The Marquise Cut is a distinctive diamond shape celebrated for its elegant silhouette, brilliant sparkle, and rich royal heritage. Dating back to the eighteenth century, this eye-catching cut has remained a favorite for those seeking something both timeless and unique.

With its elongated shape and pointed ends, the marquise cut creates a graceful, sophisticated appearance while maximizing visual size. As a brilliant-cut diamond, it is designed to reflect light beautifully, producing impressive sparkle and fire. Its elongated outline can also create a flattering effect on the finger, making it a popular choice for engagement rings and fine jewelry.

Combining historic charm with striking brilliance, the marquise cut offers a unique alternative to more traditional diamond shapes while maintaining the elegance and beauty that have captivated diamond lovers for centuries.

What is a Marquise cut diamond?

A Marquise-Cut diamond is distinguished by its elongated, boat-shaped silhouette with gracefully pointed ends. Designed with 58 facets, it shares a faceting structure similar to that of a Round Brilliant diamond, allowing it to deliver exceptional sparkle and light performance while offering a more distinctive shape.

The marquise cut is prized for its ability to maximize visual size, often appearing larger than other diamond shapes of the same carat weight. Its elongated outline also creates a flattering effect on the finger, making it a popular choice for engagement rings and fine jewelry.

Steeped in history and associated with European royalty, the marquise cut combines classic elegance with eye-catching brilliance. While it has been admired for centuries, it has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity among buyers seeking a diamond shape that feels both timeless and unique.

Excellent: Close to perfect in terms of light reflection and proportions. Immense fire and brilliance.

Very Good: Exceptionally bright and visually stunning to the naked eye.

Good: Still bright, but with slightly less scintillation than higher grades.

Excellent Very Good Good

History of the Marquise cut

The Marquise Cut traces its origins to eighteenth-century France, where King Louis XV is said to have commissioned a diamond shape inspired by the lips of his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. The resulting elongated silhouette with pointed ends became known as the marquise cut, a shape associated with elegance, romance, and aristocratic style.

Over the centuries, advancements in diamond-cutting technology and a deeper understanding of light performance refined the original design. Modern marquise diamonds retain their distinctive outline while incorporating brilliant-cut faceting that enhances sparkle and fire. Today's marquise cut combines its fascinating royal heritage with contemporary craftsmanship, creating a diamond shape that feels both historic and timeless.

Why choose a Marquise cut diamond?

One of the biggest advantages of a Marquise-Cut diamond is its impressive face-up size. Thanks to its elongated shape and relatively shallow proportions, a marquise diamond often appears larger than other diamond cuts of the same carat weight. More of the diamond's weight is visible from above, giving you greater visual impact without necessarily increasing your budget.

This shape also provides excellent finger coverage, making the center stone look substantial and eye-catching. For buyers looking to maximize size and presence, the marquise cut often delivers exceptional value compared to many other diamond shapes.

Beyond its size advantage, the marquise cut is known for its flattering silhouette. Its elongated outline naturally creates the illusion of longer, more slender fingers, adding elegance and sophistication to the hand. The combination of brilliant sparkle, impressive visual size, and graceful proportions makes the marquise cut a timeless and highly flattering choice for engagement rings and fine jewelry.

Excellent Value: Marquise-cut diamonds are typically less expensive than round brilliant diamonds of the same carat weight and quality. Their elongated shape retains more of the original rough diamond during cutting, resulting in less waste and a lower price per carat. Combined with their larger face-up appearance, marquise diamonds offer excellent value for buyers seeking maximum size and sparkle within their budget.

How to choose your Marquise cut diamond

Marquise-cut diamonds come in a variety of length-to-width ratios, allowing buyers to choose a shape that matches their personal style. Longer, slimmer marquise diamonds create a dramatic, elegant look, while shorter, wider stones offer a fuller and more balanced appearance.

Because marquise diamonds are typically shallower than many other diamond shapes, color can be more noticeable, particularly near the pointed ends. To maintain a bright, colorless appearance throughout the stone, it's often recommended to choose a higher color grade, ensuring the diamond looks crisp and clear from tip to tip.