July 12th 2022
The Radiant Cut Diamond Guide
By Devin Jones
Radiant Cut Diamonds
Radiant cut diamonds are either square or rectangular in shape with cut-corners and a brilliant cutting style that maximizes light performance. The radiant cut diamond was designed to offer the shape of an emerald cut diamond with a sparkle similar to that of a round cut diamond. They're one of the most sparkly fancy cut diamonds, hence the name "radiant".
Radiant vs Emerald Cut Diamonds
While radiant and emerald cut diamonds might share a similar profile, the two shapes differ significantly in other ways.
As you can see from the images below, an emerald cut diamond has larger, chunkier facets that resemble more of a "hallway of mirrors" while a radiant cut diamond has a multitude of smaller, triangular facets that meet in the center of the diamond and resemble "crushed ice". The first image below is a chunky emerald cut and the second is a crushed ice radiant cut diamond.
Click for more details on the above emerald cut and radiant cut diamonds.
The unique cutting pattern of a radiant cut diamond combines step cut facets on the crown (the top of the diamond) with brilliant cut facets on the pavilion (lower half of the diamond). The brilliant cut facets make a radiant cut diamond more forgiving than an emerald cut, allowing it to hide inclusions more easily. The brilliance also helps to hide some of the natural color in the stone, meaning you can opt for a slightly lower color grade than you would in an emerald cut diamond.
Pros & Cons of Radiant Cut Diamonds
Pros of Radiant Cut
- Elegant shape of an emerald cut
- Superior sparkle & light performance
- Hides inclusions well
- Hides color well
- Significantly less expensive than round cut diamonds
Cons of Radiant Cut
- May be slightly more expensive than emerald cut diamonds (not always)
Ideal Proportions for Radiant Cut Diamonds
There are no defined standards for an ideal cut radiant diamond like there are for round cut diamonds. Generally speaking, you want to make sure you focus on getting a symmetrical radiant cut diamond that looks true to size (not cut too deep, or too shallow). Thankfully the grading agencies (GIA, AGS, etc.) do grade radiant cut diamonds on symmetry. We only recommend excellent symmetry in your radiant cut diamond. Below we analyze the available inventory from our diamond search engine to determine the ideal proportions for length to width ratio, depth percentage, and table percentage.
Emerald Cut Length to Width Ratio
The ideal length to width ratio for radiant cut diamonds is either 1.00 for a square cut radiant or 1.20 - 1.50 for a rectangular radiant cut diamond. The most popular length to width ratio for a radiant cut diamond is 1.26 according to data from StoneAlgo's diamond search engine.
Radiant Cut Depth Percentage
The ideal depth percentage for an emerald cut diamond tends to vary according to it's length to width ratio. The most popular depth percent for radiant cut diamonds is 68.5% with most of the available inventory ranging from 64.8% - 71.5%.
Radiant Cut Table Percentage
The most popular table percentage for radiant cut diamonds is 66%. The majority of diamond shoppers seek radiant cut diamonds with table percentages between 62% - 72%.
Radiant Cut Diamond Prices
Radiant cut diamonds are priced similarly to emerald cut diamonds and significantly less than round cut diamonds. Here are the prices for radiant cut diamonds of various carat weights for July 2022. All prices are for G color, VS2 clarity radiant cut diamonds with excellent symmetry.
| Carat | Price | Price Per Carat |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | $1,203 | $2,406 |
| 1 | $4,988 | $4,988 |
| 2 | $22,840 | $11,420 |
| 3 | $46,848 | $15,616 |
Follow the below links for live diamond prices, historical price charts, and the available inventory of radiant cut diamonds.
