5 Popular Diamond Cuts or Shapes for 2022

Just what are the most popular diamond cuts this year, you ask?

This year, let’s take a look at five of the most coveted diamond shapes in the market, but first, let’s clear the confusion.

Diamond cuts and shapes are two terms often confused with one another, but they are not the same, so how do they differ?

What’s the Difference Between Diamond Cut and Shape?

Cut

The diamond cut is one of the 4Cs of diamond quality because of its significant effect on the diamond’s overall beauty and value. While many people often confuse cut for a shape, the former is really about the interaction between the facets and the light. Among the 4Cs, cut is the most complicated and technically difficult concept to analyze.

To determine the cut grade of a diamond, professionals at GIA assess each diamond under magnification and examine the proportions of facets. Proportion is another element of cut that plays an important role in ensuring brilliance and value. For instance, a diamond cut that is too deep or too shallow may lose the light from the sides; hence, reflecting nothing into the eye of the viewer. When this happens, the diamond would look dull, which negatively affects its beauty and value.

Diamond is a Light Performance

Meanwhile, the interaction between the facets and light produces the illumination effects that the viewer sees when looking at a diamond. These illumination effects are:

• Brilliance – the diamond’s ability to return light to the viewer’s eyes, which then produces the crown’s illuminating effect.
• Fire – is the effect that viewers see when the light disperses and breaks down into rainbow-like colors.
• Scintillation – is the play of white and colored flashes of light that the viewer sees when the diamond, the viewer, or other sources of illumination is in motion.

The GIA diamond cut grade ranges from Excellent to Poor. It’s a five-point grading scale based on the evaluation of 7 components.

1. Brightness
2. Fire
3. Scintillation
4. Weight ratio
5. Durability
6. Polish
7. Symmetry

A diamond cutter must possess impeccable craftsmanship and precision to fashion a gem with the right proportion, symmetry, and polish to deliver a diamond with the most sparkle.

Shape

Now you know what a diamond cut is, understanding the shape is easy. In fact, it’s very straightforward. The diamond shape is the external figure of a diamond. It’s the first thing people often notice when looking at diamond rings and probably, the first decision one has to make when choosing an engagement ring. Squares, triangles, and rectangles are all shapes.

Needless to say, the diamond cut and shape, while different from one another, play complementary roles to bring out the overall beauty of a diamond.

Let’s see what diamond cuts people are raving about this year. Read on!

5 Popular Diamond Cuts/Shapes for 2022

1. The unbeatable round-cut diamond

Perhaps, the most popular of all, round diamond cuts are classic and symmetrical with 58 facets. These facets also make the color and inclusion in a diamond appear better compared to other fancy shapes.

The old European cut, with a round girdle and thick triangular block of facets, paved the way for the creation of the modern round brilliant cut, thanks to Marcel Tolkowsky. Between 1914 and 1919, Tolkowsky, a mathematician, calculated the optimum angles required for round diamonds and published original specifications that would make for an ideal cut.

Round brilliant-cut diamonds have the highest resale value. Its steady popularity that transcends time and trends is proof of its timelessness and unwavering appeal. It’s no wonder that approximately 75% of diamonds sold are in this form.

2. The celebrity favorite, emerald cut

If you’re into WTA, you’ve probably heard of Maria Sharapova’s engagement. In January, the former professional tennis player revealed her $400,000 emerald-cut diamond engagement ring with a yellow-gold bezel setting.

Sharapova is just one of the many famous personalities and celebrities who have flaunted their emerald-cut baubles for the public to see. Joining her are other big names like Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Taylor, and celebrity wife, Amal Clooney.

Perhaps it’s the emerald cut’s understated elegance or the elongated body that gives the wearer an appearance of longer and thinner fingers that makes this diamond cut a celebrity favorite.

Emerald cut, unlike round brilliant cut diamonds, is not sparkly as it is not faceted. It has chiseled step cuts with linear facets running parallel down the stone that produce an abundant mix of white and colored light reflections.

3. The curvy pear-shaped diamond

A combination of a marquise cut and a round cut, the pear-shaped diamond cut is reminiscent of a teardrop or a pear. It has a head, a gently rounded shoulder, a belly, a gently rounded wing, and a point.

Like a round brilliant cut diamond, pear cut diamonds also feature a brilliant style facet arrangement; thus, delivering the most sparkle and brilliance. Additionally, pear-cut diamonds look larger than their round counterpart with a physically larger top surface because of their shape.

Pear-shaped diamonds have never been among the most popular until trends caught up and celebrities like Paris Hilton, Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Margot Robbie Victoria Beckham, and tennis player Anna Kournikova, among many others, started flashing their massive pear-shaped diamond engagement rings to the public.

4. Bursting with brilliance, the oval cut

The oval cut is an elongated round brilliant-cut diamond. Its appeal goes beyond the brilliance that’s similar to that of a round diamond as it also offers a more unique shape that is trendy and stylish—perfect for those who want to detach from traditional shapes.

Although the oval cut already existed in the 1300s, it was Lazare Kaplan who perfected the oval cut design in 1957. His craftsmanship significantly improved the look and brilliance of oval-shaped diamonds and has since become one of the most desired diamond shapes.

Like the pear-shaped diamond, the oval cut, with its elongated body, gives an appearance of a slimmer hand and fingers. It has no sharp edges; thereby, making it less prone to chipping.

5. The vintage vibe of cushion cut

If cushion cut diamonds give you a vintage vibe, this is because it’s a modified version of the antique old mine cut. A cushion cut is a square cut with rounded corners, which makes it reminiscent of a pillow; hence, the name.

This type of cut wins in uniqueness and style; however, it doesn’t have the brilliance of a round-cut diamond but it has better fire because of its larger facets. If you prefer better fire than brilliance, then this is the cut for you. In the end, it all boils down to the kind of sparkle you prefer.

Further, the price of the cushion-cut diamond adds to its appeal. Cushion-cut diamonds can easily beat round-cut diamonds in pricing. After all, the latter is the most expensive diamond shape out there because of the cutting process, popularity, and demand. Take note though, that as the cushion cut becomes more and more popular, so does the price. Still, it’s one of the most affordable diamond shapes in the market, especially when compared to its round counterpart.

Which of these diamond shapes is your best-selling?

Clearly, classic cuts conquer!

The most desired diamond cuts of the year have proven that nothing beats timeless pieces. Sure, different trends may come, but once the excitement settles, they, too, go away and only the real deal stays.

Does this list reflect your inventory? Let us know which one of these diamond shapes has been your best selling, so far. Leave your comment below!