Diamond Shapes Guide: How to Choose the Right Cut for Your Style

Ask ten people to describe their dream diamond and you'll hear about shape long before carat or clarity comes up. Shape sets the personality of a piece. A round brilliant feels classic, an emerald cut feels sleek and a little old Hollywood, and a pear looks romantic and unexpected. Here's what each popular shape offers and how to pick the one that suits your hand and your style.

• Round diamonds have the most sparkle and hide color and inclusions best, but they cost the most per carat.
• Oval, pear and marquise shapes look larger than rounds of the same weight and make fingers look longer.
• Emerald and Asscher cuts show the inside of the stone more openly, so choose a higher clarity grade for them.
• Pointed shapes like pear, marquise and princess need prongs or V-tips that protect their corners.

Round Brilliant

The round brilliant is the most popular diamond shape in the US, and for good reason. Its 57 or 58 facets are designed to return as much light as possible, so it hides small inclusions and slight warmth well. It works in nearly any setting, from a plain solitaire to a halo. The trade-off is price: rounds cost more per carat because more of the rough crystal is cut away to make them.

Oval

Ovals have become a favorite for engagement rings over the past few years. They keep much of a round's sparkle while looking larger for their weight, and the long outline flatters shorter fingers. A length-to-width ratio between 1.35 and 1.50 gives a classic shape. Check photos for a dark bow tie across the center before you buy.

Cushion

A cushion cut is a square or slightly rectangular stone with rounded corners, a bit like a pillow. It has a soft, vintage feel and tends to show bigger, chunkier flashes of light. Cushions look especially good in halo settings and on pavé bands.

Princess

The princess cut is a square with sharp corners and brilliant-style facets. It gives a modern, geometric look at a lower price per carat than a round. Choose a setting with V-shaped prongs at each corner, since those points are the spots most likely to chip.

Emerald and Asscher

These step cuts have long, flat facets that create a "hall of mirrors" effect instead of scattered sparkle. The emerald cut is rectangular and the Asscher is square. Because the large open table shows more of the stone's interior, aim for VS2 clarity or better and a slightly higher color grade than you'd pick for a round.

Pear and Marquise

A pear combines one rounded end with a single point, while a marquise is pointed at both ends. Both make fingers look slender and give you a lot of visible size per carat. Wear a pear with the point toward your fingertip for a traditional look, or flip it for something more personal. Protect the tips with prongs, and make sure the two halves of the stone look symmetrical.

Radiant

A radiant cut has the trimmed corners of an emerald cut with the lively sparkle of a brilliant. It's a good middle ground if you like a rectangular outline but want more fire than a step cut gives. With no sharp points, it also holds up well to everyday wear.

How to Choose the Right Shape for You

• For the most sparkle: round, oval, cushion or radiant.
• To make fingers look longer: oval, pear, marquise or an elongated emerald cut.
• For an active lifestyle: shapes without points, like round, oval, cushion and radiant, in a low bezel or six-prong setting.
• For the most size per dollar: oval, pear and marquise usually look largest for their weight.

Try on a few shapes before you decide. A shape that looks plain in a photo can come alive on your hand, and the reverse happens too.

Find Your Shape

Explore classic and modern silhouettes in our diamond rings, see how different shapes catch the light in our earrings, or start simple with a solitaire from our pendants. For help reading diamond grades, see our guide to the diamond 4Cs.

Banner photograph: Pexels. Thumbnail photograph: Pexels. In-article photograph: Pexels. Real photographs used under the Pexels License.

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