Welcome back to the Diamonds Hatton Garden blog where we bring you the latest insights from our Hatton Garden Jewellers. As we move into the busy time ahead of Christmas, we look into one of the most popular trends of the season: Baguette cut diamonds with our guide that covers all you need to know about this magical shape.
Baguette cut diamonds have a long and rich history. The gorgeous shape complements and accents many diamond engagement ring designs and, in particular, are renowned for allowing a centre stone to shine even more brilliantly. Once you know what a baguette diamond is and what to look for in baguette-cut diamonds, the options are endless for creating your perfect look for your own engagement ring.
How do Baguette-cut diamonds get their name?
When one thinks of the word baguette we, often, immediately think of the classic, and delicious, French bread. However, the diamond shape is not named after the bread and both names derive from the fact that “baguette” means “stick” in french
The History of Baguette Diamonds
Whilst the exact date is unknown, it is commonly accepted that the baguette shape was created during the Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements of the 1920s and 1930s Art Deco jewellery borrowed heavily from architecture, with bold, geometric patterns; straight lines, squares, triangles, pyramids and arcs combined to create intricate and jaw-dropping designs. Baguette shaped diamonds appeared in all manner of jewellery including rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Even today, we see baguette cut diamonds appear in almost any type of jewellery. However, their most popular use is still seen in diamond rings and being used as side stones.
Much like other diamond cuts, baguette-cut diamonds appear in a variety of sizes. Longer baguettes are supremely elegant, but can be harder to source than smaller, shorter baguettes. Regardless of the choice you make, what remains clear is that baguette-cuts are a wonderful addition to any item of diamond jewellery.
Characteristics of Baguette-cut diamonds
Baguette-cut diamonds are rectangular cut diamonds that are similar in appearance to emerald cut diamonds. Some can be square or tapered. baguette-cut diamonds are part of the step-cut diamond categories and have 14 facets – unlike brilliant-cut diamonds which have 57. Due to having less cuts, baguette diamonds rarely have strong brilliance and are admired for their clean look. When they are set in a series, side-by-side, the series of baguettes produces something similar to brilliance as the light bounces off of the top surface of each successive baguette. Keeping baguette diamonds clean is of the utmost importance, since they do not possess internal brilliance.
How to choose a Baguette Diamond
Colour
Like with emerald cut diamonds and other step cuts, colour and clarity are the two most important of the 4 C’s to consider. It is important to choose a colour that matches the main centre stone as if not the contrast can be stark and not lok good.
Clarity
Like with other step cuts, clarity is very important and much more so than in other diamond shapes. Due to the cut, imperfections in clarity can be seen more easier to the naked eye than in other shapes – the large window on the crown of the diamond and lack of internal reflection causes imperfections to show up more,
Setting
Baguette diamonds run the risk of chipping a bit easier than round shapes and a setting needs to accommodate this. Securely setting the stone helps to minimise damage and prevent chipping or even the baguette cut falling out.
Baguette diamonds are versatile and make an excellent addition to any jewellery design, Classic and unique and modern, they accentuate and enhance the surrounding diamonds giving you a wonderfully special item of jewellery.
For over 40 years, our family-run team has helped generations of clients across the world to find their perfect item of diamond jewellery. Explore our selection of fancy coloured diamonds for sale as well as our beautiful range of diamond engagement rings Contact our team via harel@diamondshg.co.uk or call +44 7951 060238 for more information and to arrange your appointment. Alternatively, discover our selection of large diamonds for sale, or contact our team to sell diamonds in London.