Diamond Cuts Defined

What is a 'round brilliant cut' diamond?

The "round brilliant cut" diamond is a diamond that is round, and it's cut with a brilliant facet patterns. It's the most brilliant of all cuts, and it happens to be the most popular shape of diamond today. And the reason for that is, quite simply, when you look at that brilliant round cut diamond, there are no corners where light can hide, and you get the maximum explosion of both brilliance and fire out of that diamond.

What is a 'pear cut' diamond?

The 'pear cut' diamond is actually an intermediate step between the round brilliant and a marquis diamond. It's cut in the shape of a tear drop, or a drop of water. It's extremely brilliant and it's very, very popular for pendants, engagement rings, and earrings, because of it's water drop effect.

What is a 'marquise cut' diamond?

The marquise cut diamond, also known as the navette cut in some instances, is shaped kind of like a football. It's rounded in the middle with two points at the end. It's very brilliant in the centre with light not returning as effectively on the corners.

What is an 'emerald cut' diamond?

An 'emerald cut' diamond is more rectangular in shape and it's really one of the more traditional, one of the older cuts of diamonds. It's a step cut. In other words, its got parallel facets that go step by step, increasing in size, along the sides. It has usually between 45 and 50 facets on an 'emerald cut'.

What is an 'oval cut' diamond?

An oval cut diamond is oval in shape. And is also an intermediary cut between the round brilliant and the marquee. It's more rounded on the ends than the marquee cut and actually has a great deal of brilliance.

What is a 'heart cut' diamond?

The heart cut diamond is actually a diamond that is cut in the shape of a heart. It's got two lobes like a beautiful cupid's heart and it represents all of the things that the heart represents in romance and it is very beautiful with quite a bit of brilliance for a fancy shape.

What is an 'Asscher cut' diamond?

The "Asscher cut" was actually invented in 1902 by the Asscher Brothers of Holland. And, some people call it the "square emerald" cut. It's got about eight sides to it, it's very brilliant, and it comes in a variety of patterns.

What is a 'radiant cut' diamond?

A "radiant cut" diamond is the diamond cut for folks that love the look of an emerald cut with the brilliance of a round brilliant. It's a combination, it's a rectangular shape diamond with cropped corners, that has a facet pattern very similar to that of the round brilliant, and thus gives more brilliance than a traditional emerald cut.

What is a 'princess cut' diamond?

A 'princess cut' diamond is one of the diamonds that's fastest rising in popularity. Many customers come in today asking for the princess cut. It's more of a square diamond, with the facet pattern of a round brilliant and has a heck of a lot of brilliance for a fancy shape.

What is a 'trilliant cut' diamond?

The trilliant cut diamond is a diamond that is cut shaped in a triangle. It can be used, and is often used, as a centre diamond. However, it is most often seen as an accent diamond on the side of a three stone ring, for example with a princess cut in the centre and two trilliant cuts on the side, butted up to the sides of the princess cut, making the entire ring look, and appear, like one large diamond.