Best Cuts for Moissanite: All You Need to Know

Moissanite is a popular synthetic gemstone for modern jewelry due to its brilliance, durability, and affordability. Moissanite is a lab-created stone made of silicon carbide with an extremely high double refractive index, giving it an incredible sparkle and enviable fire unlike any other. This blog post will cover moissanite pros and cons, best moissanite cut, and different moissanite cuts.

What is a Cut for Moissanite?

What is the best moissanite cut? Moissanite can be cut and fashioned into an impressive variety of shapes, caratages, and sizes, allowing for endless possibilities for jewelry design.  Contemporary and classic style options are well within reach for your preferred price point featuring larger and smaller stones displayed in fine metals featuring moissanite.

Top Picks for Best Cuts for Moissanite 

These cuts break down information about each type, introducing the qualities and attributes. These picks feature round brilliant cut, radiant cut, princess cut, pear, cushion, marquise, oval and emerald cut.

Round Cut

The Round brilliant cut has a rich history, dating back to the 17th century. Diamond cutters tried many methods to maximize a stone's brilliance and fire, discovering the round brilliant cut when diamond cutting first began.

The standard round brilliant cut has 57 or 58 facets. The largest facet on the stone is the table facet (top), which helps gather light from above, reflecting back to the observer, or directing it back into the interior.  

The crown facets consist of 8 bezels, 8 stars, and 16 upper halves, gathering and dispersing light. The pavilion (body of the stone) facets feature 16 lower halves, 8 mains, and an optional culet (the point at the bottom), reflecting the light back through the crown (beveled top). 

The round brilliant cut is currently the most popular cut for diamonds, moissanite, and other gemstones, especially engagement rings, remaining the most sought-after cut for decades. 

Radiant Cut

Radiant cut resembles emerald cut (a simpler step cut) with facets resembling round brilliant cut stone). Radiant cut stones have recessed clip corners, appearing as a fiery rectangular shape. This highly brilliant cut stone showcases two shorter sides and two long sides, with the longer and shorter ones parallel in an elongated octagon formation.

Pear Cut

The pear shape dates back to 1475! This rich history makes the pear shape have a vintage quality, along with a modernized approach using moissanite instead of a diamond. A pear-shaped stone is a modified round brilliant cut in the shape of a teardrop or raindrop. A smooth half circle with symmetrical sides tapers into a point at one end, giving it a gorgeous asymmetry. The total number of facets a pear shape has is 58, with different amounts of facets on the pavilion.  

Cushion Cut

Cushion cuts are one of the oldest cuts, once called the mine cut and then the old mine cut, dating back to the 1700s. The modernized version of cushion cut contains brilliant faceting, resembling radiant cuts, but they are square shaped also with clipped corners.

Princess Cut

In 1979, diamond cutter Israel “Izzy” Itzkowitz invented this now common cut. Princess cut stones are the square version of a round brilliant cut. Princess cut stones have a total of 57 facets with 21 on the crown, 4 on the girdle, and 33 on the pavilion. There may be other versions of the princess cut with more or fewer cuts on the pavilion. The princess cut is the second most popular stone cut after the round brilliant.

Oval Cut

The brilliant faceting style was first introduced in the 1700s. It wasn't until the late 1800s that oval cuts first gained recognition, seeing a resurgence in the late 1990s to early 2000s as a more common selection for a stone cut. Oval cuts are popular and trending today. 

An oval cut has an elongated round shape, faceted in the brilliant cut style (same as round brilliant and princess cut) with 57 or 58 facets. The anatomy of an oval cut features the head/end or the tips of an oval. The shoulders are the curves on the head/end to the belly. The belly is the central area where the sides curve out the most (wides area). 

Emerald Cut

The emerald cut is synonymous with the Art Deco era with its sleek, architectural shape, even though the emerald cut was first invented in the 1500s, fluctuating in and out of trends. Today, a lot of celebrities can be seen wearing an emerald cut ring.

Emeralds have 57 facets. They appear as a “window” when viewed from the top, the viewer can see right through the stone. This allows any inclusions to be readily apparent. Emerald cuts are best suited for higher-quality stones with high clarity and color. Any imperfections will be more visible in an emerald cut than in other shapes.  

Marquise Cut

Marquise diamonds are entrenched in history, dating back to the 18th century. King Louis XV of France requested a diamond cut resembling the lips of his mistress, the Marchioness Madame de Pompadour, Jean Antoinette Poisson. This resulted in an elongated boat shape--sometimes marquise cut is referred to as Navette, which translates into “small ship” in French.

