Diamonds come in many shapes with the round brilliant cut being the most common. All the others are called fancy shapes. Cutting styles are categorized into three basic types: step-cut, brilliant-cut and mixed-cut.

The step cut has rows of facets that resemble the steps of a staircase and are usually four-sided and elongated. The emerald, asscher and baguette cuts are examples of this cut.

The most common brilliant cut is round. Other examples of brilliant cuts are heart, oval, marquise, and pear. All brilliants have 58 facets and are admired for their fire and sparkle. The mixed cut has both step and brilliant cut facets. In the last 20 years, mixed cuts featuring step cutting on the crown and brilliant cutting on the pavilion have become very popular. Examples of mixed cuts are radiant and princess cuts.

The round brilliant diamond is the most popular diamond shape. There are 58 facets in a Round Brilliant Cut including the culet. On the Crown or upper part of the Diamond, these consist of 1 table facet, 8 bezel facets, 8 star facets, and 16 upper girdle facets for a total of 33. On the pavilion, or bottom part of the Diamond, there are 16 lower girdle facets, 8 pavilion main facets and 1 culet. If the pavilion comes to a point at the bottom, the diamond does not have a culet.

The early modern Tolkowsky brilliant cut emerged with Marcel Tolkowsky's published thesis entitled, "Diamond Design: A Study of the Reflection and Refraction of Light in Diamond", in 1919. This was a theoretical work describing the best proportions of a round brilliant diamond which would provide a balanced return of light (brilliance) and dispersion. As a result, many cutters were led to fashion many of the larger, high quality goods in the range of these proportions. These proportions are also sometimes called the "American Ideal Cut", even though the work originated in Europe. Subsequently, the American Gem Society adapted proportional ranges for their "Ideal" (zero, 0, best) cut grade, based on this work and they are still used today. Name Brand Ideal cut: Lazare, Hearts On Fire, Natalie K.


The radiant cut is the name used to describe the cut-cornered, rectangular or square modified brilliant, the technical description on GIA grading reports. It has 70 facets (25 on the crown, 8 on the girdle and 37 on the pavilion). The truncated corners help to minimize chipping.

Radiant cut diamond is considered the father of branded fancy cut diamonds with a birth over 20 years ago. Originally protected by patent, the design is now public domain. The radiant cut diamond is the first rectangular cut to have a complete brilliant facet pattern applied to both the crown and pavilion and as such presents a much more dazzling and brilliant diamond than the simple emerald cut.

Ten years ago the preferred length to width ratio was close to 1.5, the same as what was preferred for the emerald cut of the time. In recent years the popularity of the squarer shapes has let to length to width ratios of 1.2 to 1.3 being very popular. At the same time, square radiants (ratio 1.05 or less) have been a popular choice diamond shoppers looking for a very bright square diamond.

The princess is a brilliant-style shape with sharp, pointed, uncut corners.
Brilliant style refers to vertical-direction crown and pavilion facets instead of the older, step-style horizontal-direction facets. It is a straight-edged square with pavilion facets that are wide at the culet (bottom of the diamond) and narrowed toward the girdle, the opposite of the pavilion-facet arrangement on the cut-cornered radiant.

The princess was developed in 1980 by Betzalel Ambar and Israel Itzkowitz, of the Los Angeles based Ambar Company. Cutting a princess generally results in a yield of 60 to 62 percent of the weight of the rough crystal, which is a better weight retention than a round. Often the octahedron rough crystal can be sawn in half, yielding two princess from one stone sawn surfaces becoming the tables of the two resulting princess stones. The high yield in weight translates into lower prices for princess cut diamonds compared to round brilliants.

The princess cut is called a square or rectangular modified brilliant in GIA grading reports. It may have either 50 facets (21 crown, 4 girdle, 25 pavilion) or 58 facets (21 crown, 4 girdle, 33 pavilion), depending on how the pavilion is cut. Because the corners of the princess cut were at the outer edges of the rough diamond crystal, this is where you can often expect naturals, inclusions and extra facets. Since the corners of a princess cut are usually covered by a V-shaped prong, irregularities at the corners are often not visible once set. However, these same irregularities can also lead to durability problems. The sharp, squared-off corners of the princess cut require great care when setting and need to be protected to avoid chipping or cracking.


The technical name of the pear is pear-shaped modified brilliant," based on its shape and modifications of the traditional round brilliant configuration.
The pear shape usually has the 58 facet brilliant pattern, but can be cut with different numbers of pavilion mains of 8, 7, 6, or 4 facets.

A tip at the pointed end of the pear brilliant with insufficient girdle thickness presents durability problems, while an extremely thick girdle can cause difficulty in setting and hides the weight below the girdle where you cannot see it.


The oval's technical name is "oval modified brilliant," based upon its shape and modifications of the traditional round brilliant configuration. The oval was invented by Lazare Kaplan in the early 1960's.The oval is seen most frequently cut in the standard 58 facet brilliant pattern, but can have a varying number of pavilion main facets ranging from 4, 6 or 8.

In the oval brilliant, as with marquise shapes and other elongated fancy shapes, there is an increased likelihood of having a "bow tie." This is a dark area in the shape of a man's bow tie that occurs when the angles of the cut are not optimum. This facet misalignment can detract from the brilliance, especially if it is an exaggerated or overly dark bow tie effect.

