In nature, diamonds are mined as unformed, dirty, and unattractive rocks. It takes a long way to make them reveal their latent potential of eternal beauty. This process is titled “cutting.” Among other manipulations, it includes getting the exact diamond shape from a raw stone. And here, all the differences start taking place. Making each shape requires different effort and amount of raw material — and this situation inevitably affects the diamond cost. Basically, that’s how the distinction between the most expensive and the cheapest diamond shapes appeared.
Even though it’s hard to evaluate the professionalism of a cutter in a jewelry store, you can still understand how the diamond appearance changes the bill. When it comes to pricing, the round cut is the sole leader, costing you up to 40% more than other fancy shapes. And the fact that round diamonds appear smaller in size than all the other jewels doesn’t change the situation dramatically.
What does the round shape owe the honor? Let’s investigate whether it costs its money and how to make the best diamond purchase in the given circumstances.
So, the round brilliant cut is the most expensive diamond shape — and there are many reasons for this. Among all, its cut composition intensifies sparkling and light reflection in a precious stone. It helps the round diamond generate the most brilliance and become a crowd-pleaser. At the same time, creating a high-quality round-shaped diamond needs changing a lot in the initial stone. A really good cutter should break a stone in half — or even remove 60% of it in some cases. The problem is that these leftover pieces can’t be used as other diamonds. Therefore, their potential price will be included in the cost of the high-quality diamond left.
Schematically, round-cut diamonds consist of 57 or 58 facets that accumulate the tiniest rays of light. People frequently order this diamond shape for an engagement ring even though it takes a lot to create and buy such a stone. And it’s true: while choosing a round-cut diamond, you’ll never get wrong. This shape is always perfect for a classic woman who likes traditional jewelry. By the way, this guarantee is another good reason for the high cost of round brilliant cut diamonds.
So, it’s not that hard to find a round-shaped diamond. But how to choose a really good stone that is worth its money? Among all, detect the high-quality work of a cutter in such a stone. To our clients, we explain the importance of a diamond consultant’s help and your careful attention to the diamond certificate. In most cases, that’s enough to check the cut quality of your precious stone. Besides, if you are in a jewelry shop, don’t forget to check the presence of sparkling in the form of hearts and arrows on the stone. If you see it, everything’s fine — and the typical price increase in 20%-40% for a round shape is totally worth it. Otherwise, the jewel won’t reveal all the intensified sparkling that makes it look bigger, more shining, and truly expensive.
Princess cut is the second popular option among diamond buyers because of its affordable price. Among all, these diamonds don’t require a big raw stone to be made: removing one-fifth is enough. But when it comes to round-cut diamonds, this diamond shape leaves only two-fifth of the original diamond weight. At the same time, the princess-cut diamonds generate the same brilliance and fire as round-cut ones. Finally, the princess shape looks bigger than the round one, if you compare these stones in the same carat category. All these factors together make the princess shape truly cost-effective.
If you fancy the idea of saving money, we recommend going for a princess-cut diamond! Its square design is a perfect choice for everyone who wants to get a bigger diamond for the same price. If you don’t like this shape, there are numerous other affordable options available for you.
The form of a cushion cut resembles a rectangle or a square with rounded edges. Thanks to its appearance, this shape looks bigger than a round one too. Moreover, it saves you room for improvisation. The exact length-to-width ratio is always different, depending on your taste and the quality of cutting. As a diamond buyer, you can choose the exact appearance of your cushion-cut diamond by yourself.
Many people love cushion-cut diamonds for their elegance and fire. However, this shape doesn’t allow neglecting the purity and quality of cutting. So, be attentive while making a diamond purchase with a cushion shape.
Oval-shaped diamonds are the top choice for rings, fitting the simplistic designs accentuated with a big jewel. In terms of structure, it’s similar to round-shaped diamonds (because they have the same number of facets) with an only difference — its form is more elongated. And its bigger table, no matter how dramatic the oval lines become, always results in a greater appearance.
The good news is that an oval shape saves the most brilliance in a diamond (after a round cut, of course). On a female body, it magnifies the elegance and softness of her lines. And the final note: oval-shaped diamonds can cost up to 30% cheaper than round-cut diamonds! Altogether, if you’ve spotted a top-quality oval-cut diamond, just get it! This shape has great value-for-money.
The structure of the emerald cut contributes to outstanding brilliance in a stone. Moreover, it assists in intensifying the diamond color, thanks to the specific structure of its table. Similar to the cushion cut, the exact numbers of the length-to-width ratio in an emerald diamond may differ. And again, this means that you can customize the appearance of this shape, making your diamond closer either to a rectangle or a square. If you fancy a classic emerald-shaped diamond, search for a correlation close to 1.35.
