Top 10 Diamond Shapes – Which Will You Choose?

Asscher



Named after the Asscher brothers of Holland at the turn of the 20th century, this square diamond shape has an almost octagonal appeal.



Cushion



If you want to be a little different, this is the shape for you. Cushion shaped diamonds can be almost square or slightly elongated giving a soft pillow shape.



Emerald



Emerald shapes are normally cut to a rectangular outline but some can be cut more square. Get advice from the supplier regarding length to width ratios.



Heart



Regarded by many as the most romantic of all the shapes, skilled cutting is necessary to maintain the diamond’s brilliance due to the complexity of the shape.



Marquise



If you want to flatter the finger and make it appear longer choose the Marquise. It’s shape is elongated with tapering points at the ends.



Oval



Another shape to flatter and accentuate a slender finger. Being similar to the Round shape, it has brilliance and fire.



Pear



This teardrop shape is regarded by many as very feminine. The cut is very important with a Pear shape so the light is reflected evenly, especially at the point.



Princess



This shape has the distinction of being the most popular next to the Round shape. It boasts clean, dazzling, square lines.



Radiant



The radiant shape is similar to the Princess but can be more rectangular. It combines the classic Emerald cut with Round.



Round



By far this is the most popular shape of all. The 306 degree symmetrical shape contributes to the dazzling brilliance of this shape. It suits almost every kind of mounting.

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10. Premier Rose Diamond

This stone weighs 137.02 carats and is one of the largest D-color Flawless diamonds in the world. In March 1978 the Premier Mine in South Africa, the mine that produced the 3106-carat Cullinan Diamond, yielded yet another remarkable diamond, a triangular-shaped cleavage of the finest color, weighing 353.9 carats. Like an earlier gem found at the Premier, the Niarchos, this one too travelled right through the various stages of mining recovery only to emerge at the final one, the grease table in the recovery plant.

For reasons of security, the news of the finding of the diamond was not released for two months. After it had been disclosed, the press quickly began speculating about possible destinations for the eventual polished gem. Prince Rainier of Monaco was obliged to deny reports that he was planning to buy it as a wedding present for his daughter, Princess Caroline, who was getting married soon; another European royal family was rumored to be interested; Emperor Bokassa of the Central African Empire, who had already spent ?20,000,000 on his coronation, was said to have made an offer. In the end the Johannesburg firm Mouw Diamond Cutting Works purchased it, naming it after Mrs. Rose Mouw.

9. Florentine Diamond

The Florentine Diamond is a lost diamond of Indian origin. It is light yellow in colour with very slight green overtones. It is cut in the form of an irregular nine-sided 126-facet double rose cut, with a weight of 137.27 carats (27.454 g). The stone is also known as the Tuscan, the Tuscany Diamond, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Austrian Diamond and the Austrian Yellow Diamond.

A photo of the Florentine's last known setting - a hat ornament. This photo was probably taken between 1870 and 1900.

8. Darya-ye Noor

One of the largest diamonds in the world,weighing 182 carats (36.4 g). This pink diamond and the Koh-e Noor (Mountain of Light) diamond were both brought back from India by Nader Shah in 1739. After the death of Nader Shah, Ahmad Shah Durrani took the Koh-e Noor to Afghanistan, where it passed onto Shah Shuja. He, in turn, was defeated by Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab. Eventually, it fell into the hands of the East India Company, which presented it to Queen Victoria. The Kohi Noor is now incorporated in the Queen Mother's crown. The Kohi Noor is said to bear a curse since all the male owners of the Kohi Noor suffered terrible fates.

7. Cullinan Diamond

The Cullinan Diamond, found by Frederick Wells, surface manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company in Cullinan, Gauteng, South Africa, on January 26, 1905, is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, at 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g). Although a carbonado found in Brazil weighed more than 3,600 carats (720 g), no gem-quality material could be extracted from it. The stone was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the diamond mine.

The nine largest pieces of the Cullinan Diamond. The largest piece would of course be cut into the Cullinan I (530.20 carats) and the the next largest into the Cullinan II (317.40 carats), and so on.

The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa (Picture), and at 530.2 carats (106.04 g)[2] was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee diamond (545.67 cts), also from the Premier Mine. Cullinan I is now mounted in the head of the Sceptre with the Cross. The second largest gem from the Cullinan stone, Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, at 317.4 carats (63.48 g), is the third largest polished diamond in the world and is also part of the British crown jewels, as it forms a part of the Imperial State Crown. Both gems are on display at the Tower of London, as parts of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

6. Centenary Diamond

The diamond Jubilee of De Beers Consildated Mines passed off quietly in 1948, the massive post-WWII growth and expansion of the diamond industry had barely begun, while several important sources of diamonds, including the Premier Mine, were still closed, while others remained to be discovered. Forty years later the annual output of diamonds exceeded 100 million carats and sales of rough diamonds reached around $5 billion.

