In my opinion couples need to be involved in designing the ring, after all it is celebrating their love and has a very sentimental value in cherishing their relationship. Therefore my first recommendation is to propose with a loose stone in a beautiful box which will definitely sweep her off her feet and then create the perfect ring together. Unless you know exactly what she is looking for based on her pinterest or posts she likes on social media and finally if her best friend knows!

Different diamond shapes Photo credit: Champagne Gem

Here you will find a brief explanation on different shapes with sample designs to show how each one will look when set, but remember there are endless design possibilities, I tried to limit this post to classics and all time favorite settings in the past decade:

ROUND

• ROUND: is the most sought after shape in diamonds because of its incomparable brilliance thanks to 57 facets that reflect the light and create sparkle and fire. (Not recommended for gemstones unless from a very high caliber)

Round Brilliant diamond engagement ring in Tiffany anniversary setting Photo credit: Tiffany & Co

SEMI ROUND

• OVAL: is one of the most popular shapes from diamonds to gemstones, make sure in diamonds there is no bow tie present, if so you will see two black triangles in the middle of the stone. because of its elongated shape we have seen it grow more and more on brides.

Oval shape diamond ring Photo credit: Norman Silverman

• PEAR: Usually looks larger than its stated carat weight because of its wider spread and given that more of the stone is shown from top view.
  

  Pear shaped diamond ring Photo credit: Harry Kotlar

• MARQUISE: like oval and pear is perfect to make fingers look slender and long, their elongated shape is helping with this.

Marquise shape diamond ring Photo credit: Martin Katz

• HEART: well its the symbol of love, do I need to say more? From diamonds to gemstones it looks gorgeous, one thing to be mindful is the proportions. Make sure it is not too slim or chubby, it has to be the perfect heart.
  

  Heart shaped diamond ring Photo credit: Graff

SQUARE CUT

• CUSHION: is a square or square rectangle (elongated) shape stone with rounded corners, pillow shape hence the name and very romantic! If cut perfectly can shine as brilliant as a round. Usually has 58 facets.
  

  Cushion shape diamond ring Photo credit: Tiffany & Co

• PRINCESS: this shape carries 57 or 76 facets and because of its pyramidal shape that has four bevelled sides, it creates more light dispersion than any other square shaped diamond. In recent years demand for princess cut has decreased which I think is solely because of its sharp corners and it only makes an statement when is in larger carat weights. It is getting harder and harder to find the perfect princess cut.
  

  Princess shape diamond ring Photo credit: Jean Dousset

• RADIANT: is gaining more and more popularity both in diamonds and gemstones because of its scattered 70 facets that create a shattered glassy look in diamonds and bring out the best colors in gemstones and fancy color diamonds. If you like square or rectangular squere shape, this is the best alternative to cushion and princess.
  

  Radiant cut diamond ring Photo credit: Norman Silverman

STEP CUT

• EMERALD: the most favorite in step cuts, both gemstones and diamonds although it has less sparkle because of geometric steps, but due to high clarity it is more transparent, sleek and elegant.
  

  Emerald cut diamond ring Photo credit: Norman Silverman

• ASSCHER/SQUARE EMERALD: perfectly square shaped stone, actually an octagonal rather than emerald cut that is rectangular. Same characteristics in terms of sparkle and clarity.
  

  Asscher cut diamond ring Photo credit: Martin Katz

• CARRE: comes in both square and rectangular, the main point of difference is its straight facets similar to steps and usually has sharp corners, this is my favorite shape in comparison to princess. It is making a come back slowly and because of its unusual facets it is gaining more attraction, absolutely will make a statement.
  

  Carre cut diamond ring Photo credit: Martin Katz

This is just an introductory post to engagement rings, if you need more information on diamonds, grading and color diamonds on following links:

https://champagnegem.com/2019/03/10/insight-into-diamonds-part-iii-grading/

https://champagnegem.com/2019/05/06/insight-into-diamonds-part-iv-fancycolordiamonds/

Please note all views expressed on this post are my own and do not represent opinions of any of the jewellers mentioned in this post.

Diamond in normal range are colorless through light yellow. Fancy color diamonds are yellow and brown diamonds that show color beyond Z color or exhibiting any other color face-up. Such rare stones come in almost every color of spectrum but most importantly in blue, pink, green and red. As discussed in diamond grading article, diamonds in range of D-Z showing decrease in value by exhibiting color and the exact opposite happens for fancy color diamonds, their value increase by the strength and purity of color.

Graff Lesotho Pink Diamond, 13.33ct rough diamond

Pink Diamond: appearance of pink color in diamonds is a result of enormous pressure that leads to structural damage to the crystal lattice of the diamond after it has begun to grow. This distortion in the crystal structure cause internal graining which results in pink color zones to appear.