The emerald shape is perfect for the colored diamonds. In this appearance, such stones reveal the maximum intensity of color. If you want to get this shape for a colorless stone, ensure it has a flawless color (as close to D color as possible) and an exceptional clarity (at least, VS2).
The Asscher cut is a rare find. Invented one century ago by the Royal Asscher Company, it reminds an octagon with 4 corners cropped. However, the exact solution to this task got two appearances: one is classic Asscher shape with 58 facets, and another is Royal Asscher cut with 74 facets. Notwithstanding the number of facets, its distinctive features are a small table, large facets, and a high crown (especially in Royal type).
If you decide to choose the Asscher cut, get ready to search long to get it in satisfactory quality. Among all, it’s not advisable to go for a low clarity grade if you want to enjoy the most from this shape. If you want a colored diamond, select the most intense color you can afford. For a colorless diamond, the indefectibility of color is not that important.
The very idea of a radiant cut was invented to increase the radiance and persistence of a diamond. Composed of 70 facets, it really generates lots of brilliance and fire. Also, it’s extremely durable. Thanks to its practical design, the radiant cut has the edges that are convenient to be put and serve long in a ring setting. And all this comes for greater affordability of this shape, comparing to a round-cut diamond!
If you decide to go for a radiant shape, pay close attention to its corners — they should be neither narrow nor wide. Also, ensure their perfect symmetry. Like with many other fancy shapes, it’s up to you to select the exact length-to-width ratio, depending on your aesthetic tastes. Nevertheless, don’t let this number go below 1.00 and above 1.35.
In a pear shape, your diamond will combine the best features of oval and marquise diamond shapes. Thus, this precious stone will have not only an unusual form but also an affordable value. Like oval-shaped diamonds, pear-cut jewels have a bigger appearance that costs less. Moreover, they use the major part of a raw diamond to cut — and together, you’ll pay 10-30% less than for round-cut diamonds.
The pear shape doesn’t have any strict criteria in terms of clarity and color — just make sure they don’t go below the commonsense threshold. Thanks to the specifics of this form, many inclusions and imperfections will still appear eye-clean and beautiful.
Marquise diamonds have the largest face-up area and the lowest price. In particular, it reminds an ellipse with two pointed and sharp edges. Nevertheless, getting a really good marquise diamond is one of the hardest tasks ever — since creating ideal proportions requires the remarkable craft from a diamond cutter. One of the best ways to ensure this skill is to check the “Cut” grade in the GIA certificate.
Marquise shape will look good even if you choose SI2 clarity or J color grade for it. But don’t forget to combine these relatively low grades with yellow or rose gold to soften the yellowish tint in them.
To create a heart from a diamond, the outstanding mastery from a jeweler is a must. If done correctly, this shape is worth paying any money. That’s the reason why it is a top choice among various diamond buyers.
To check the quality of the heart shape, pay attention to all diamond parameters. Among all, measure the perfect symmetry between two parts and the sharpness of cleft in your stone. Also, the exact length-to-width ratio is extremely important. Finally, review all the 4Cs of your diamond: at least, it should have “Good” cut, G color, and SI2 clarity.
In the end, the diamond shape is not the sole factor that affects the diamond price. This stone is always the sum of several elements. Amongst others, the diamond cut is the dimension you cannot save on. Without a high-quality cut, there’s no need to buy a diamond at all — because it resembles the gloomy natural rock, not an elegant jewel.
In its turn, the accurate diamond shape can mitigate the impact of these factors for each specific diamond. For example, the round shape is great at covering the imperfections in color and clarity. Thus, overpaying for round-cut diamonds means saving on its other 4Cs simultaneously!
In its turn, an oval cut is great at hiding the clarity imperfections — so you can be safe at choosing SI1 or even SI2 clarity grade with it. Nevertheless, this diamond shape intensifies the color, so you must be careful with choosing its grade. We don’t recommend going under H color with an oval diamond.
Moreover, the most expensive fancy cut can quickly turn into a more affordable once you change the desired carat weight category. For example, you can choose a jewel of 1.9 carats, not 2 — and you’ll see how dramatically its price will fall.
Among all, the advantage of choosing one diamond shape over another is that it looks bigger than that diamond in the same carat weight. Thus, you should determine the carat weight of your perfectly cut diamond first — and then, choose among various diamond shapes. When you purchase the precious stone from this perspective, you’ll enjoy the most benefits from the Asscher, emerald, radiant, oval, and cushion cuts.
Also, pay attention to the complex of all diamond 4C’s not to get into trouble. If you choose one shape over another, these stones should be totally similar, except this criterion.
Finally, always check the reputation of the vendor. The best choice to find an affordable diamond of any shape is to refer to a wholesaler directly. This is the service you can request from the Diamond Registry experts. For over 60 years, we assist our clients in getting the diamonds of their dreams for the most affordable prices.
