The 8 Most Popular Diamond Shapes

The rich history of diamond cutting has seen these coveted gemstones change and evolve; from the rudimentary cuts that started our eternal romance with diamonds, to the precisely engineered cut styles we see today, diamonds come in many forms and each of them can be stunning.

Diamond shape describes the external figure or silhouette of the diamond (for example, a heart shape) however, diamond cut can also refer to shape as well as the diamond craftsmanship i.e. the facets and symmetry.

Diamond shapes can be used to express your beloved’s personality or a sentiment that the two of you share. Our complete guide to diamond shapes takes you through the ins and outs of all shapes available on Whiteflash – an excellent page for your diamond education!

Here are the 8 most popular diamond shapes.

Round brilliant  or Round Cut diamonds continue to be the first choice for engagement rings and diamond jewelry. Precisely aligned facets and years of remodelling result in a diamond with unbridled potential for brilliance, fire and scintillation. Our A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows super-ideal cut diamonds represent the pinnacle of round brilliant perfection. Giving an unrivalled sparkle and symmetry, these diamonds show why a round brilliant shape has never fallen out of favour.

A Princess shaped diamond or Princess Cut Diamond is a contemporary classic. Combining clean angles and dazzling sparkle, Princess cut diamonds also sacrifice less rough during the cutting process making them less expensive than rounds. With such superb potential for brilliance, we proudly created our A CUT ABOVE® Princess to showcase just how beautiful Princess cut diamonds can be.

Oval shaped diamonds are the perfect choice for those who want the sparkle of a round brilliant but with substantial presence on the hand. Oval diamonds can give you a bold distinctive look that graces the hand nicely as it follows the length of the finger. Oval diamonds are beautiful in their own right. The elongated shape is romantic and flattering and can be perfect for an engagement ring.

A radiant diamond has an angular shape with clipped corners. Complex and intriguing, a radiant diamond features the clean lines of an emerald cut or Asscher, combined with a brilliant style facet arrangement for added sparkle. A radiant cut is good at intensifying body color, so they are the perfect choice for fancy colored diamonds. For a colorless, white sparkle, a D-G color grading is optimal as these bright little diamonds are a little less forgiving when it comes to yellow and grey tones.

Cushion cut diamonds are a resplendent marriage of the old mine cut and the modern round brilliant cut. Pillowy edges define a softened square or rectangle shape, and a variety of distinctive visual effects to choose from. Bold flashes of fire in the antique cushion, glittery scintillation of the crushed ice style, or intense light performance from a hi-tech ‘hearts and arrows’ cushion.

Asscher cut diamonds are a square in overall shape with 8 sides – technically, they are octagonal but their silhouette is distinctively square. Asscher diamonds are step cut to display lustre and white light. For this reason, a special attention must be paid to color and clarity grades. Unlike brilliant cuts, which are all about sparkle, Asscher diamonds present larger horizontal facets that are hypnotic. They are perfect for vintage styles, particularly art deco settings that complement the structured geometry of an Asscher cut.

Often considered the queen of step cuts, an Emerald cut diamond is elegant and timeless. An elongated rectangular shape and clean lines bring an abundance of long reflections up through to a large table facet. Emerald cut diamonds tend to showcase higher clarities as inclusions are easier to see in this cut. It is perhaps the most unforgiving cut, but when the color and quality grades are high, it is an eye-catching and tasteful cut stone that brings an understated beauty to any engagement ring.

Rounding off our most popular diamond shapes is pear shape diamond. Much like an oval diamond, an elongated pear cut can be flattering on the hand. But pear excels as a shape for pendants and earrings as the tear drop shape is so natural in those applications.

Now that you know the most popular diamonds shapes, view all our Loose Diamonds here, and once you’ve chosen your perfect diamond, the excitement continues as you discover our exceptional portfolio of designer engagement ring settings.

Wondering which settings are the most popular with our customers? This guide to the top 5 engagement ring settings tells you everything you need to know.