With an unusual and unique shape, Marquise-cut diamonds become an elegant, unconventional choice for an engagement ring.
However, there are many considerations you need to make when it comes to choosing a marquise-cut diamond.
On one side, they have an elegance of solitaire or princess-cut diamonds combined with the timeless appeal of marquise cut diamond rings.
This guide will help you understand marquise-cut diamonds and their different aspects and help you choose one for your engagement ring.
Understanding Marquise Diamond
A marquise-cut diamond is football-shaped and fancy-looking, featuring 58 facets that are brilliantly cut and step-cut into the crystals.
The name comes from the Marquise of Pompadour, for whom King Loius XIV of France apparently created to resemble a perfectly shaped mouth.
You can identify a marquise diamond with two elongated shapes with sharper edges placed on opposite sides.
These diamonds are often categorized as round brilliants and princess diamonds, which appear like smiles on faces.
It is also referred to as the “Sacred Eye of Love Partners” because it is long and skinny from top to bottom. These diamonds’ long and narrow shape creates an illusion of bigger size.
Factors To Consider Before Choosing A Marquise Cut Diamond
Appears To Be Bigger In Size
Marquise diamonds have a larger surface area, are elongated in shape, and have a narrow cut. They tend to produce an illusion of being bigger in size compared to other diamonds with a similar carat weight.
This is great for people with a limited budget as they can buy these visually larger diamonds for comparatively less money.
Pairing With Oval Diamonds
Consider not pairing the marquise diamond with oval diamonds, as this gives a bow-tie effect. The shadow is quite visible across the center of the diamond when you look at it in a face-up view.
It is not that all such pairings are bad, but if they become too obvious and visible, they can affect the sparkle of the diamond and dull the overall setting.
You can do something similar pairing with other jewelry pieces, such as stackable eternity band, to complement its overall appearance and customize the styling.
Color Visibility In The Diamond
Just like what usually happens with any fancy-shaped diamond, marquise-cut diamonds also produce their inherited body color.
It particularly gets concentrated around the two ends of the diamond. Especially if you are buying a larger one, like above 2 carats, you can easily spot the yellowish tint even with the naked eye.
Extra Protection At Both Ends
Due to their elongated shape and low surface area at both ends, marquise-cut diamonds are more vulnerable at these two tips. Therefore, they require more protection from chipping, breaking, or any similar sort of damage.
Marquise Diamonds Cut Guide
Color in marquise-cut diamonds is the subjective aspect of evaluating a diamond. Many buyers prefer the slightly warmer colors of a G-H diamond over the cooler-tone colorlessness of a D-F diamond.
In fact, the higher end of the color scale is more at premium pricing, which depends on the supply and demand from the customers.
Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor | |
Table % | 52-63 | 52 or 64-65 | 51 or 66-68 | 50 or 69-70 | <50 or >70 |
Depth % | 58-62 | 58-62 | 53-57.9 or 62.1-66 | 50-52.9 or 71.1-74 | <50 or >74 |
Girdle | Very Thin- Slightly Thick | Very Thin to Thick | Very Thin to Very Thick | Extremely Thin to Extremely Thick | |
Cutlet | None | Very Small | Small | Medium | >Medium |
Length/Width Ratio | 1.85- 2.00 | 1.75-1.84 or 2.01-2.15 | 1.65-1.74 or2.16-2.30 | 1.55-1.64 or 2.31-2.45 | <1.55 or >2.45 |
Ring Setting Styles With Marquise-Cut Engagement Ring
Here are some ring-setting styles you should consider with a marquise-cut diamond engagement ring:
Solitare Setting
Marquise-cut diamonds emit charm, a unique and unconventional style, and elegance, making them a great choice for various settings. The most classic look you can get with marquise-cut diamonds is a solitaire setting.
Bezel Setting
Since marquise-cut diamonds require more protection at both ends, a bezel setting can be a perfect ring setting style for engagement rings.
This setting will not only give a ring a contemporary and elegant look but also add further protection against chipping and breaking. You can also customize a bezel set engagement ring with a marquise-cut diamond.
Three-Stone Setting
One of the best settings for marquise-cut diamonds is a three-stone setting. This is simply because the elongated shape with pointed ends of a marquise-cut diamond often feels like putting a much narrower diamond on your finger. Adding side stones provides symmetry to the shape and makes it much more beautiful to wear.
Halo Setting
This is perfect when you’re looking to achieve a vintage look from marquise-cut diamonds.
With a pave halo, there is more sparkle towards the diamond’s center, increasing the apparent stone’s size. A halo surrounding the diamond also reduces the chance of the diamond’s ends snagging on clothes.
6 Prong Setting
Another effective ring setting to protect the pointed ends of marquise-cut diamonds is a 6-prong setting. This is a commonly used ring setting for marquise diamonds. There is also a 4-prong setting, which is less common for marquise but still possible.
Metal Choice & Bands
One of the first decisions you’ll make when buying a marquise-cut diamond engagement ring is choosing the metal’s color.
As we know, marquise diamonds tend to emit more of their inherited color due to their elongated surface area, shallow cut, and pointier ends, so that the metal choice will play a significantly larger role here than in any other diamond shape.
Also, the diamond color is set according to personal preference, and you will choose a color that complements the appearance of the marquise diamond.
So, if you can spot more of a yellowish tint in the diamond, it is better to select a warmer metal tone, like rose gold or yellow gold, to minimize the contrast in color tones. This helps to add more effect to the diamond’s sparkle.
However, if your diamond does not have much visible color, you can choose white gold or platinum metal to add further to the icy white sparkle overall look.
Bring Home The Elegance Of Marquise-Diamond Engagements With Us!
When considering a marquise-cut diamond engagement ring, you must consider all the various factors we shared earlier.
That being said, it is always better to choose a reliable and trustworthy source of diamonds and engagement rings, like us at A.JAFFE. Feel free to explore our best range of marquise-diamond engagement rings in different settings, styles, and metal choices.