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Marquise Cut Diamonds: The Pointed Oval and How to Wear It
What the Marquise Cut Is
The marquise cut is an elongated brilliant cut with pointed tips at both ends — a shape sometimes described as a football or navette (French for "little boat"). It is one of the oldest diamond cuts in regular use, reputedly commissioned by King Louis XV of France in the 18th century. Of all the non-round brilliant cuts, the marquise has the largest surface area per carat, which means it appears larger face-up than any other shape of equivalent weight.
The marquise is not a mainstream choice today — it was more prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s — which gives it a distinct quality for buyers who want something identifiable and unusual rather than a shape they'll see on every hand.
The Face-Up Size Advantage
The marquise's elongated surface area is its most compelling quality. A 1.00ct marquise appears significantly larger face-up than a 1.00ct round brilliant. Depending on the cut proportions, the marquise can look 20–30% larger face-up than an equivalent-weight round. For buyers who want maximum visible size from a given budget, the marquise is unmatched.
The Bowtie Effect
Like other elongated shapes (oval, pear), the marquise is susceptible to the bowtie effect — a dark shadow across the midsection. The bowtie in a marquise tends to be more pronounced than in an oval because of the shape's more extreme elongation. A well-cut marquise will have a faint bowtie that reads as part of the stone's character; a poorly cut one will have a severe dark band that dominates the face-up appearance.
The bowtie cannot be assessed from a certificate and must be viewed in person or in well-lit video footage. This is the most important quality check for any marquise purchase.
Protecting the Points
A marquise has two sharp points, both of which are vulnerable to chipping. Both points must be covered by V-tip prongs — the same protective design used for pear and princess cut corners. A marquise without V-tip prongs at both ends is at significantly higher risk of chipping with daily wear. This is non-negotiable: always confirm V-tip protection on both ends of a marquise setting.
Orientation and Setting
The marquise is traditionally set with the length pointing up and down the finger — the orientation that creates the maximum finger-lengthening effect and shows the stone's elongated form most clearly. East-west marquise settings, where the stone lies horizontally across the finger, have become a striking contemporary choice: the stone reads as a wide horizontal diamond from above, creating a very different impression from the traditional orientation.
Solitaire settings are the cleanest presentation for a marquise. A simple four-prong setting — two V-tips at the points and two prongs on the curved sides — allows the full outline to read. Pavé side stones that follow the marquise's curved shoulders are a popular and flattering complement.
Colour in Marquise Cuts
The marquise's pointed tips concentrate colour in a way similar to pear and oval shapes: lower colour grades show warmth at the tips more than in the body of the stone. For a white-appearing marquise in platinum or white gold, G or better is the practical minimum. H in yellow gold can look clean for the same reason as other elongated cuts.
Book a consultation to view marquise diamonds and discuss setting options, or message us on WhatsApp with any questions.