In fancy color diamonds, Color outweighs all other Cs (clarity, cut and carat) in determining the value. Color has three attributes that help grading it properly: hue (the appearance of red, blue, green, or anything in between), tone (the relative lightness or darkness of a color), and saturation (the relative strength or weakness of a color). The color
appearance of a diamond is the result of a combination of these three attributes.

The Okavango Blue; 20.46ct Type IIb ‘Fancy Deep Blue’ yielded from 41.11 rough diamond

Blue Diamond: Color of blue in diamonds is result of presence of Boron during formation. Boron is mostly available in larger quantities closer to the earth surface, therefore its presence in earth mantle where diamonds are formed is extremely rare, and that is why blue diamonds are so scarce.

The GIA color grading system uses nine grades to distinguish color ranges. These are: Fancy Vivid, Fancy Intense, Fancy Deep, Fancy Dark, Fancy, Fancy Light, Light, Very Light and Faint. For fancy colored diamonds, the general rule of thumb is that the stronger the hue, the more valuable the stone becomes.

Mouawad Dragon Diamond 54.21 fancy vivid yellow diamond yielded from 105ct rough diamond.

Yellow Diamond: Yellow in diamonds is caused by presence of nitrogen within the stone that filters blue/violet range of visible light spectrum and reflects yellow. Nitrogen is abundant in earth crust, it can often find a way into diamond during formation process.

Diamond types: pure carbon is the essential composition of diamonds. Many diamonds certain trace elements such as nitrogen or boron, acquired naturally during the formation. Availability of such trace elements and other imperfections are important because they cause the color and ultraviolet fluorescence reactions in diamond. The presence or absence of these lattice defects can affect a diamond’s appearance. Initially diamonds were divided in two types: Type I diamonds contain nitrogen and Type II diamonds show pure absence of nitrogen.

GIA Diamond Type Classification

Type Ia:
These diamonds contain nitrogen atoms in clusters. Approximately 95% of natural diamonds are type Ia. They normally vary from near-colorless to light yellow.  These so-called “cape” diamonds derived their name from diamonds that were initially mined in or near Cape Province, South Africa.

Type Ib:
These diamonds also contain nitrogen, but as isolated atoms instead of clusters. They are often bright yellow in color, and are extremely rare. The trade sometimes refers to these colors as “canary.”

Type IIa:
These diamonds have no measurable nitrogen or boron impurities; they are usually colorless but they can also be gray, light brown, light yellow or light pink.  Among all diamonds, those that are type IIa are chemically the most pure.

Type IIb:
These diamonds are known to conduct electricity. The trace element boron is responsible for most diamonds that are blue or grayish blue in color.

GIA Continuous Hue Circle

GIA Ligher Tone Hue Circle

GIA Darker Tone Hue Circle

Some of the 27 hue names include modifiers such as purplish or yellowish. A modifier in a hue name does not denote a lack of potential strength, or purity, to the color. Light or dark colors at low levels of saturation are challenging to discern. Thus, fewer terms are used in these areas (as evident in the hue circles for lighter and darker tone). These terms may be modified in one of two ways. The first is the use of the word pink as a substitute for red in the medium to light tones and moderate to weakly saturated versions of reddish purple, red-purple, purple-red, purplish red, red, orangy red, and reddish orange. The other is the addition of brown/brownish or gray/grayish to the description. As colors transition darker or weaker, they appear more brown or gray. Warm hues (such as yellow, orange, or red) appear browner as they darken or weaken; cool colors (such as blue or green) appear grayer. In each instance, the fancy grades and color descriptions represent a range of color sensations, not a “single” color sensation.

Aurora Green; 5.03ct fancy vivid green diamond sold at Christies for $16.8m

Green Diamond:Green color is caused by exposure to radiation, this natural phenomenon occurs when diamonds come in close contact with radioactive uranium from rocks near earth surface. In rare cases radiation can be found in groundwater sources. Research shows green diamonds are more common in alluvial deposits because diamonds transported to sources of radiation which is more likely than for radiation to exist near a kimberlite source of diamond.

In fancy color diamonds, clarity is not a determining  factor in value. Even diamonds with many inclusions that result in a low clarity grade are sought after by collectors as long as they display an attractive color face-up. Inclusions that can threaten the durability of diamond would lower the value significantly.

Size and shape are two aspects that can influence the color, larger diamonds usually have deeper pavilion that facilitates the farther light can travel in it. This can often lead to a richer, more intense color. The style of cut can also play a key factor in color. Usually mixed cuts like the radiant cut can intensify the color in diamonds and radiant  cut provides (including majority of fancy cuts) provides higher yield from the rough than a standard round brilliant.

For more information on fancy color diamonds, download GIA Colored Diamonds Color Reference chart booklet.