Marquise Diamonds in Grand Cayman

A marquise is an elongated brilliant with pointed ends, and it is the most efficient shape in diamond buying. Because the weight is spread across the length rather than packed into depth, a marquise covers more finger than any other cut of the same carat weight, and it costs less per carat than a round because less of the rough is lost getting there.

It also flatters the hand. The long axis draws the eye down the finger, which slims and lengthens, and set east-west across the finger it becomes something else entirely, a quieter, more modern ring that very few people are wearing.

Two things decide whether a marquise is well cut. Symmetry: the two points must line up, and the widest part must sit at the centre, or the stone looks bent. And the bow-tie: a dark band across the middle that every elongated brilliant has to some degree, which good proportions minimise and poor ones make obvious. Both are visible in seconds once you know to look, and we will show you.