Which Diamond Shapes Are Scientifically Proven To Sparkle The Most?

One important thing to remember is that there really is no such thing as the "best" diamond. Every woman has their own unique diamond preference tailored to their taste. But with diamonds, there's no denying that many women are going to want to get their hands on the ring that sparkles the most. Wouldn't you? This is your engagement ring, go big or go home!

The best way to achieve a sparkly ring that'll blind people with its brilliance is to pay close attention to the shape of the diamond and how it is cut. There are a lot of different ways a diamond can be cut and all shapes are not equal in terms of brilliance. There is a reason that the round brilliant diamond is still the number one seller today (spoiler: the round shape and angled sides maximize sparkle).

Do you want to buy her a diamond that is big but doesn't reflect very much light, making it look dull? Or, do you want to get her a diamond that'll be so sparkly that it can catch the attention of someone across the room? My guess is, you want the latter.

If you want to make sure her ring attracts the attention of everyone around her for years to come, even past the shiny new state it's in when it leaves the store, keep reading and consider which diamond shape will work for you.

How does a diamond's shape affect its brilliance or sparkle?

When light shines on a diamond, it's reflected off of the diamond's surfaces, known as facets, before reflecting back out in the form of brilliance, or sparkle. Each diamond cut has a unique facet pattern which give the shapes their unique identities. Since the light has to bounce off of the facets before exiting the stone, these different facet patterns give each shape a unique brilliance as well.

It's important to know that although each diamond shape has a unique brilliance associated with it, the brilliance of an individual stone is also determined by the quality of the cut. The cut is based on how accurate the diamond's proportions are in comparison to the ideal measurements for a given diamond cut and it can severely alter the brilliance of a diamond.

So, just because the round brilliant diamond is the most brilliant doesn't mean all round brilliant diamonds will always shine bright. The round stone must still be cut well in order to earn the top spot on this list.

When you read this ranking, know that we based it on the assumption that all diamonds being compared have the same quality grades and have been cut perfectly. Now without further ado, the diamond shape power ranking:

Most Brilliant: Round brilliant

Extremely Brilliant: Oval, Marquise and Pear

Very Brilliant: Heart and Princess

Brilliant: Cushion, Emerald, Asscher and Radiant

Less Brilliant: Baguette cut

If you want to see any of these diamonds in person, you can schedule an appointment at any of our five locations where one of our trained diamond experts will be able to assist you.