Baguette Diamonds (Their Popularity & How Expensive Are They)

Getting engaged? Or buying a ring to commemorate someone special? The setting and cut you select for such an important occasion matters! Make sure you’re choosing one that works well with your style.

Fortunately, baguette diamonds offer a classic shape that will last through the ages. Before making such a big decision, it’s important to know what you’re looking for and how much one of these jewels will set you back.

Baguette diamonds are generally a more affordable purchase than other diamonds of similar cuts. This makes the baguette diamond an easier commitment than its emerald counterpart, but it is still expensive due to its unique shape with perfectly straight edges and squared corners.

Price shouldn’t be the only factor when making a decision on a big item like this one. While a baguette diamond is often more affordable than many other cuts, make sure you consider the whole picture before purchasing one of these stunning pieces of jewelry. In this article, we’ll help with the decision by covering the history, popularity, cut, and value of the diamond over time.

Starting with the most important question, let’s talk about this particular cut and its features. 

What is a Baguette Diamond?

Baguette diamonds are rectangular in shape and offer straight edges, square corners, and a classic step cut design. Keep reading to learn what these designations mean for your stone!

When shopping for diamonds, it is easy to get overwhelmed with the many different styles, prices, and cuts that are available. For this reason, you may not be familiar with the distinction between step cuts and radiant cuts in diamonds. Our guide will give you a new understanding of this distinction to help you make the best choice for yourself.

Radiant cuts focus on sparkle. Designed to catch light, these diamonds will light up a room. As beautiful as this shimmer can be, sometimes it is the subtler jewel that provides its wearer with the most elegance. For a sharper, more focused design, the Baguette’s step cut may be exactly what you are after.

Similar in appearance to an Emerald cut, the Baguette diamond offers stunning right-angle corners and an elongated, rectangular shape. Its size makes it a strong contender for accent pieces along bands or as intricate designs at the center of the ring. With 14 facets and a 5:1 ratio, this cut has a lot of potential!

While the Baguette radiates beauty in its perfectly square corners, sometimes your design calls for a little extra sparkle. For a higher price, a hybrid radiant cut is available to give you the flair of a Baguette’s shape with the brilliance of the other cut.

The Baguette Through Time:

One of the oldest diamond shapes, the step cut has been around since the 1500s, but in more recent times has recirculated through the Art Deco era of design, which emphasized sleek lines and stunning geometric forms.

The era is short for “Arts Decoratifs” and began spreading through France in the 1910s. With an aim to create a fashionable movement, this trend rejected traditional forms in favor of sophistication and modernism. Featuring clean lines and pleasing symmetry, Baguette diamonds place squarely into the classic and timeless look of Art Deco step cut gems.

By the 1920s this stone was soaring into popularity in the States and Europe, with a popularity largely credited to jewelry houses Cartier and Harry Winston who brought this step-cut diamond onto the scene.

Wondering about the origin of the name? After taking a look at its shape, you might be unsurprised to learn that the word has French roots and a meaning with several translations, including “stick” and “small jewel” in English. Interestingly, the root word of Baguette, “bague,” means “ring.” A point that further solidifies the baguette cut as a French jewelry term.

Prior to the introduction of the baguette, there were “hogback cut” diamonds, which were similar in nature. With eye-catching rectangular shapes, these gems were used in the 16th century to fill the spaces within golden objects, including letters and figures.

In modern times, these gems continue to work as the perfect accent pieces along a band or as an elegant solitaire. If you are looking for a stone that will radiate modern beauty in every setting, the baguette is the clear choice over other shapes.   

What Makes the Baguette Stand Out?

Edges- When looking at a ring, you may be trying to determine if the step cut diamond is a baguette or another gem, but fortunately baguettes are usually easy to spot! With an elegant straight corner design, the baguette differs quite a bit from its step cut counterparts, which primarily offer cropped edges.

Looking for a tapered look? The baguette diamond comes in that too! If you know which style you prefer but are unsure which edge a ring has, just take a close look around the edges and the bottom of the ring to see the shape of the diamond. You should be able to tell by a quick look if the gem is cropped, tapered, or straight.

Facets- What are facets? Facets are the flat faces on a gem and are important in the selection process of your jewel as they can impact the shape and look of your ring’s setting.

While baguette diamonds are similar in shape to other step cut jewels, particularly the emerald, the baguette differs dramatically in the number of facets.

Emeralds and other step cuts usually possess around 57 or 58 facets, but a baguette typically only has 14.  

While there are fewer facets on a baguette diamond, this may be a selling point as it creates a unique look to the gem.

Brilliance- Baguette diamonds generally have less sparkle, or brilliance, when compared to other cuts. This is because the step cut focuses on sleeker, geometric designs that do not always lend well to a radiant gem.

If sparkle is important to you, be sure to look for the hybrid step cut option. While a more expensive cut, the hybrid allows you to have brilliance to accompany your sleek baguette diamond.

