Diamond Shape.

People often picture their own ‘perfect stone’ in their head. They extend their hand as if they were wearing a precious ring, or look at a necklace in the mirror as if it contained their dream pendant. Whereas, people are often willing to negotiate with the cut or clarity in order to acquire their dream diamonds, the shape is usually one of the non-negotiable basic requirements.

Deciding the Shape

First, the diamond rough is categorized into an octahedron or dodecahedron triangular shape. Then the cutter must study the rough and ensure he understands exactly what is going on inside the stone. Once he feels he is familiar with the stone, he can decide the shape he can best accomplish from the rough. Keeping the market value in mind, he can then begin the manufacturing stage towards producing the most valuable stone possible.Diamonds can be cut into almost any shape desired. Only, because it isn’t profitable creating something that has no market value, unique diamond shapes are sometimes more difficult to locate. 

Common Diamond Shapes

The diamond shape refers to the geometrical form of a finished stone. The two main styles used to cut down a stone are 'Round Brilliant' and 'Fancy Shapes.' Today, many variations of the styles have been developed. However, the general idea still remains.

Which Shapes Should I Choose.

The most common Fancy Shapes used for Fancy Coloured Diamonds are Radiant and Cushion. With white diamonds the goal is to concentrate on the light performance and the brilliance or sparkle of the stone. With Fancy Colour Diamonds, the goal is to concentrate much more on the colour and intensity of the stone.

Cushion and Radiant yellow diamonds

Radiant and Cushion shapes, for example, are known to absorb the light and therefore often grade very well on the GIA intensity scale. They are therefore considered a 'safe bet' when it comes to shaping the stones. In fact, as a result of the facet arrangements in these shapes, imperfections may be less noticeable as well. Other shapes such as Emerald and Princess are a rarer find since it is harder to keep the color in those stones. The color in an Emerald cut can actually seem to sometimes 'fall down' from the stone. However, if the cutter manages to create a Fancy Colored Emerald Cut diamond with a high level of color intensity, the value of the stone will increase considerably.

Emerald shape Pink diamonds

The facets formed in the fancy shaped diamonds are rarely symmetrical. In fact, many of the fancy shapes include elongated and asymmetrical facets. Each of the fancy shapes has their own unique characteristics as can be seen in the descriptions of each below.

Over time many other shapes have been developed and are seen in the market. These less common fancy shapes might be somewhat less popular but their shine is no less mesmerizing.