Scared of getting ripped off? Don’t want to waste your money? Confused by all the choices?
When it comes to pricing, not all diamond shapes are equal. For the most part, shapes that use less of the rough diamond, such as the round brilliant cut, cost more per carat than shapes such as the emerald, princess, pear, cushion and radiant cuts.
This means that if you’re more interested in the size of your engagement ring’s diamond than its shape, you’ll get better value for money by choosing a fancy shape over a round diamond.
We’ve listed the best value diamond shapes, as well as the reasons why they’re comparatively affordable, below. We’ve also explained how factors other than shape can affect the price of a diamond and how you can use these to your advantage as a customer.
A lot of would-be diamond buyers are surprised to learn that certain diamond shapes cost more than others.
At first, this doesn’t appear to make sense. After all, aren’t you paying for the diamond based on its cut quality, colour, clarity and carat weight — known in the industry as the five Cs — rather than its shape?
The answer is, well, yes and no. While the five Cs have a major impact on a diamond’s price, a specific diamond’s price is also affected by the total percentage of the rough diamond that’s lost during the cutting and polishing process.
WHY DIAMOND PRICING VARIES FROM SHAPE TO SHAPE
Remember, diamonds don’t come out of the ground clean, cut and brilliant. Instead, they’re cut into a specific shape by a diamond cutter from a rough diamond. Depending on the specific cut used for the diamond, between 20 and 60% of the rough stone’s original weight is removed.
The percentage of the rough diamond that’s removed can vary dramatically from one diamond shape to another. For example, the average princess cut diamond uses about 80% of the rough diamond’s carat weight. This means that only 20% of the rough stone is lost during cutting.
For a round diamond, only about 40% of the original stone is left after the cutting and polishing process is finished. As a result, about 60% of the rough diamond is removed. The material that is removed can’t be used for other diamonds, meaning it’s discarded as part of the process.
As you’d expect, this has a significant effect on pricing. Because of this huge difference in the amount of rough diamond that’s used for each shape, prices for different diamond shapes can vary hugely depending on what you’re looking for.
WHICH DIAMOND SHAPE IS THE MOST AFFORDABLE?
From a pure carat weight per dollar perspective, the round brilliant cut is almost always the most expensive diamond shape. As we covered earlier, this is because of the large percentage of the rough diamond that needs to be discarded during the cutting and polishing process.
On the other hand, the Asscher, emerald, radiant, cushion and princess cuts all offer exceptional value from a carat weight perspective. These shapes ranged from 30% to as much as 44% less per carat than the round cut diamond of equal colour and clarity that we used as a comparison.
It’s worth pointing out that no two diamonds are absolutely identical, meaning it’s impossible to do a perfect comparison. It’s also important to note that some cuts may display colour, inclusions and other flaws more easily than others, which can affect their appearance.
However, it’s clear that many fancy cuts offer excellent value for money, provided the size of the diamond if your top concern. This makes a fancy shape diamond a great option if you’re looking for a large centre stone, but don’t have the budget for a round brilliant cut diamond.
If you need help picking out a diamond or setting, feel free to contact us. Our experts can help you find the largest, highest quality diamond for your budget and tastes.
