In Pictures: America's Most Popular Diamond Cuts

Round

With one out of every three diamonds sold in the U.S. being a classic round brilliant diamond, this cut is far and away the most popular.

Scarlett Johansson and singer Fergie both sport classic rounds.
Princess

The princess diamond was created in 1980 but has catapulted into massive popularity, making it the second-most popular diamond cut in the U.S. Diamond analyst Kenneth Gassman estimates that princess cut diamonds make up approximately 13% to 20% of diamond sales.

Freddie Prinze Jr. proposed to Sarah Michelle Gellar with a princess cut.

Emerald

The third-most popular cut has long clear "step cuts," which emphasize the diamond's clarity and gives it a more subtle appearance than the "brilliant" cuts of most diamonds.

Nick Cannon proposed to Mariah Carey with a reported $2.5 million emerald-cut diamond.

Pear Shape

The pear shape, the fifth-most popular diamond, is also called a "tear drop" for its single point and rounded end.

The most famous pear-shaped diamond has to be the 69-carat pear-shaped diamond given to Elizabeth Taylor by her fifth and sixth husband Richard Burton. Taylor wore the Taylor-Burton diamond in a necklace.


Asscher

The Asscher cut has been around for a century but soared in popularity, especially in Hollywood, after being featured in an episode of Sex and the City in which nice-guy Aidan proposed to protagonist Carrie Bradshaw.

Kate Hudson and Elizabeth Hurley were both given Asscher cuts by their soon-to-be husbands.

Source: Kenneth Gassman, The Diamond Source of Virginia, Blue Nile.
source : http://forbeslife.nl/2009/04/17/engagement-weddings-diamonds-forbes-woman-style-retail_slide.html?partner=contextstory

News : Christie's Auctions Two Huge Gems

March 26, 2010, jewelry.com

It's auction time again. See the two stunning stones that are causing a stir this time around.

Jewelry lovers may not be able to afford the gems and jewels offered for sale at big auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's, but we can certainly gawk at the incredible display from afar. To that end, we give you two stunning pieces on the block for the upcoming Christie's New York sale on April 22^nd: The Catherine the Great Emerald and The Emperor Maximilian Diamond.

The first stone comes in the guise of a large emerald and diamond brooch once worn by one of the world's most powerful and ruthless female leaders, Catherine II of Russia. The hexagonal-cut stone weighs between 60 and 70 carats and is surrounded by rose and old mine-cut diamonds. The estimated price for this little beauty clocks in at around $1 to $1.5 million.

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Blinged Out Bluetooth

Jewelry.com, 05/12/2008

If you're not worried about little things such as a mortgage, bills, car payments, the price of gas or what your friends would say, Jewelry.com has found a little Bluetooth headset that might just be what you've never wanted.
Motorola knows that sometimes practicality can get rather staid, so they've thrown diamonds to the wind and come up with a bluetooth that every blinged out millionaire should have. The Motoral Motopure H12 is no ordinary headset. This one is made from either yellow or white gold and covered with 184 diamonds.
The price - a mere $17,000.