The marquise brilliant takes is name from a legend that the Sun King desired a stone to be polished into the shape of the mouth of the Marquise of Pompadour.
The marquise brilliant is a football-shaped modified brilliant. As with most fancy shapes, the ultimate shape of the finished diamond is determined by the rough crystal and what parameters it allows.

The marquise is usually cut as an adaptation of the 58 facet standard brilliant (33 crown, 25 pavilion), the same as the round brilliant. However, the pavilion can be cut with either 4, 6 or 8 pavilion main facets. The crown cut is sometimes modified in the marquise to form what is called a "French Tip," where the bezel facet at the point of the stone is eliminated. The length-to-width ratio should be in the 1.75-2.25 range.

A tip with insufficient girdle thickness presents durability problems. On the other hand, an extremely thick girdle can cause difficulty in setting and hides weight.
In the marquise brilliant, as with pear shapes and other elongated fancy shapes, there is an increased likelihood of having a bow tie. This is a dark area in the shape of a man's bow tie that occurs when the cut of facets reflecting light are not optimum. This facet misalignment can detract from the brilliance, especially if it is an exaggerated or overly dark bow tie effect.

The technical name for this stone is the "Heart-Shaped Modified Brilliant," based upon its shape and modifications of the traditional round brilliant configuration. The heart shape is a brilliant cut which typically contains 59 facets but that can be modified so that the number of pavilion main facets may be 6, 7, or 8.

The length-to-width ratio of the heart can vary. Fat hearts will have ratios in the 0.85 to 1.00 ratio while skinny hearts are will be greater than 1.00. The best ratio for you will depend on your personal preferences so do your shopping to determine what you like best. As with fancy shapes in general, cutting parameters are for the most part determined by the shape and nature of the rough diamond crystal.


The emerald cut is not a brilliant cut, but is called a step cut which means it has rows of facets. Step cuts are comprised of larger facets which act like mirrors and resemble a staircase, hence the name step-cut. he emerald cut has 58 facets (25 crown, 8 girdle and 25 pavilion).

Because of the angle, size and shape of the facets, the emerald cut shows less brilliance and fire (dispersion) than the other brilliant cut diamonds. However, the emerald cut stone reveals a classic beauty and elegance not seen in other cuts. The look of an emerald cut diamond is subtle and understated with less "flash," or reflection and refraction than brilliant cuts.

Rectangular emerald cuts are historically more popular than square-cut. The emerald cut can be one of the least expensive to cut because its shape is most like the natural shape of the rough diamond crystal. With ample supply of larger-size emerald rough, larger emerald cut diamonds are often lower price than similar quality and carat weight stones in other shapes.


A cushion cut is a square or squarish-rectangular cut with rounded corners and 58 brilliant-style facets that resemble a pillow shape, hence the name. Cushion cuts are a little less brilliant than modern round brilliant diamonds, but are more dispersive (which refers to the separation of white light into spectral colors).

The cushion cut diamond was one of the most popular cuts of diamonds ever. For more than 70 years from 1830 to the turn of the century this was simply how diamonds were cut. Many of the older cushion cuts, often called Old Mine Cuts, have steep crown and pavilion facets, usually a culet and a small table.

When Tolkowsky pioneered the modern round brilliant around 1913, those angles were incorporated into the cushion cuts, giving them more fire. The old fashion cushion cut usually has a very thin girdle and bigger culet (the bottom of the diamond). Because of the thin girdles, older stones are often chipped.
Cushion cut diamonds come in various shapes from those almost square (length to width ratio 1.05 or less) to very rectangular (ratio 1.4 or more) and everything in between.

Older cushion cuts return light in blocky patterns while newly cut stones return light in needlelike patterns. Newer cushion cuts usually have smaller culets because most shoppers today want the smaller culets associated with round brilliant cuts. Antique and modern cushion cuts are virtually the same, though newer technology means today's cushion cuts have better symmetry, proportions and polish.

The recent popularity for cushion cuts began again about ten years ago, and the demand has increased as designers and antique dealers continue to use them. A big recent change in the demand for cushion cuts was triggered when reality show The Bachelor highlighted a 2.07 carat cushion cut ring from Harry Winston. This nationwide exposure to this cut of diamond has resulted in a dramatic increase in demand for this beautiful and classic diamond shape.

Cushion cut diamonds look especially nice in antique settings so are a great choice if that is the type of ring you are seeking.Cushion are cut with square shapes (length-to-width ratios of 1.07 or less), rectangular (ratios 1.20 or greater) and everything in between. There is no right or wrong ratio for the cushion since it is a personal preference as to which looks best to you.

In 1902, Asscher Diamond Co. patented a rectilinear diamond cut. Developed by Joseph Asscher, the squarish step cut's deeply cut corners give it an almost octagonal outline. It features a small table, high crown, broad step facets, deep pavilion and square culet. The Asscher cut was inspired by the table cuts of the Renaissance. However, it was a big departure from the brilliant cuts that dominated the 1800s and was a forerunner of the standard emerald cut. The Asscher cut was developed prior to 1910, when the rotary diamond saw revolutionized modern diamond cutting. The Asscher cut is a square cut characterized by a smaller table and larger step facet than an emerald cut. It features dramatic, cut corners. It usually has a high crown and a deeper pavilion than today's emerald cuts. Because of its high crown and small table, the Asscher cut has more light and fire than an emerald cut.

The Royal Asscher Diamond is a branded name version of the Asscher cut diamond. The new model is square and has a total of 74 facets. The logo Royal Asscher cut is laser inscribed as well as a unique number on the girdle of the stone.