A Guide to Fancy Diamond Shapes

In the diamond trade, any shape other than the round brilliant is called a fancy shape. Fancy shapes give a design its character, and they often cost less per carat than a round diamond of similar quality. Here is what makes each popular shape different.

Brilliant cuts and step cuts

Most fancy shapes fall into two families. Brilliant cuts, such as oval, pear, marquise and heart, use many triangular and kite-shaped facets to maximise sparkle. Step cuts, such as emerald and baguette, use long, parallel facets that create a calmer, mirror-like look.

The popular fancy shapes

• Oval: an elongated brilliant that looks larger than a round of the same weight and flatters the finger.

• Pear: a teardrop combining a rounded end and a point. Symmetry between the two sides matters.

• Marquise: a long, boat-shaped brilliant with two points. It offers a large face-up size for its weight.

• Heart: a romantic shape that needs a well-defined cleft and even lobes to read clearly.

• Emerald: a rectangular step cut with cut corners. Its open facets show the inside of the stone, so clarity is especially important.

• Baguette and tapered baguette: small rectangular step cuts, most often used as side stones beside a centre diamond.

What to look for

• Length-to-width ratio: decides how slim or full a shape looks. Ovals, pears and marquises vary widely, so compare ratios, not only carat weight.

• The bow-tie effect: a dark band across the centre of some ovals, pears and marquises. A slight bow-tie is normal; a strong one reduces brightness.

• Clarity for step cuts: emerald and baguette cuts reveal inclusions more easily than brilliant cuts.

• Matching: for pairs and layouts, stones should match closely in size, colour and outline.

At Anjanee Diamonds we supply round brilliants and fancy shapes, from a single stone to matched parcels. If you have a design in mind, tell us the shape and size you need and we will find the right stones.