The name "marquise" comes from the Marquise de Pompadour.
In this fancy shape, even small diamonds will have strong brilliance.
In 1745, King Louis XV of France bestowed upon Madame Pompadour the title of Marquise. The boat-shaped diamonds that appeared in Paris at that time were named "marquise" in honor of the Marquise de Pompadour.
Diamond cutters polish marquises, pear shapes, and ovals from similarly shaped rough material. This is done in an effort to minimize weight loss, or to allow removal of undesirable portions from the rough material. The cut distributions vary with the size of the rough. For instance, a cutter may decide to cut two-thirds of the material into marquises if the finished weights are expected to be below 0.25 carat, while if the finished weights are expected to be over 0.3 carat, only about one-half may become marquise shapes. If the weights are expected to be over two carats, very few marquises will be cut, and the cutter will opt for pear shapes instead. Compared to rubies and sapphires, where ovals far outnumber other cuts, there are many marquise diamonds, possibly because they have strong brilliance than ovals in small sizes. Many small marquises are cut to about 4 x 2mm (0.16 x 0.08 in). It would be possible to make an even smaller marquise at 3 x 1.5 mm (0.12 x 0.06 in), but a diamond of that size- no matter how well cut- would lose the beautiful brilliance that is all-important. Furthermore, the marquise shape itself would become indistinct at such small sizes. I believe that 3.5 x 1.8mm (0.14 x 0.07 in) is the smallest viable marquise size. There are optimum cutting styles for gemstones based on size and shape. For example, small round brilliants with diameters of 1.2mm (.05 in) show stronger brilliance as single cuts (18 facets) than as full cuts (58 facets). Currently, India is the main cutting center for small marquise cuts.
The marquise in the photograph to the next page is 1.31 carats, with a beautifully balanced length -to- width ratio of 1.8 to 1. Its face-up outline- the essence of shape- is also well executed, making it a fine example of a gem-quality marquise. Marquise cuts look larger than other shapes in the same weight, but if a stone is too shallow or too deep, or if the culet is too long, an obvious black "bow tie"-shapes area appear in the center of the stone.
UT:PROPORTIONS
To bring out each individual rough diamond crystal's maximum potential beauty, a cutter decides the best shape, facet placement, and three-dimensional outline, or proportions, for the stone. A highly skilled cutter can then bring out a pleasing shape, carefully polishing up the facets and creating an attractive fancy-shaped diamond. The finished stone is then visually inspected to confirm that is has the proper balance and sufficient attractive brilliance.
In the market there are people who, lacking an understanding of the true nature of diamond quality, try to determine quality based solely on the symbols and numerical values of a grading report. Using symbols and numbers as a reference is part of a professional jeweler's job, but one must understand that the beauty of diamonds and other gemstones cannot be expressed as symbols and numbers. There is also a subjective element to beauty, and relying on objective numbers and symbols to judge beauty is unsounded. One must fully understand this when attempting to analyze the objective elements of proportions. On the other hand, experience teaches us certain objective values, such as how deep a stone should be in relation to its diameter or width in order to maximize beauty. This depth ratio is called the "total depth percentage," or simply "total depth." Marquise, ovals, pear shapes, and heart shapes appear beautiful when total depth is in the range of 50 to 70 percent. The marquise cut shown in the center of the photograph below has a total depth percentage 0f 58.8 percent, which falls well within the generally preferred range. The diamond on the right is extremely long, and its depth is 44.5 percent of the shortest width. This cut is too shallow, allowing light entering the diamond to leak out of the back of the stone. The diamond on the left has a total depth of 74.0 percent, lowering its brilliance and making the stone look whitish. Excessively deep stones not only lack beauty, but also have problems fitting into jewelry settings.
Regardless of the quality of proportions, a crystal with inferior transparency will never achieve beautiful brilliance. Additionally, it is important for the girdle thickness and the balance between the crown and pavilion to be within certain ranges.
Especially in pear shapes or marquises weighing several carats, stones with high transparency may be quite attractive even if the total depth is around 50 percent, which may well be due to the sheer size of the stone. This example reemphasizes how conclusions about beauty cannot be made based on numbers alone.
JUDGING QUALITY
Stone of beauty grade S in the quality scale have high transparency and strong brilliance, and they show colors such as orange, blue, and violet in an attractive balance of rainbow-colored dispersion. These stones also have a pleasing overall appearance and sparkle brilliantly when moved. Among S-grade gems, those tones preferred by more people are gem quality. The gray area in the lower chart represents jewelry quality. To enjoy the highest level of beauty, tone levels of1,2, or 2 with a beauty grade of S are recommended.
There is infinite variety in the quality of smaller stones that are used in jewelry, but when making jewelry, a trust-worthy stone will establish a limit to the range of yellowish colors it will accept, and lower limits for imperfections and finish. Even if they are colorless, stones showing very poor brilliance like the one shown in 0-D cannot be recommended for jewelry use. Stones made from inferior rough material, or with shabby proportions, will fall in this range (D).
Weight:0.26 ct
Size(mm):L5.9 W3.0 x D2.22
Total Depth Percentage:74.0% Weight:0.24 ct
Size(mm):L6.5 W3.3 x D1.94
Total Depth Percentage:58.8% Weight:0.25 ct
Size(mm):L10.3 W3.1 x D1.38
Total Depth Percentage:44.5%
HOW TO CHOOSE
As with all types of fancy-shaped diamonds, the first consideration in choosing a marquise should be the quality of its overall appearance. It goes without saying that you should select a stone with high transparency that sparkles brightly. Take care, however, not to be mesmerized by brilliance and neglect considering the beauty of the gemstone's appearance and shape.
When selecting a large marquise, it is best to choose an appropriate shape while keeping in mind an image of the finished jewelry. Since gemstones are created by nature, demanding too much of a stone is unreasonable. Choosing a stone that impresses you as beautiful will ultimately lead to a good purchase. In any case, it is important to choose a jeweler that fully understands the quality of gemstones.
The value of a one-carat-size marquise-cut diamond of jewelry is approximately US $6,000 for the stone alone. (2001)
A GEM OF VALUE
