Welcome back to the Diamonds Hatton Garden blog where we share the latest developments and insights from our Hatton Garden jewellers. In today’s blog we continue our series examining the different diamond shapes with the beautiful Heart cut. The heart cut., a symbol of enduring love for centuries, is one of the rarer diamond shapes – whilst it may be rarer it certainly is no less precious. Like many diamond shapes, the heart shaped diamonds has a long and illustrious history that can be traced back centuries. Often used mainly in heart diamond engagement rings, the heart shaped diamond can also be found in diamond tennis bracelets and diamond earrings making it wonderfully versatile either as a stand alone piece or in a jewellery set.
What is a “Diamond Shape?
Diamond shape refers to the geometric appearance of a diamond. Diamond shapes are categorised into two groups: round diamonds and fancy shape diamonds. Round diamonds, also known as round brilliant cuts, are the most popular diamond shape. Fancy shape diamonds refer to any diamond that is not a round brilliant.
The History of the Heart Shape Diamond
Throughout history the heart shape has been used as an enduring symbol of love. The history of the beautiful heart shape diamond can be traced back over 500 years and, whilst love has come and gone, the popularity of the shape has remained. The first reported mention of the heart shape diamond can be found in 1463 when it appeared in conversation between the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, and Nicodemo; the mythical quests of the wealthy Cosimo de Medici of the political dynasty was described by the Duke of Milan as a heart-shaped diamond. Whilst this is not an exact confirmation of the diamond’s use, we can infer that the usage of the shape, whilst not common, was likely amongst both the wealthy and royalty.
Fast forward a few decades to England in 1562 and we see Mary Queen of Scots presenting her sister Queen Elizabeth with a heart-shaped diamond ring. Over the span of time, the shape has not only been associated with love but also as a symbol of both friendship and goodwill. We also find reports of other instances of heart shaped diamonds being given as gifts amongst the nobles with nobleman Cardinal de Richelieu famously owning a 20-carat heart-shaped diamond that was given to him by a wealthy diamond merchant.
Where Does The Name Heart Cut come from?
The name for the heart shape diamond, unsurprisingly, comes from the shape – the ultimate symbol of love: a heart!
What are the proportions of a Heart Cut Diamond?
As with heart shaped diamonds, ratio and symmetry is particularly important when choosing a heart shaped diamond. When looking at ratio, ideally you want to choose between 0.90 ad 1.10 ensuring an even size making the heart as wide as it is tall. A heart shaped diamond typically has 56 to 58 facets, with six to eight facets making up the diamond’s pavilion. In a diamond, the pavilion is the space below the girdle. This part of the diamond’s anatomy is frequently the noticeable “V” shape of the base of the diamond. The pavilion acts “behind the scenes” and is the part of the stone that reflects light back through the crown at the viewer. Heart shaped diamond rings, well well balanced, are a beautiful way to celebrate your love.
Why choose a heart shaped diamond?
Cut to a high level of quality, a heart shaped diamond engagement ring can have stunning brilliance (sparkle), as well as an eye-catching shape that symbolises you and your partner’s shared love.
One thing to consider is that, even though the heart-shaped diamond is popula, the cut still remains one of the more expensive diamond cuts. This is because the unique shape is intricate and takes generally longer to polish or cut than other shapes. Due to the challenging shape to cut, we recommend choosing a diamond over 0.5 carats as the larger the carat weight the more distinctive and visible the shape. An enduring, classical symbol of love the heart shape diamond is a wonderful way to celebrate your love. Heart shaped diamonds are a popular cut for fancy coloured diamonds as the saturation and tones of the colours. Yellow fancy coloured diamonds and pink fancy coloured diamonds, in particular are colours that work exceptionally well.
For more information about our heart shaped diamond engagement rings and to book your personal consultation with our experienced teams, contact harel@diamondshg.co.uk or call +44 7951 060238.