Marquise typically contain 58 facets with some modified versions having more. Marquise is considered a “fancy shape.” Here are the parts:

• Belly: The central area where the sides curve out at the widest portion.
• Point: Where the two curved sides meet, tapering at each end.
• Wing: The curved area reaching from the belly to the points on each end.
• Girdle: The intersection of the crown (top of the diamond) and pavilion (bottom facets).
• Keel line: Where the pavilion facets meet at the bottom running the length of the diamond. This may include the culet in the center. 

Expert Recommendations

The following are some important aspects to consider for moissanite cuts. Do you like tennis bracelets? Our 6MM MOISSANITE TENNIS BRACELET 14K WHITE GOLD features round brilliant cut moissanite solitaires in classic prong settings. 

Explanation of why expert recommendations are important

Getting an expert recommendation before purchasing your moissanite ring is an easy and helpful part of the shopping experience, especially when you are in the beginning stages. 

Overview of what experts consider when recommending the best cuts for moissanite rings

It's important to consider the stone's cut as it relates to size, color, and clarity before purchasing your moissanite jewelry. Each moissanite cut has its own striking appearance, showcasing the stone's brilliance and fire from different angles, adding to the unique attributes of this intriguing stone. 

Expert recommendations for different styles, preferences, and budgets

Here are some suggestions for choosing a moissanite ring. 

1. Round brilliant cut moissanite: Round brilliant cut is classic and timeless with its diameter and endless fire. A round brilliant cut can be set into prongs or bezels, French pave or micro pave as side stones, channel set, and more. Do you love cluster settings? Our geometric 6MM MOISSANITE SQUARE CLUSTER EARRINGS 14K are a great choice.
2. Cushion moissanite: Do you love vintage inspiration? Cushion cut moissanite is perfect for those who love old styles reimagined with more facets and more with brilliance.
3. Oval moissanite: Oval cuts are unique in symmetry yet classic enough to be worn as an engagement ring.
4. Pear Moissanite: The pear shape is one of the only asymmetrical cuts that gains attention with its brilliant facet display and distinctive shape. 
5. Radiant Moissanite: If you love long shapes or an emerald cut, choosing a radiant cut is perfect for a center stone three stone past, present, and future style ring. With its silhouette similar to an emerald cut updated with several facets, radiant cuts are statement styles made for something a little bit more unique. 

Maximizing the Beauty of Moissanite Rings

Here are some things to consider for maximizing the beauty of a moissanite ring:

The cut can impact the brilliance of moissanite

The cut of the stone can affect the brilliance of the stone in relation to the quality of the stone. Inclusions can hide behind multiple facets, making highly included stones better for brilliant cuts.

Here are a few things you can do to help maximize the beauty of your moissanite ring:

1. Keeping it clean: Regular cleaning will help keep your moissanite ring sparkling. Cleaning your ring with warm water and mild soap solution is an easy, at-home method you can do every 2-3 weeks. Avoiding harsh chemicals or abrasive materials, treating your moissanite with care will extend the life of any piece.
2. The right setting: A prong setting allow more light to enter the stone and enhance its brilliance. A halo setting can also help to maximize the moissanite fire with a multi-stone style.
3. Higher-quality moissanite: Considering the 4Cs before purchasing your ring will help maximize the beauty of your moissanite with the quality relating to the best cut for the stone. 
4. Shapes and cuts: Different shapes and cuts of moissanite will reflect light with distinctive light patterns.

Factors to Consider When Choosing the Best Cut for Moissanite Rings

1. Brilliance & Fire: The brilliance and fire is determined by the cut of the moissanite, directly affecting the amount of light reflected and refracted within the stone. A well-cut moissanite will exhibit more brilliance and fire than a poorly cut stone.
2. Color: The cut can also affect the high or lower quality color grade, enhancing better quality stones or detracting from stones with yellow or brown tinges. Minimizing or enhancing the appearance of color with multiple facets
3. Clarity: A well-cut moissanite will have fewer noticeable inclusions and surface blemishes or hide the inclusions it does have. 
4. Size: A well-cut moissanite will appear larger. 
5. Personal style: Do you like vintage styles, contemporary trends, or timeless sophistication? Narrowing down the look you want is paramount for choosing the best option that really says something about you.

Conclusion

Moissanite is a man-made, high quality stone popular for rings and other jewelry. Moissanite is also very versatile, and can be cut into many shapes. These cuts introduced in this article are round brilliant cut, radiant cut, princess cut, pear, cushion, marquise, oval and emerald cut, in addition to the moissanite pros and cons, best moissanite cut, and different moissanite cuts.

Choosing the best cut for your moissanite ring depends on personal style. Moissanite is graded using the 4Cs, a scale developed by GIA determining the quality of the stone and how it relates to the value. Selecting a stone within 

Keeping your ring clean will amplify the shine and fire of the moissanite.  Taking good care of your moissanite investment will showcase your moissanite’s cut and size.