Shape Sorter: Which Diamond Cut (Shape) Fits Her?
It can be challenging for a groom-to-be to pick a diamond shape without knowing for certain what his loved one prefers.
Of course you could draw some conclusions on what shape your future fiancée likes based on her other jewelry. If she prefers to wear traditional styles, a round or oval brilliant, solitaire setting could be the way to go. Round or oval is also a good choice if your loved one is into an active lifestyle or likes to wear dainty clothing, since diamonds with sharp edges (marquise, pear, heart, and square shapes) are more likely to pull threads or scratch her or others during sports.
You could also ask your future fiancée’s best friend to innocuously strike up a conversation on the topic of “gemstone shapes.” If her best friend has been attending acting classes, the level of innocuousness may even be believable enough without raising your girlfriend’s suspicions. However, you run the risk of full disclosure by her best friend (“Even though I swore to him I would never tell you….”) which will ruin any chance of surprising your girlfriend.
If you are into Freud or simply have an Oxford degree in psychoanalysis you can decide on the diamond shape using Saul Spero’s personality traits approach to picking the diamond shape. Saul, a New York diamond appraiser, apparently spent more than 25 years interviewing thousands of people to determine the correlation between personality and women’s preferences for diamond shapes. In his book Diamonds, Love, and Compatibility: So You Think You’ve Got a Gem (Behrman House Publishing, 1977), Spero talks about personality traits most likely to match the six basic diamond shapes:
| Women’s Personality Traits and Diamond Shapes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women’s Personality Traits | Diamond Shape | |
| Home- and family-centered, dependable, relaxed, easy to get along with, and security conscious. |  |
Round |
| Individualistic, creative, well-organized, dependable, and willing to take chances. |  |
Oval |
| Sentimental, creative, feminine, sensitive, trusting, dramatic, and a dreamer. |  |
Heart |
| Disciplined, organized, conservative, efficient, honest, and open. |  |
Rectangle / Square |
| Conforming, considerate, adaptable, and home- and community-centered. |  |
Pear |
| Extroverted, aggressive, experimental, exciting, innovative, and career-centered. |  |
Marquise |
One word of caution on this psychological approach though—most women like more than one shape. Saul Spero created his matching table based on profiles of women who liked just one and only one diamond shape. However, Saul’s methodology can still help you narrow down the choices to one or two shapes.
If you are simply in a rush to make a decision, can’t count on her best friend’s help, and not really into psychoanalysis, go with the round brilliant. Why? More than three-fourths (in other words more than 75%) of grooms give their loved ones a round brilliant solitaire as an engagement ring. Since round diamonds are the most popular shape sold, the odds are in your favor your lady will like a round diamond, too.
