Kiss and Tell: How Selena Gomez Put Marquise Diamonds on the Map

The marquise diamond has found itself in the spotlight once again as the star of Selena Gomez’s engagement ring. This unusual diamond cut is the perfect choice for bold and brilliant women who like to stand out from the crowd – and it has an incredibly sexy origin story. Rachael Taylor explains why the ring chosen by American record producer and songwriter Benny Blanco is going to change the engagement ring landscape in 2025… 

One of our favourite diamond cuts started with a kiss… or so legend tells us. The French King Louis XV was so immeasurably infatuated by the lips of his mistress, Jean Antoinette Poisson, that he asked the royal jeweller to cut a diamond that matched their shape. This new diamond cut, an elongated diamond with two sharply pointed ends, was given a less solicitous official description than the lèvres (‘lips’) cut. It was instead named the navette (‘little boat’) and, more latterly, the marquise cut.

“The name marquise stems from the French [nobility] ranking of marquis, which falls between a count and a duke,” explains antique jewellery specialist Joseph Denaburg of Levy’s Fine Jewelry. “This name change [from navette to marquise] stems from French courtiers who would wear navette-cut diamonds to showcase their rank, thus associating the navette cut with royalty.”

Like its name, the shape of the cut has evolved since its inception in the 1700s. “The long design [of modern marquise-cut diamonds] provides a large look, which simultaneously makes the fingers appear slender [when set in a ring],” says Denaburg. “The modern marquise-cut diamond has between 56 and 58 facets, [and] the ideal length-to-width ratio for a marquise-cut diamond is 2:1.”

Throughout history, marquise-cut diamonds have fallen in and out of fashion, but right now, they are most definitely in. Especially after singer Selena Gomez revealed her engagement ring, which is set with a marquise diamond orientated north to south on a round brilliant-cut diamond band. It is said that her finance, the music producer Benny Blanco, made a considered choice when selecting the diamond, as she compares herself to a marquise diamond in her 2015 song Good for You.  

Gomez is not the first star to opt for a marquise diamond engagement ring. When Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis proposed to former US First Lady Jackie Onassis in the late 1960s, he did so with a ring set with the Lesotho III 40.42-carat marquise diamond. Victoria Beckham, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ashlee Simpson, and Portia De Rossi have also worn engagement rings set with marquise diamonds. 

“Marquise diamonds are having a moment, and they will only gain in popularity after Selena Gomez shared her marquise engagement ring,” says jewellery designer Rachel Boston, who specialises in jewels set with fancy-cut diamonds, including engagement rings. “They’re also a very flattering shape on hand. I think people will gravitate towards them as a unique alternative to more popular elongated shapes, like emerald or oval cuts. Both are lovely, but they’ve been hogging the spotlight these last couple of years, and people will want something a little bit more out of the ordinary.”

Other benefits of marquise diamonds – whether set in rings or other pieces of jewellery – are that they can often look larger than they truly are due to the unusual cut and so can offer better value. “The technique for cutting a marquise diamond uses up more of the diamond’s rough, allowing gem cutters to take bigger cuts from the raw material and resulting in less wastage,” explains Arabel Lebrusan of jewellery brand Lebrusan Studio, who enjoys using marquise diamonds in toi et moi style ring settings. “In direct comparison with the more popular round brilliant cut diamond, marquise cut diamonds are a relatively economical choice. What’s more, the increased spread of the marquise diamond enhances the appearance of size, making them a great pick for the jewellery shopper seeking value for money.”

While these diamonds can offer more bang for your buck, it is hugely important to invest in a top-quality cut when shopping for marquise diamonds. “A poorly cut marquise is just lifeless,” warns jewellery designer Jade Trau, who says she is a huge fan of the marquise for its ability to look both contemporary and vintage at the same time, as well as its brilliance. 

While you should always take advice from a qualified jeweller or gemmologist, a quick tip is to look out for what is known as the bow-tie effect. “Marquise-cut diamonds require careful evaluation due to their unique shape,” advises Amany Afify of jewellery brand ANTY. “Symmetry is paramount. The two ends must be perfectly aligned, and the centre must not appear distorted when viewed head-on. Additionally, marquise cuts are prone to the bow-tie effect, a dark shadow in the centre that can occur if the diamond isn’t cut well.”

Designer Ellis Mhairi Cameron isn’t as quick to find fault when selecting marquise diamonds for her designs. In fact, she seeks out the stones others might reject. “An unusual colour or fleck or inclusion is what I believe makes these stones unique and more desirable,” she says. Cameron uses marquise diamonds for solitaire rings, pendants and earrings or as part of larger mosaic-style stone settings that cluster multiple types of cuts together. “They have a really interesting ability to transform a piece,” she says. “My work is very organic and molten, so the sharp clean lines of a marquise gives a balance to the work.”

Within marquise diamonds there is much variety to be found. There are super-sharp elongated cuts that feature in high jewellery, such as imitating butterfly bodies in Anna Hu’s Papillon du Blanc rings. Shorter cuts are typically easier to wear day to day as sharper cuts can be more prone to damage and, therefore, will often be capped in precious metals to protect the pointed ends. “It is important to consider whether you like your marquise short and round or long and skinny, as they look so different,” notes Trau. 

They also offer jewellery designers infinite creative possibilities. La Graine mixes marquise diamonds and marquise coloured gems together to create petal-inspired designs. Anita Ko knits scores of them to create a type of glittering, gold and diamond mesh in her Mesh Marquis earrings or plays with scale to create undulating alternative tennis necklaces. Many jewellers, including Jade Trau, flip the diamonds in east-to-west settings for an extra alternative twist. 

When you ask designers what type of woman is drawn to marquise diamonds, the answer is universal: someone who is bold and who knows their own mind. “I find that marquise diamonds are bought by very confident women who are prepared to make a statement and stand out from the crowd,” confirms Dan Dower of jeweller Dower & Hall. 

Dower goes on to share an empowering story of a recent commission starring a marquise-cut diamond: “I have just made and delivered an outstanding marquise diamond ring to a very appreciative customer. She had her eye on this design for a few years and always hoped that her husband would upgrade the engagement ring he originally gave her, which was set with a rather inexpensive sapphire.” He continues: “There were obviously a few more issues than his poor taste in jewellery, and they recently divorced. One of her first statements of her new-found independence and confidence was to buy the ring.”

Aside from engagement rings, marquise diamonds play an important role in high jewellery, especially in the creations of the Maison Piaget. This brand has really embraced marquise diamonds and made this slender, elongating shape a core part of its creative identity. This is perhaps best seen in The Wings of Light collection, incorporating varied sizes of marquise diamonds and coloured gemstones to evoke wings in flight (and create great spread across the fingers, wrist and neck). Piaget knows just how to place and order marquise gems to evoke a sense of movement and dynamism, like the jewel is growing across the body in the same way a bird’s wing might stretch mid-flight. There’s a romance here too, much like the marquise’s origin story!

It makes perfect sense to us that a diamond cut that has its roots in seduction and the powerful allure of femininity should find itself the diamond choice of bold and bright women 300 years later. Whether clustered together to create intriguing designs or set solo in what is likely to be the most fashionable engagement ring of 2025, marquise diamonds are shining on. Well done to Selena Gomez for kickstarting a new diamond obsession!