On March 11th, 1988, the centenary celebrations of De Beers took place in Kimberly and a banquet was held to close the Kimberly Mine (aka the "Big Hole"). An audience of four hundred people, including representatives of several national governments of diamond-producing countries and dignitaries from various sections of the industry, listened to the welcoming speech of the chairman, Julian Oglivie Thompson, totally unprepared for his final sentence: "We have recovered at the Premier Mine a diamond of 599 carats which is perfect in color - indeed it is one of the largest top-color diamonds ever found. Naturally it will be called the Centenary Diamond."

The Centenary, appearing to be lit by multi-colored lights.

The Centenary was found on July 17th, 1986 by the electric X-ray recovery system at the Premier Mine. Only a handful of people knew about it and all were sworn to silence. In its rough form it resembled an irregular matchbox with angular planes, a prominent elongated "horn" jutting out at one corner and a deep concave on the largest flat surface. The shape of the stone expressed problems in cutting with no apparent solution

5. Allnatt Diamond

Actress Jenna Elfman opens the Splendour of Diamonds Exhibit at the Smithsonian, the Allnatt Diamond being the large yellow stone in front of her on the pad. The Millennium Star, at the left, is set in a diamond necklace

The Allnatt Diamond is a diamond measuring 101.29 carats (20.258 g) with a cushion cut, rated in color as Fancy Vivid Yellow by the Gemological Institute of America. This diamond is named after one of its holders, Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt, a soldier, sportsman, art patron and benefactor. While it is not known precisely where the Allnatt originated, many experts believe that it was probably found in what is now known as the De Beers Premier Diamond Mine.

The Allnatt's origins are unknown prior to Major Allnatt's purchasing of the diamond in the early 1950s. After purchasing the diamond, he commissioned Cartier to make a setting for it. The final setting was a platinum flower with five petals, a stem and two leaves, all set with diamonds. The Allnatt was resold at auction in May 1996 by Christie's in Geneva for $3,043,496 US. At the time of its sale the Allnatt was 102.07 cts. and was graded Fancy Intense Yellow. After being sold to the SIBA Corporation, the diamond was re-cut to its current weight and the intensity was upgraded as a result.

4. Allnatt Diamond

The Heart of Eternity is a member of an exceedingly rare class of colored diamonds. It is found in the Premier Diamond Mine of South Africa. Blue diamonds account for less than 0.1% of the output of the Premier mine,which is the only mine in the world with an appreciable production of blue diamonds. Of the ten colored diamonds that drew the highest bids, six of those ten were blue diamonds, rating values as high as $550,000 to $580,000 per carat ($2750?2900/mg).

3. Pumpkin diamon

Actress Halle Berry at the 2002 Academy Awards. The Pumpkin Diamond ring is on the pinky finger of her left hand.

The Pumpkin Diamond is a diamond measuring 5.54 carats (1.108 g) rated in color as Fancy Vivid Orange by the Gemological Institute of America. While this may seem relatively small when compared to other famous diamonds, the Pumpkin Diamond is, in fact, one of the largest Fancy Vivid Oranges the GIA reports having rated and is unique compared to other orange diamonds because it is relatively light-colored and notably intense. The Pumpkin Diamond was mined in South Africa, cut and polished by William Goldberg, and put to auction at Sotheby's where it was bought by Ronald Winston of the House of Harry Winston for the price of $1.3 million. It is currently estimated to be valued at $3 million.

2. Incomparable Diamond

The Incomparable's 890-carat rough form, left, and the finished Incomparable in its gold ornament stand, right.

The Incomparable, with its satelite stones. The stone directly in front of it is the 15.66-carat kite-shape mentioned in the paragraph below

The Incomparable was found in its rough state weighing 890 carats, and was found in the town of Mbuji Mayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) in the 1980s. It was found by a young young girl playing in a pile of rubble outside her uncle's house. This rubble had been legitimately collected from old mine dumps from the nearby MIBA Diamond Mine, having been rejected during the recovery process as being too bulky to be worth scanning for diamonds. The girl gave the diamond to her uncle, who sold it to some local African diamond dealers, who in turn sold it to a group of Lebanese buyers operating out of Kinshasa.

1. The Golden Jubilee

The Golden Jubilee is currently the largest faceted diamond in the world. Since 1908, Cullinan I, also known as the Great Star of Africa, had held the title, which changed following the 1985 discovery of a large brown diamond of 546 carats (151 g) in the prolific blue ground of the Premier mine in South Africa; the diamond would later be cut and named The Golden Jubilee, with an as-of today unsurpassed weight of 545.67 carats (109.13 g).

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