Diamond Cuts And Shapes

If you are in the market for a diamond ring you may want to study up on diamond cuts and shapes. The cut and shape of a diamond make a lot of difference in the sparkle and shine of the stone. Differentiating between cut and shape can get confusing because the shapes are often referred to as cuts. For example a princess cut diamond is actually the shape.

The cut of a diamond refers to the polishing, the number of facets and proportion of cuts on a diamond. The shape of a diamond is just that, the shape of the stone. There are seven basic diamond shapes available. The round, pear, heart, oval, marquise, emerald and princess. The round diamond is by far the most popular. All the shapes are pretty simple. The princess cut is a square shaped diamond.

Other less popular shapes of diamonds include trilliant, radiant, asscher and cushion. Each is just as beautiful as the more popular shapes. The trilliant diamond is a brilliant cut triangle shaped diamond. The radiant diamond is rectangular shaped diamond. It is similarly cut like an emerald cut but has many more facets. The radiant diamond is a much more forgiving cut of diamond. It can be less than perfect and still look beautiful.

The asscher cut diamond is a square shape similar to the princess cut. However, it is cut instead and faceted like that of an emerald cut diamond. The cushion cut diamond is also called a candlelight or pillow cut diamond. The cushion cut diamond's shape is between an oval and an emerald cut.