Round Brilliant Engagement Rings and Diamond Rings

The round brilliant is the most common diamond shape by a wide margin, and the reason is optical rather than fashionable. Its fifty seven or fifty eight facets are arranged to return more light to the eye than any other cut, which is why a round stone will generally look brighter than an equivalent stone in any other shape.This collection includes Adele, Ariana, the Artemis old cut platinum ring, the Cleopatra 3.99ct, Harmony, Madonna, Monroe, Shakira, the Sheba round brilliant, Smith and Green Invisible, Smith and Green Love and Vienna.Round is also the only shape with a universally recognised cut grade, running from Excellent down to Poor. For every other shape, cut quality is a matter of judgement. That makes round the easiest shape to buy with confidence from a certificate alone, and the hardest to get badly wrong.The trade off is price. Round costs more per carat than any other shape, partly because demand is highest and partly because cutting a round brilliant wastes more of the original rough than a cut such as emerald or princess. Expect to pay a premium of roughly a quarter over a comparable fancy shape.Our diamond shapes guide compares round against the alternatives, and the Four Cs explains why cut grade matters more than the other three combined.