Now that you know what sets baguette diamonds apart from other step cut gems, you might be wondering about their popularity and prevalence in social circles.

Are Baguette Diamonds Popular?

Yes! Dating back to the 16th century, step cut diamonds are one of the oldest shapes and have continued to circulate in popularity and trends ever since.

Moving into more modern times with the emergence of Art Deco in the 1910s, the Baguette diamond has risen further in the ranks of favorite gem cuts. While a baguette can easily work as an accent piece or as an elongated solitaire, some of the more popular arrangements include:

The three-stone set

Looking for one of the more classic renditions of a baguette diamond ring? Look no further than the three stone set. Often paired with an emerald stone in the center, the three stone set usually features two baguette diamonds nestled side by side around a dazzling center jewel. 

The channel set

For a sophisticated look, the channel set is the way to go. Baguette diamonds fill in the metal of the ring while leading up to a center stone. This polished look is sure to catch the eyes of all who admire the piece.

The ballerina

Nothing stands out quite like the ballerina. Beginning with a stunning center diamond, your eyes will travel over the halo of baguette diamonds that extend from the center. Forming a breathtaking crown, the ballerina is a spectacular display of tasteful and catching design.

What is the Cost of a Baguette Diamond?

Baguette diamonds are often less costly than other step cut diamonds, but that doesn’t mean they are inexpensive.

When pricing these stones, their rarity and craftmanship are often taken into account. Because baguettes have right angles and straight edges, the cut requires a precise hand. Further, the edges of the diamond make it challenging to polish, which means the higher quality the polish, the more expensive the stone.

Other factors that contribute to the price of a baguette include cut, color, clarity, and size. All of which we’ll get into more in the next section.

So what can you expect to pay for one of these diamonds? Usually baguettes work as accent pieces and are kept to under 1 carat. At this size you can expect to pay $1,500 to $3,000. For a smaller carat baguette, .05 to 1 carats, the price lowers to a range of $800 to $2,500.

Finally, for a less traditional and more brilliant look, you may find yourself drawn toward the hybrid cut baguette; however, keep in mind that this cut is the most expensive of the baguette diamonds.

Now that you know roughly what to expect for pricing when making your purchase, let’s consider everything you need to know to buy a baguette diamond like a professional.

What Should You Look for When Purchasing a Baguette Diamond?

Color Match-Color, or the hue of the diamond, is one of the factors that will affect your stone’s price. When looking for the highest quality pieces, look for ones that appear white or colorless.

Beyond the hue of each individual stone, make sure that your diamond’s color matches the rest of the gems on your ring. Baguettes are often used as accent pieces or as smaller stones in larger designs. You will want to make sure the color matches across the band for a consistency that elevates your jewelry.

Clarity-Under extreme pressure or heat, a diamond’s structure may become tainted with inclusions. These occur during the transformation process that carbon undergoes to become a stone and they can negatively impact the price of a diamond.

For the highest quality pieces, look for those that have minimal inclusions.

Inclusions are a type of blemish, but blemishes can happen in other ways as well during the process of turning a diamond into a piece of jewelry. From cutting, mounting, polishing, and general wear of the ring, your diamond may have a few blemishes, but try to find ones with the fewest visible imperfections

Setting-Baguette diamonds are the perfect accent stones and allow individual style to shine through in your ring’s design. With that in mind, the setting you choose can have a major impact on the overall price of the ring.

The more intricate the design, the higher the price. If you are looking for a simpler ring, consider the elongated baguette solitaire. For unparalleled extravagance, the ballerina setting is sure to shine.

Are Baguette Diamonds a Worthwhile Purchase?

Baguette diamonds effortlessly blend modern design with individual flair. From single solitaire settings, channel inlays, and ornate halos, the baguette is a timeless look with infinite possibilities.

One of the biggest advantages is its price compared to the emerald cut and other step cut diamonds. At a lower price point, this stunning gem is closer in reach than other options. Plus, it offers a marvelous straight edge with right angles that are unmatched in other stones.

Finally, as a stone made for the Art Deco period, this gem offers a classic and ageless popularity that allows your jewelry to retain its value over time. As with any stone, there are always some disadvantages, and the baguette is no exception.

Due to the baguette’s reduced facets (14 compared to the usual 50), its blemishes and inclusions are much easier to spot. This means that the better the polish and the fewer the blemishes, the more expensive this diamond will be as the most exceptional baguettes are the rarest.

Baguettes are the Way to Go!

Rectangular. Classic. Elegant. The baguette diamond is the perfect choice for any style of ring. For more extravagant jewelry designs, these diamonds work beautifully as accent pieces and their nod to Art Deco’s modern design will automatically elevate any settings they accompany.

Consider these diamonds for your next engagement band and marvel at the elegance of this stone’s straight edges and squared corners as it brings your setting to perfection.