How to Choose a Diamond Shape for your Engagement Ring

Choosing a diamond shape is actually a very important decision that should be based on a number of factors, not just what shape you like best. Engagement rings are an important purchase, and choosing the right diamond shape for your particular ring is a critical process that should not be taken lightly.

What Kind of Diamond Shapes Are There?

Before you can choose a diamond shape for your engagement ring, you should familiarize yourself with the kinds of shapes that are available. These included:

• Oval
• Round
• Heart
• Emerald
• Pear
• Marquise
• Princess
• Radiant
• Trilliant
• Asscher

While your personal preferences will obviously come into play as far as what diamond shape you choose, there are other factors to consider.

Things to Consider

Before choosing a diamond shape, you should carefully consider which shape would be not only something you like, but practical as well.

For example, you want to make sure the stone’s dimensions are good. A poorly cut diamond (no matter what shape it is) will reveal imperfections and flaws and not look as brilliant as you want it to.

You also need to take into account the size of your band. A wider band can handle elongated diamonds, while a thin or narrow band is complemented by round or square shaped stones. Try on a bunch of different rings with diamond shapes you’re interested in, as well, because you want to make sure the shape of the stone complements your hand.

If you are thinking of incorporating accent stones into the design of your engagement ring, consider how those accents will affect the shape of your central stone.

Judging the Quality of a Diamond

After you’ve decided on a diamond shape for your engagement ring, it’s important to understand how to judge the quality of the stone you’re interested in.

Learning about the 4 C’s (cut, color, clarity and carat weight) will help you in determining the quality of the diamond, and enable you to make good choices. The type of stone shape you choose will have its own pros and cons, so learning about the 4 C’s will help you to find the perfect stone for your engagement ring.

If you are having a hard time finding a particular diamond shape, you may need to solicit the help of a designer to craft the perfect diamond for you. Most jewelers stock a limited selection of some of the more basic diamond shapes, but a specialty shape may require you to look elsewhere.

While personal preference is important when choosing a particular diamond shape, you still need to consider how to design your engagement ring to best flatter that shape. By learning all you can about judging diamond quality and the different shapes available to you, you can find the perfect diamond that fits your budget, your ring and your personal taste!

Tags: choosing a diamond shape for an engagement ring, Diamond Engagement Rings, diamond rings, diamond shapes, Diamonds, The 4 C's

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 10:35 am and is filed under Buying Diamonds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.