Diamond shapes
Shape is where personality enters the design. The round brilliant is the most popular for a reason, its faceting returns the most light, but the right shape is the one that suits her style and hand, not the bestseller list.
Round brilliant
The benchmark. Fifty-seven facets engineered over a century for maximum brilliance. Rounds cost more per carat than any other shape, partly demand, partly because cutting one wastes more rough, but nothing else sparkles quite like them.
Ovals, cushions and pears
Ovals and pears elongate the finger and look larger than a round of the same weight. Cushions carry a softer, romantic sparkle. All three offer real value against rounds. With ovals, ask about the "bow-tie", a shadow across the centre that varies stone by stone and is exactly the kind of thing you check by eye, not by certificate.
Emerald, Asscher and princess
Step cuts, emerald and Asscher, trade sparkle for glassy, architectural flashes. They’re elegant and unforgiving: they show colour and clarity honestly, so budget grades accordingly. The princess cut delivers brilliant-style sparkle in a square outline at a sharper price, though its corners need a protective setting.
Choosing between them
Try them on. Shapes behave differently on different hands, and the certificate can’t tell you which one is you. We keep a range in the studio for exactly this conversation.