What is Marquise Cut Diamond?

Marquise cut diamonds have one of the most extensive surfaces of any diamond shape due to their unique eye-like shape. There are 58 facets in this diamond shape, 33 on the crown and 25 on the pavilion. The upper girdle and star facets replace the large bezel facets at the diamond’s points with these facets.

A marquise-cut diamond is a modified brilliant diamond with a long and narrow pointed shape that makes it appear larger than it is. Marquise diamond cut make the wearer’s hands, and fingers look longer and slimmer, just like an emerald cut diamond.

The 4C’s of Marquise Cut Diamonds

Cut

As with all fancy cut diamonds, marquise cuts don’t have a cut quality grading so they can be slender and long or plump and wide. Most are twice as long as they are wide. There are no set standards per se, but some preferences exist among consumers and the industry.

The marquise cut diamond has a lot of anatomy. It’s a pear cut with a belly, where the sides curve out the most, and that’s where you measure the width, points at either end, and wing. It’s all about the cut quality of these components. Marquise diamond cut is beautiful and expensive because of how well they’re cut.

Color

A diamond’s color grade measures how much color or lack of color the diamond exhibits. The color of diamonds in less than one carat is hidden more than in larger stones. Marquise cuts make diamonds appear bigger, showing more body color because more surface area is exposed.

Color is also a matter of personal preference. Color gradings of D to F on a marquise cut diamond are likely to be colorless. Stones from G to Z will have a more yellow tint. Yellow tints appear more intense near the points depending on the cut quality and stone size.

Clarity

All diamonds have inclusions to some extent, but marquise cut diamond is fortunate to belong to the brilliant cut family, which hides inclusions within its sparkle and shine well. Due to their larger size, marquise cut diamond is more likely to show inclusions since they have more surface area.

Marquise cut diamond is more likely to break around their points. Avoid more extensive inclusions in these areas if you want your diamond to be intact. Some cutters use French tips instead of significant bezel facets to make the stone more durable. Using this technique, you don’t get multiple facet lines converging at the end of the point.

You may have expected to read about the bow-tie effect when discussing marquise cut diamond if you have previously read about oval cut diamonds and pear cut diamonds. There is a dark shadow that appears across the center of the diamond, which is called the bow-tie effect. An appearance will be negatively affected by a darker and more comprehensive shadow. You can find a stunning marquise cut diamond with minimal bow-tie, while all marquise diamond cut will show some bow-tie.

Carat

A variety of carat weights and proportions are available in marquise diamond cut. Like pear cuts, a marquise cut diamond’s size and weight won’t necessarily be linearly proportional to its carat size.

Diamonds cut in marquise shapes are universally perceived to be larger than diamonds cut in other shapes. This feature of the cut is highly advantageous since it allows for greater emphasis on quality factors such as cut without sacrificing size.

Pricing of Marquise Cut Diamonds

A marquise diamond cut is generally priced 20-30% lower than a round cut diamond. Due to their relatively low demand, less diamond rough gets wasted in the cutting process. The price will exponentially increase with each increase in carat weight, so choosing a diamond that is just shy of the total carat value will likely save you money without having any visual implications.

A one carat marquise cut diamond can range from 4000 to 8000 dollars. Various quality grades have resulted in this wide range. Although high color and clarity marquise diamond cut may look better, they may not perform better. Most people cannot tell the difference between diamonds if the gradings are within a few ratings. Pick the diamond that appeals to you the most!

Best Settings for Marquise Cut Diamond Engagement Rings