Sometimes known as the navette diamond (which translates from the French language to ‘little ship’), the marquise cut diamond is also referred to as boat-shaped, football-shaped and eye-shaped.
While it’s true that the charming, smile-shaped marquise cut has never achieved the popularity of other shapes for engaged couples, the marquise cut diamond ring was never really intended as an engagement ring. However, its style does appeal to some non-traditional brides.
The centre stone's shape is extraordinary. There are almost 60 facets contained within this rounded central shape, complete with sharply pointed ends, so it gives plenty of sparkle.
Marquise cut diamonds appear 15% larger than an equivalent-carat round cut stone. In addition, the long shape has the effect of making your fingers appear longer and thinner — and it causes diamonds to look gigantic. At one carat, marquise diamonds are typically over 1 cm in length.
Unlike round cut diamonds, the marquise cut has non-standardised proportions. This means you can select the look that suits you best.
This cut has incredible brilliance, hiding inclusions even at low clarity grades.
Unfortunately, the pointed ends of marquise cut diamonds are prone to snagging and chipping. You can protect them by covering them with prongs in their setting.
"Search for a high quality, clean symmetrical cut without any unsightly bowtie areas. It can be more difficult to find a quality stone with the marquise cut, because its unusual shape demands utmost skill from the cutter."
This cut apparently dates back to 18th century France, when King Louis XV told his royal jewellers to produce diamonds resembling the lips of his partner, Marquise de Pompadour.
Buying a diamond ring can sound stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Why not let our gemologist and diamond expert guide you through the whole process step by step and help to make choosing that perfect diamond an event to be remembered.