Bridal Trend: Stone Cut Guide for Engagement Rings

Where jewelry experts first see and judge a diamond based on its clarity, cut, color, and carat, otherwise known as the four Cs - what you and your loved ones first see is the stone’s shape. An engagement ring’s design is often sculpted around and inspired by the center stone’s shape. Ring designers make sure the head and halo perfectly hug the stone and then they ensure the design cascading down the ring’s shank and shoulders perfectly accents the center. This makes it difficult to change the center stone’s shape going into an engagement ring, especially if it is a drastically different stone. For example, it would be much harder to fit to an emerald shape into a ring made for a round stone than it would be fitting the same ring to a princess shape. Yet, with a minor custom order and original CAD design expense, Valina can make nearly any ring fit the center stone of your dreams – whether that dream diamond is the popular round shape or a completely custom shape of your own design.

Every stone tells a different story. So, let’s explore the most popular stone shapes for engagement rings, along with their positives and negatives, and what they reveal about the person wearing them.

Round-Cut Diamonds

Are you a traditionalist who enjoys the simple things in life? Then a round diamond is perfect for you!

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Round is the most balanced stone shape, allowing for optimal faceting, creating the most stunning light refraction and sparkle possible in any diamond. A round diamond’s perfect circular look accents any ring style, making it the most versatile shape. There is a reason the round diamond has always been the most popular stone shape - it is elegant, classic, and will never go out of style. Ultimately, it is the safe choice, which makes some people say it is boring while others say it is perfect.

The round shape also calls on the same symbolism behind a wedding band - a perfect circle represents love without end and an eternity together. When this ideology combines with the extra meaning behind specific ring designs and motifs, you get a perfect bridal set representing your unwavering love. For example, R9896W features crisscrossing streams of diamonds along the ring’s shoulders, representing two lives intertwining. These diamond streams then meet at the magnificent round center stone, where they enter that realm of endless devotion. This feeling will reflect on you every time you look down at your hand and see this simple but stunning ring sparkle and shine.

Princess-Cut Diamond

Are you a fun fashionista who likes to make a bold statement with your style? Then a princess diamond is perfect for you!

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The princess cut is a perfect square shape, capturing almost as much light as a round diamond. The princess’s signature sharp corners create a striking look that other classic engagement stone shapes do not possess. The princess shape is also the newest and youngest of all the popular engagement stone shapes, adding to its modernistic and sleek appeal. Most stone shapes have been around for centuries, but the princess was only created in the 60’s and yet it was able to become the second most popular stone shape for engagement rings. This quick rise to popularity shows just how much influence this fun and flirty shape has to offer a bride – it gives you an edge while still making you sparkle.

Unfortunately, the princess’s signature sharp corners are at greater risk of chipping and fracturing. So, if you want a princess stone, make sure you choose a ring style that keeps the diamond out of harm's way. Some forms of gem protection include a halo or a wide-set shank often seen with vintage styles. Princess prongs are also very helpful, as seen in RQ9409W. This ring has specially designed prongs that perfectly frame all four corners of the princess diamond without covering or hiding the sharp design of the stone's tips. This ring’s shank also draws the eye to the center stone with a tapered design that splits apart and then pinches back together beneath the stone.

Oval-Cut Diamond

Are you a daring and creative individual who enjoys fashion that matches your uniqueness? Then an oval diamond is perfect for you!

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The oval shape is considered to be a modern version of the classic round shaped stone. By simply elongating the stone, the oval shape creates greater depth and visual appeal. The visual appeal brides love most about the oval shaped diamond, is the fact that its elongated shape helps elongate the look of your fingers, ultimately making them look thinner. Elongated stones also create more intriguing silhouettes and greater contrast with the engagement ring’s shank, adding to its individualistic appeal.

