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Diamond Education

Choosing the Right Diamond

For many people, a diamond is the largest purchase of their life. With that consideration, Adya Diamonds recognizes the importance of understanding exactly what you are buying. This guide simplifies the four Cs — cut, colour, clarity, and carat weight, as well as diamond shapes. After reading this guide, you will be better prepared to choose the diamond that is right for you.

Diamond Shapes

Shape refers to the overall outline of the diamond when viewed from the top. Diamonds are cut in a variety of different shapes, both contemporary and traditional. When we talk about the ‘shape’ of a diamond, we are basically referring to its form – whether it is oval, round or pear-shaped for example. Shape is often confused with the cut, but cut refers to the way a diamond reflects light. It is this that creates its fire and brilliance.

The shape of a diamond basically comes down to personal preference. You might, for example, choose a marquise or oval shape diamond because it makes your finger appear longer. Pear-shaped diamonds on the other hand look best on smaller fingers. For earrings however, the classic round or princess shape is more often used.

Much like your taste in fashion, the shape of a diamond can express a person’s unique individuality.

Find the perfect diamond for you among the most popular and flattering shapes shown below.

Round

The round brilliant cut diamond is by far the most popular and most researched diamond shape available today. For almost 100 years, diamond cutters have been using advanced theories of light behavior and precise mathematical calculations to optimize the fire and brilliance in a round diamond. In addition to being the most popular and researched shape, a round diamond will typically give you more flexibility in terms of balancing cut, colour, and clarity grades while still getting the fire and brilliance you want.

To maximize the brilliance of a traditional round diamond, select one in the two highest cut grades, ideal or very good, and choose ideal, excellent, or very good polish and symmetry grades. For the finest ideal round diamonds available, view the ADYA Diamonds Signature Round Collection.

Princess

This is our most popular non-round diamond. Its beautiful brilliance and unique cut makes it a favourite for engagement rings. The princess has pointed corners and is traditionally square in shape. When choosing a colour grade, consider that while the price of a J-colour non-round diamond is exceptional, colour may be slightly visible in its corners. Also, princess-cut diamonds can vary greatly in how square or rectangular they are. To find the dimension of princess you want, look for the length-to-width ratio in our interactive diamond search and on each diamond's detail page. This will determine what the diamond will look like when viewing it from above. Here are length-to-width ratios for princess-cut diamond shapes that are pleasing to the eye.

For a princess diamond shape that is square, look for length-to-width ratios between 1 and 1.05. If you prefer more of a rectangular shape, look for length-to-width ratios greater than 1.10. For the most brilliant princess available, view the ADYA Diamonds Signature Princess-Cut Collection.

Emerald

What makes this shape different is its pavilion, which is cut with rectangular facets to create a unique optical appearance. Due to its larger, open table, this shape highlights the clarity of a diamond. If you choose an emerald-cut with a lower clarity grade, such as SI, be sure to review the clarity plot on the diamond certificate. Also, emerald-cut diamonds can vary greatly in how rectangular they are. If you'd prefer an emerald cut with a squared outline, look for an Asscher-cut diamond. To find the shape of emerald you want, look for the length-to-width ratio in our interactive diamond search and on each diamond's detail page. The length-to-width ratio will determine the diamond's outline, or what it will look like when viewed from the top.

For the classic emerald-cut shape, look for a length-to-width ratio between 1.30 and 1.40. For the highest standard of craftsmanship available in an emerald-cut diamond, view the ADYA Diamonds Signature Emerald-Cut Diamond Collection.

Asscher

This beautifully unique shape is nearly identical to the emerald-cut, except that it is square. Also, this shape has a pavilion that is cut with rectangular facets in the same style as the emerald-cut. If you choose SI-clarity be sure to view the clarity plot on the diamond certificate, because this shape highlights the clarity of the diamond. When choosing a colour grade, consider that while the price of a J-colour non-round diamond is exceptional, colour may be slightly visible in its corners.

All Asscher-cut diamonds from ADYA Diamonds will appear square, because each one is guaranteed to have a length-to-width ratio between 1.00 and 1.05. For our ideal Asscher-cut diamond, view the ADYA Diamonds Signature Asscher-Cut Diamond Collection.

Marquise

The shape of a marquise diamond can maximize carat weight, giving you a much larger-looking diamond. This brilliant-cut diamond looks beautiful set with round or pear-shaped side stones, and the length of the marquise makes fingers appear long and slender. To find the dimension of marquise you want, look for the length-to-width ratio in our interactive diamond search and on each diamond's detail page. The length-to-width ratio will determine the diamond's outline, or what it will look like when viewed from the top.

For the most traditional marquise-cut diamonds, look for length-to-width ratios between 1.75 and 2.25

Oval

An oval diamond has beautiful brilliance that's similar to a round diamond. Oval diamonds are also very popular as their length can accentuate long, slender fingers. To find the dimension of oval you want, look for the length-to-width ratio in our interactive diamond search and on each diamond's detail page. The length-to-width ratio will determine the diamond's outline, or what it will look like when viewed from the top.

For the most traditional oval diamonds, look for length-to-width ratios between 1.33 and 1.66.

