shapes including:
Round diamonds
Princess diamonds
Cushion diamonds
Oval diamonds
Pear diamonds
Heart diamonds
Radiant diamonds
Marquise diamonds
Though these diamonds all have different shapes, they do share the commonality of numerous facets that make them sparkle at almost every angle. This is the signature brilliant faceting that gives these diamonds their iconic scintillation and fire. The facets in brilliant cut diamonds are usually arranged for maximum light return.
Most brilliant cut diamonds are relatively new diamond cuts. The technology needed to optimize a diamond’s cut and precisely carve its facets has only been perfected over the last few centuries. For example, the iconic round brilliant diamond in its most faceted state only dates back to 1919. The radiant diamond is even newer, dating back to 1977.
Glowing step-cut diamonds are uniquely beautiful, with narrow facets arranged parallel to each other in a step-like pattern on four sides. This is a smaller category, with a few popular diamond shapes:
Emerald diamonds
Asscher diamonds
Baguette diamonds
Carré diamonds
These step-cut diamonds evoke vintage glamour with a soft glow and a “hall of mirrors” effect that’s visible in flashes of brilliance from the diamond’s facets when the light hits the stone just right. The elongated facets of step-cut diamonds are arranged to maximise the diamond’s beauty and flashes of light where possible.
Step-cut diamonds represent some of the older diamond cuts, dating back to 1902 for Asscher diamonds and all the way back to the 1500s for emerald cut diamonds. As technology has improved, these step-cuts have become more precise.
Valeria's Secret - fundamentally different 💕 with love xxx
Comments