Oval stones play well with sleek modern rings and vintage styles. R9971W, a double halo oval ring with art deco-inspired diamond drapes along the shank, is a perfect example of how powerful oval stones are. Even when surrounded by 117 accent diamonds, the center stone is still able to stand out and shine bright - just like how you stood apart from the crowd to the one you love.

Marquise-Cut Diamond

Do you like to get the most bang for your buck while living on the edge? Then a marquise diamond is perfect for you!

Marquise is another elongated stone shape like the oval. With its pointed tips, you can get the same length gem for less money than if you went for an oval shape – or in more technical terms, the marquise maximizes a diamond’s carat weight. Yet, just like with the princess stone, the tips are much more fragile. Therefore, most marquise engagement rings come with a halo or tip prongs to protect the stone from damage. Ultimately, with its seductive yet delicate shape, a marquise diamond is edgy and perfect for people who like to break the rules.

Pear-Cut Diamond

Do you like doing the unexpected and surprising those around you? Then a pear diamond is perfect for you!

Pear shapes, also called teardrop or almond shapes, are the only top engagement ring diamond cuts without 360-degree symmetry. Instead, this shape is like an oval on the bottom and a marquise on top! This unique design has led to a tradition only seen with pear rings – to have the sharp end of the stone point towards your heart, almost like a love arrow.

Emerald-Cut Diamond

Are you a very glamorous yet sophisticated person? Then an emerald diamond is perfect for you!

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Emerald cut diamonds feature unique rectangular facets, adding to their crystal-clear geometric appearance. This special cut creates bold contrasts of shades within the stone itself, with deep-toned facets playing against radiantly bright facets. These rectangular facets might make these stones less sparkly than diamonds with typical kite-shaped facets, but the facets also make emerald diamonds clearer, almost like looking through ice or glass. For example, you can basically see all the way through R9284W’s center stone. In this design, as with many other emerald cut engagement rings, the shank splits, adding greater support and visual balance to the center stone and its complementary halo.

An emerald diamond’s clarity combined with its larger-than-life appearance (similar to that of a marquise’s maximized carat weight) creates that glamorous yet sophisticated look many women yearn for. These gems are fit for a queen, like Beyoncé, who has an 18-carat split-shank emerald engagement ring, or Mariah Carey, who was given a 35-carat emerald engagement ring. But do not let this intimidate you, the emerald is perfect for any woman willing to add a little extra retro glam to her wardrobe.

Asscher-Cut Diamond

Do you enjoy understated elegance when it comes to your accessories? Then an asscher diamond is perfect for you!

Asscher shaped diamonds share the emerald’s unique rectangular facets and vintage appeal. The main difference between these two shapes is that the asscher is basically a deeper sqaure-shaped version of the more rectangular emerald diamond shape. The square shape might make the asscher look smaller than an emerald with a similar carat weight, but it provides greater sparkle to the clear diamond. Asscher diamonds sparkle more due to their deep design, meaning the pavilion and crown are more prominent in length and width.

Cushion-Cut Diamond

Are you a romantic at heart who loves everything vintage? Then a cushion diamond is perfect for you!

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Cushion shaped stones look like the love child of a round and asscher diamond. But like most children, the cushion has some completely unique characteristics, like its large facets, creating more of a pillowy glow to the diamond and less of an angular sparkle. The cushion is considered the most romantic of the stone shapes due to its historical design and soft loving appearance. People have also been dazzled by this cut for centuries due to the kaleidoscope effect created when the sparkle from the pavilion's facets hits the light from the soft rounded facets on the gem’s crown. Therefore, the cushion also looks the most brilliant when paired with an intricate and antique engagement ring design, like that of R9763W. Milgrain filigree spirals adorn the diamond accented shoulders and under gallery of this stunning ring’s shank. With eight prongs, two set on each of the cushion’s corners, resting on top a milgrain base, this vintage cushion ring can take the breath away from any bride. This ring is truly the antithesis of the classic romantic era’s aesthetic, acting as a constant reminder that romance is not dead, and that it is alive in you and the one you love.