Marquise diamonds: What you need to know.

A graceful and elegant cut of diamond, a marquise shaped diamond has curved sides and pointed ends. Dating back to 1740s France, the marquise shaped diamond is said to have been named for the Marquise de Pompadour, a mistress of King Louis XV, because it resembled the shape of her mouth. This shape of diamond is also sometimes called a navette, which is the old French for little ship, as it also resembles the hull of a racing yacht.

The beautiful elongated shape of a marquise diamond means that it will often look larger face-up when compared to a round diamond of the same weight. Carat weight is the weight of a diamond rather than the dimensions, hence why a 1 ct marquise diamond might look bigger than a 1ct round or square diamond when looking at the top face of the stone.

Marquise shaped diamonds can have different length-to-width ratios, some will be long and thin and others shorter and wider. There is no ideal ratio and the best stone for you is the one that appeals to you the most. Having recently added to our own collection of marquise diamonds you can see a variety of shapes (and colours) in these marquise shaped naturally coloured diamonds. We can't wait to start working on designs with some of these diamonds.

We will often set the tips of marquise diamonds, encasing them in metal protects the pointed tips of the diamond and the setting can emphasise the shape further. 

The symmetry of the cutting of a marquise diamond is important and the more symmetrical the facets are the more desirable the diamond will be. But symmetry is not the only consideration, the overall shape is important when looking for a pleasingly shaped stone. Curves that are uneven or flat can make a stone look less appealing.

A bow tie is a common feature of marquise shaped diamonds, it’s a shadow across the width of the diamond. Those without any bow tie will often be dull and and lack brightness and a dark wide bow tie can also negatively affect the appearance. A slight bow tie is often visually appealing and the best way to judge this it to look at the stone, face up in natural daylight, without magnification at a distance as if it is being worn on the hand. This is exactly what we did when choosing the stunning marquise diamond below.

Each of our Arris rings is hand carved to fit the individual gemstone and marquise shaped stones work perfectly in this style of ring. Below is one of our most recent commisions, once the diamond was chosen we created a wax model for the ring.

The marquise is a shape of diamond that has featured in many rings over the years, here are just a few of the different rings we have created.

It's not just white diamonds, below are a selection of rings that we have made with cognac coloured marquise shaped diamonds. Look out for some new additions coming into the store in the coming months.

As well as diamonds many other stones are cut in a marquise shape, sapphires, aquamarines, tourmalines are some of the many marquise shaped gemstones that we have worked with in the past. 

If you would like more information about marquise shaped gems or to start your own bespoke commission get in touch with us.