Radiant

Trimmed corners are the signature of this diamond, and they help make the radiant-cut a popular and versatile choice for jewellery. A radiant-cut looks equally beautiful set with either baguette or round side-diamonds. Radiant-cut diamonds can vary in their degree of rectangularity. To find the dimension of radiant you want, look for the length-to-width ratio in our interactive diamond search and on each diamond's detail page. The length-to-width ratio will determine the diamond's outline, or what it will look like when viewed from the top.

For a radiant diamond shape that is square, look for length-to-width ratios between 1 and 1.05. If you prefer more of a rectangular shape, look for length-to-width ratios greater than 1.10.

Pear

This brilliant-cut diamond is also called a teardrop for its single point and rounded end. The unique look of the pear shape helps make it a popular choice for a variety of diamond jewellery. If you choose an elongated pear shape, the length of the diamond creates a subtle slimming effect on the fingers.

To understand what the diamond will look like when viewing it from above, look for the length-to-width ratio on each diamond's detail page. For the most traditional pear-shaped diamond, look for a length-to-width ratio between 1.45 and 1.75.

Heart

The heart is the ultimate symbol of love. The unique look of the heart-shaped diamond helps make it a distinctive choice for a variety of diamond jewellery. When choosing a colour grade, consider that while the price of a J-colour heart shaped diamond is exceptional, colour may be slightly visible in its corners. To find the dimension of heart-shape you want, look for the length-to-width ratio in our interactive diamond search and on each diamond's detail page. The length-to-width ratio will determine the diamond's outline, or what it will look like when viewed from the top.

For a more traditional heart-shaped diamond, look for length-to-width ratios between .90 and 1.10.

Cushion

This unique shape has been popular for more than a century. Cushion-cut diamonds (also known as "pillow-cut" diamonds) have rounded corners and larger facets to increase their brilliance. These larger facets highlight the diamond's clarity, so if you choose an SI clarity grade, be sure to review the clarity plot on the diamond certificate. Cushion-cut diamonds are available in shapes ranging from square to rectangular. To find the dimension of cushion you want, look for the length-to-width ratio in our interactive diamond search and on each diamond's detail page. The length-to-width ratio will determine the diamond's outline, or what it will look like when viewed from the top.

For a cushion-cut diamond that is square, look for length-to-width ratios between 1 and 1.05. If you prefer more of a rectangular shape, look for length-to-width ratios greater than 1.15.

Cut

The cut of a diamond determines its brilliance. There is no single measurement of a diamond that defines its cut, but rather a collection of measurements and observations that determine the relationship between a diamond's light performance, dimensions and finish. Most gemologists consider cut the most important diamond characteristic because even if a diamond has perfect colour and clarity, a diamond with a poor cut will have dulled brilliance.

The width and depth can have an effect on how light travels within the diamond, and how it exits in the form of brilliance.

Too Shallow: Light is lost out the bottom causing the diamond to lose brilliance.

Too Deep: Light escapes out the sides causing the diamond to appear dark and dull.

Colour

Acting as a prism, a diamond can divide light into a spectrum of colours and reflect this light as colourful flashes called fire. Just as when looking through coloured glass, colour in a diamond will act as a filter, and will diminish the spectrum of colour emitted. The less colour in a diamond, the more colourful the fire, and the better the colour grade.

ADYA Diamonds Colour

At ADYA Diamonds, you'll find only the finest diamonds with colour graded D-J. Diamonds graded J or better are colourless or near-colourless — their colour is typically undetectable to the unaided eye.

The colour in diamonds graded K-Z detracts from the beauty of a diamond. It's especially noticeable set in platinum or white gold.

Diamond Colour

Clarity

Diamonds that are absolutely clear are the most sought-after and therefore the most expensive. But many diamonds have inclusions — scratches, trace minerals or other tiny characteristics that can detract from the pure beauty of the diamond. The IGI, GIA and AGSL use a detailed system of rules and standards to summarise the number, location, size, and type of inclusions present in a diamond.

We recommend that you select an "eye-clean† diamond — one that has no inclusions visible to the unaided eye. An excellent value, diamonds of this clarity are much less expensive than IF- or FL-grade diamonds and typically do not contain visible inclusions that detract from the beauty of the diamond. If you're considering an SI grade diamond, call to speak to a diamond consultant who will review the diamond to ensure the inclusions are not visible with the unaided eye. But, if you'd rather not compromise on clarity yet are budget conscious, choose a diamond with a good cut and G or H colour.

Diamond Clarity

Carat

Once you've determined what cut, colour, and clarity grade you're looking for in a diamond, it's easy to determine the carat weight of diamond that will fit within your budget.

This chart illustrates how diamonds of different carat weights look when set in a ring. Note that a 2-carat diamond does not appear to be twice the size of a 1-carat diamond when viewed from the top.

When diamonds are mined, large gems are discovered much less frequently than small ones, which makes large diamonds much more valuable. In fact, diamond prices rise exponentially with carat weight. So, a 2-carat diamond of a given quality is always worth more than two 1-carat diamonds of the same quality.