3 Tips to Remember When Choosing a Diamond Shape

Round diamonds have long been the most popular choice of shape for engagement rings, with over 50% of Ritani customers opting for these types of center stones. Their symmetrical cut and exquisite brilliance complement almost any engagement ring setting, with a timeless appeal that will be enjoyed for decades of wear. That said, more and more people are considering distinctive fancy cut shapes like cushion and emerald diamonds. Here are a few things to consider in order to make the right choice for you and your engagement ring.

Fancy Diamond Cuts May Be More Affordable

There are a number of reasons why choosing a fancy diamond shape like an oval or emerald cut might be a more affordable option than the popular round cut. Less of the diamond rough is likely to be wasted if cut into a fancy shape, allowing for a larger carat weight in the finished stone. Fancy cuts like the heart-shaped diamond and pear shape can be selected as ways to remove significant inclusions from the original rough diamond. In this way, less of the valuable rough can be sacrificed, while still producing a beautiful high-quality diamond.

Certain Cuts Can Appear Larger In A Ring

When set in an engagement ring, a diamond is positioned with its table facing upward. For certain shapes, like the asscher and emerald, this means they may not look as large as other diamonds with the same carat weight. These shapes are cut with notable depth, due to the way the pavilion is angled. A lot of their weight, therefore, comes from an area of the diamond that won’t be the most visible in a ring. If you’re trying to maximize size relating to carat weight, we recommend considering princess and marquise-cut diamonds, in particular.

Personal Taste Is King

While it’s smart to factor in the various affordability tradeoffs between the different diamond shapes, the most important element is choosing a shape that you like. This might seem obvious, but don’t disregard a cut you truly adore simply because you could save a couple of hundred dollars with another shape of the same size.

There are other choices you can make with an engagement ring that will save money – from opting for white gold over platinum, to choosing a diamond with a little more color in it. If you’re a fan of yellow or rose gold settings, the extra color might not even be visible to the naked eye. If you’ve fallen head over heels for the oval cut, don’t settle for anything less.

2016 Diamond Trends

With engagement season in full swing, many people will be buying diamonds for the first time in their life over the next few months. The coming year is expected to hold significant changes in the diamond market, with changes in everything from pricing to style. These are four of our prediction for upcoming 2016 diamond trends.

Lower Diamond Prices

If you have been researching, considering buying a diamond, or simply reading the news, it is no secret that the diamond market is experiencing noteworthy highs and lows this year. On the one hand, De Beers is closing the Snap Lake Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories due to market softness; on the other, the most recent Christie’s gem auction in Hong Kong sold several record-breaking stones. The 12.03-carat blue diamond known as “the Blue Moon of Josephine” sold for $48.4 million.

However, the jaw-dropping prices for large-carat trophy diamonds will not make much of a difference to average people buying diamonds to set in engagement rings, pendants, or earrings. One carat diamonds (both rough and polished) have dropped in price significantly throughout 2015. This is good news for those planning to buy diamonds in 2016, because retail prices will show a decrease as well.

More Fancy Cuts

There is no doubt that the round brilliant cut will continue to be the most popular diamond shape. The other diamond cuts have a long way to go before catching up, with round diamonds representing approximately 75% of diamonds sold. Still, fancy cut diamonds – which is, every diamond shape except for round – are steadily gaining in popularity and representing a larger portion of all sold diamonds. Radiant and oval cut diamonds, for example, both have a brilliant faceting pattern like a round cut but are less conventional, elongated shapes.

Diamond…Downgrades?

This shouldn’t make any sense, with another one of our diamond trends being a price decrease. Usually when diamond prices are down, people are more likely to buy larger pieces of diamond jewelry to capitalize on the trend. Nonetheless, a growing trend has been for people with larger, more high-profile rings to get a ring downgrade.

By “high-profile”, we don’t mean an engagement ring owned by a public figure like Amal Clooney, though she did get a ring downgrade this year. Rather, high-profile refers to how high the ring sits on the finger. Massive prong-set solitaire rings are a good example of the high-profile style. Because they snag and get caught on things easily, high-profile engagement rings are prone to damage. This leads many people to choose a ring downgrade, often opting for a simple wedding band for everyday use.

Top diamond cuts for 2016

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As the end of the year approaches and fashion experts look to predict the trends for 2016, one area of attention is always focused on jewelry and in particular the cuts of diamond which will grace future heirloom pieces.

The cut of a diamond will determine the overall beauty of the gem and whilst the other three ‘C’s (clarity, color and carat) are just as important, the cut gives the diamond the desired look and also the brilliance of the finished piece.

The job of the expert cutter is to minimize the amount of diamond lost when cutting it from rough, but also to include as many facets as possible so it does not look dull and lifeless.

As time goes by, different cuts are more desirable. Some will always be seen as classic choices but there are others which are more popular at some times than others.

Here then are the diamond cuts which are set to be the most popular to be set into rings and necklaces or to grace private collections in 2016.

Round Cut

Round-Cut-Diamond

The most popular cut of diamonds and set to continue to top the jewelry design charts for next year, round cut diamonds are simply the best when it comes to brilliance and the amount of light which shines through the 58 facets. A design which has changed little since the physics of this cut were perfected in 1919, it’s perfect for both classic and contemporary pieces.

Princess Cut Diamond

First seen in the 1960s and then enjoying a revival in the 1980s, this square or slightly rectangular shape is set to light up the diamond design world next year as it’s a cut which really shows fire in a stone and has a real presence when set into an engagement ring. A choice for someone who wants something a little bit different but will still own a sophisticated piece of jewelry when fashions change over the coming years. 

Radiant Cut Diamond

Another popular cut from the 1980s, radiant cut diamonds are set to be seen more and more as the revival of this period of fashion continues. It’s a cut with 70 facets which means it’s an excellent choice for colored diamonds; another aspect of jewelry fashion which will continue in popularity in 2016. Square in shape with cropped corners, a radiant cut diamond is a real statement piece for those who want to stay on trend.

Emerald Cut

A cut originally conceived for use with emeralds, it’s now used for diamonds with interesting effect as well as increasing popularity.

Another rectangular entry to the fashionable jewelry market, this continues the design elements for next year of long, stepped cuts and whilst the emerald cut doesn’t have the brilliance of the round or princess cut, making this more unusual choice will result in a stone with flashes of light which will certainly turn heads.

Pear Cut Diamond

The choice of many celebrities in 2015, the pear cut diamond is enjoying a huge revival in popularity. A combination of two cuts; round and marquise, the resulting shape is one of a teardrop which makes the fingers appear long and slim. Always worn with the pointed end towards the hand, it’s popular with those who choose colored diamonds and in particular gems with a yellow hue.

Hearts and Arrows Diamond

Classic cuts such as round or princess have a long and celebrated history in the gemstone world. Jewelry wearers wanting the next big thing in diamond design are looking to the most contemporary  cut available – hearts and arrows.

A hearts and arrows diamond is a technologically stunning creation first produced by Japanese experts in the 1980s. They discovered a way to style and polish a round cut diamond to give an absolutely perfect kaleidoscope effect; it revolutionized the industry.

Hearts and arrows is so named because when viewed from above, eight symmetrically perfect arrows can be seen. When viewed from below, the arrows disappear and eight symmetrical hearts appear in their place.