Diamond Shapes
The standard ‘Round Brilliant’ cut has 33 facets that appear around the top of the girdle and 24 facets below. There are a total of 57 facets throughout the stone as a whole (or 58 if including the culet).
Any shapes other than Round Brilliant, are deemed fancy shapes. Fancy shaped diamonds are separated into four types:
Round-Edge Fancies – These are any shape that is round, such as: Oval, Pear, Marquise, and Heart.
Step Cuts – These are diamonds that are cut in the form of steps. The cuts are generally done only with: Emerald, Asscher, Carre, Baguette, and Trapezoid.
Modified Cuts – These are square shaped diamonds. These are relatively modern shapes used for: Princess, Cushion, and Radiant.
Mixed Cuts – These are a combination of step cuts and modified cuts in one stone. Often done with: Cut Cornered Rectangular, Oval, Cushion and Pear.
From time to time, unique diamond shapes can be found. However, because they are more difficult to sell, diamond cutters rarely select anything other than common shapes for their stones. A cutter may decide as a result of the shape of the diamond rough that a certain shape they have in mind would fit best. Again, it is a risky decision because the market for uniquely shaped colored stones is far smaller than the norm.
Some of the shapes seen are really interesting, very cute, and absolutely gorgeous. More often than not, a cutter will create a uniquely shaped diamond because of a specific request from the customer. None the less, there are uniquely shaped diamonds available, and interestingly enough they are often at a reduced cost because of their overall market value.
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Asia Fancy Color Diamond Association (“AFCDIA”) is trade promotion organization headquartered in Hong Kong with the primary objective to promote the development of the color diamond industry in Asia, with particular emphasis on the Greater China markets. READ MORE
