Marquise diamond rings feature a magical design and cut in tribute to a lovely woman’s sultry smile. These are chosen by many couples as a symbol of love and hope at the time of their engagement as they began to plan their life together. The romance with diamonds has lasted for centuries and will continue into the future; a wise investment in these precious and highly valued gems guarantees these brilliant and fiery stones will retain both their looks and value for years to come.
In the 18th century, France’s King Louis XIV was so enthralled with the sultry smile of his beautiful mistress Marquise de Pompadour he commissioned a gem smith to design a special diamond representing that smile to carry with him. The end result is a beautiful Marquise design that contains 56 facets in an oblong shape with pointed ends. This cut results in a small bow tie shape that can be seen in the depths of the diamond; the visibility depends on the exactness of the cut. The ideal proportions for the bow tie effect are the stone is twice as long as it is wide. This may be hard to achieve and many beautiful stones are produced with a ratio between 2.25-1 or 1.75-1. The shape and cuts create the famous shadow deep inside, which is a sign of light leaving the stone instead of being reflected back inward.
Many newly engaged couples choose one of the marquise diamond engagement rings to symbolize the start of their life together. These dazzling diamonds are natural choice as the name diamond came from the Greek word adamas, which means indestructible, unbreakable and unconquerable. These are all things these madly-in-love, hopeful-of-a-long-and-happy-life together people want their promises and vows to each other to be. The very design of a marquise diamond ring makes it look much more expensive than it is. It has a large table that is the top of the stone and creates an image of a larger carat size that it actually has. It is a jeweler’s delight as the accompanying wedding band can be created in many ornate and intricate ways to highlight and support this brilliant pledge of love and commitment.
Sparkling marquise diamond rings add a sophisticated touch to the diamond world and especially to ladies with long, slender fingers. Most of these stones are set parallel on the finger; in the past some of these precious gems were mounted crossways and estate sale treasures with this design are still available. The most popular mounting is the classic prong or tiffany setting where four prongs, two on each side, secure the diamond to the platinum, 14 or 18 karat white gold or yellow gold band. Two additional prongs protect the points of this brilliant sparkling stone from being fractured or chipped. A quality marquise cut diamond ring will rest properly on the band, straight and even; the points in line with stone’s center and both curved sides are uniform. The dazzling stone should be clear in color without any cloudiness or murkiness in center.
The value of a diamond is in the 4 C’s carat, clarity, color and cut. A fine jeweler will be able to explain and show the difference in these stones to an investor. It is the combination of all four that gives the true value to a diamond. The weight is given in carats and the larger the stone the more valuable. Clarity has to do with the blemishes that marred the brilliance and fire of the diamond. These are rated as either internally flawless, very, very slight inclusions or very slight inclusions. Fancies are diamonds of color; these are rare and very expensive. Most people prefer a colorless stone; these are rated from D to W with D being colorless and W being light yellow. By placing diamonds set on their table (top) in a special, lab-like machine, a trained professional can assess the colors. Once mounted in an intricate, creative setting most people will not be able to tell the difference between the D – F (most expensive) diamonds from the G – H and often choose the less expensive G-H stones, saving as much as 50% on the cost of the diamond. It is the cut of the diamond that really sets the value; the brilliance and fire that sparkled in these unique gems is caused from the light moving from one cut another deep inside. A well cut diamond allows the light coming in from the table to bounce back and forth until it finally explodes out where the eye can catch this brilliant flash of light and color. Marquise cut diamond rings have 56 facets or different cuts on each diamond to create this magic.
The magical cut of the marquise diamond rings makes it a favorite with romantic people everywhere and creates a sophisticated look to a stunning engagement ring or any of the other special occasion marquise rings so proudly displayed on every allowable occasion.