Marquise Cut

Round	Princess	Emerald	Asscher	Pear	Radiant	Oval	Cushion	Heart	Marquise	Trillian

Just briefly

Also known as: ‘Cats Eye’ or ‘Navette’ Shape

Unique Features	Facets	L / W Ratio	Origin	Expert Tip
Elongated “navette” oval shape, similar to a ‘Cats Eye’	Usually 56 to 58	Ideally 1.85 – 2.10	French Royalty mid 17hundreds	Rewarding carat weights with shallow ends, tends to elongate the finger.

Features & Advice

The Marquise is yet another cut that utilities a modified brilliant cut in its pavilion. This ‘Cats Eye’ shape is additionally referred to as the “Navette”, meaning ‘little boat’. It is predominantly cut with 58 facets, with 33 on the crown and 25 on the pavilion, although occasionally the number of pavilion facets may vary between 4 and 8, largely depending on the size of the diamond and the cutters preference. Some marquise varieties are also cut with a “French tip,” which replaces the large bezel facet at the point with star and upper girdle facets.

The ideal ratio of the Marquise is 2:1 eg: 6mm x 3mm, however the shape is typically cut to ratios ranging between 1.85 and 2.10 .The marquise cut is another that can fall victim to the ‘Bow Tie’ effect just like the Pear, Oval and Heart cuts, whereby a crisscross shadow is viewed through the center of the diamond are susceptible to a so-called “bow-tie effect” when light passing through the diamond casts a shadow across the central facets of the stone.  A well cut stone will not display this. 

The Marquise can maximize your dollar value here with a higher size to carat yield.  Because the marquise tips are narrow and shallow the overall weight of the diamond is less, but you still get size. Particular attention to look for a diamond that is not too shallow to avoid any loss of refraction and brilliance.