Radiant Cut Engagement Rings

The radiant cut: what a radiant cut diamond is, square or long

A radiant is a square or rectangle with its corners cut off and faceted like a round brilliant, so it sparkles where an emerald cut gives long, calm flashes. The trimmed corners chip less easily than a princess cut's points. A square radiant looks close to a cushion; a longer one draws the finger out. Radiants are often cut deep, so one faces up a little smaller than an oval of equal weight; our diamond size chart puts a two carat radiant near 8.5 by 6.5 mm.

Carat and grades: what carat radiant diamond, and its color and clarity

Start at two carats; seven in ten rings sold carried a stone that size. Every grown white center is F color except the nine carat, a G, and every center is VS clarity or better. The brilliant facets hide a small inclusion, but the corners hold on to color, so keep a white stone near F. The same trait deepens a colored diamond, and two centers are colored: a natural fancy yellow and a lab-grown vivid pink.

Lab-grown or natural: lab grown radiant engagement rings and the two natural centers

Twelve of the fourteen centers are grown, and nearly every ring sold had one. Grown or mined, a radiant is carbon crystal read on the same color and clarity letters, and no loupe can tell them apart. Both natural centers sit near two carats: a K VS2 on an 18K band of round diamonds, and the fancy yellow, made in size 5.75 only. Side diamonds can differ from the center, so ask whether a ring's small stones are grown or mined.

The setting: radiant solitaire, hidden halo and pavé band engagement rings

Every ring holds its center on prongs or claws, none in a bezel. Most carry small diamonds along the band, as pavé or a row of side stones. Four hide a halo of little diamonds beneath the center, seen from the side, not from above; two circle it with an open halo. The plain solitaire is the two-tone ring, its white gold head on a band of yellow or rose. Three are made to sit flush with a wedding band.

Gold and her size: 14K or 18K radiant rings, and her ring size

Pick 14K for a ring worn daily, since the extra alloy makes it tougher than 18K; nearly nine in ten rings sold were 14K. Four rings are 18K, a warmer yellow. Most come in yellow, white or rose gold. For her size, take a ring she wears on that finger to our ring size chart. Except the fancy yellow, every ring comes in half sizes 5 to 7, and most reach 8.