Fancy Shapes

Every shape that is not a round brilliant is, in the trade’s language, a fancy shape — the pear, the oval, the emerald, the marquise, the cushion and the rest. They are graded by the same 4Cs as the round, but they are priced on a different page, and understanding that page is the start of buying them well.

Priced on the pear list

Fancy shapes are calculated from the Rapaport list for Pears. That single list serves as the reference across the fancies, with the base price read off in the usual way — by weight, colour and clarity — and then adjusted, as ever, for the cut and the particular character of the stone in hand.

When demand lifts the price

The list is a base, not a ceiling, and demand can push certain shapes above it. At present Princess, Cushion and Radiant are in stronger demand than the rest, and that appetite is felt in the price: for these three, a stone can rise up to 5% over the market price.

Shape	Priced from	Current market note
Pear, oval, emerald, marquise	Rapaport pear list	At or near the list base
Princess	Rapaport pear list	Higher demand — up to +5%
Cushion	Rapaport pear list	Higher demand — up to +5%
Radiant	Rapaport pear list	Higher demand — up to +5%

Fashion in shapes moves, and the premium moves with it. The discipline for the buyer is to know the base the pear list sets, then to read the demand of the moment honestly on top of it — paying for desirability where it is real, and not where it is merely assumed.