Slim and elegant, baguette diamonds are supporting players in many jewelry items, making this petite diamond a design powerhouse. These rectangular shaped diamonds are often used to adorn a center stone and almost like building blocks, they may be used to create a design. While it is rumored that the diamond shape, due to its slender length, was named after the long French loaf of bread of the same name, that is not the case. In French “bague” means small jewel or small ring, so due to its diminutive nature the name was applied to this particular cut of diamond.
What is a Baguette Diamond?
A baguette diamond is a small rectangular shaped diamond with straight lines and sharp corners. Like an emerald or Asscher cut, a baguette is a step-cut diamond. A step-cut diamond has long facets that are graduated like steps. There are three main differences between a baguette and other step cut diamonds. The first is that a baguette diamond only has 14 facets compared to the 57 or 58 that most diamonds have. Second, it has sharp corners compared to the emerald or Asscher cut, which both have angled corners and third, baguettes are petite. In addition to the baguette, there is also a tapered baguette that is slightly narrower on one end. Tapered baguettes can be used to create a fuller look on a piece.
Since baguettes only have 14 facets and they are long, they reflect light differently giving them more of a shimmer and shine than all out sparkle. Additionally, because of how they’re cut, baguettes highlight clarity, showing any flaws or imperfections in the gem. It’s better to have higher clarity in this cut, which should be eye clean, meaning that you see no imperfections when you look at it.
Hogback to Baguette
The baguette cut is derived from the older “hogback” cut, which was fashionable in the 1500’s and 1600’s. The hogback, also known as dos d’ ane, French for donkey back, had the same basic shape as a modern baguette, but the top was rounded. It was generally used to create monograms and initials. It fell out of favor and was pretty much forgotten about until 1912, when the innovators at Cartier made some adjustments to the cut that resulted in the modern day baguette. How exactly did Cartier turn the hogback into a baguette? The slightly domed top was removed to create a flat table (top of the diamond) and then facets were added to the crown and pavilion and just like that the baguette emerged. Sleek and slim with straight lines, it was seen as modern at a time when modernism was coming to the forefront of design.
The Baguette in Design
Baguettes are frequently used as side stones next to a solitaire, adding extra glamour to a setting. However, these streamlined gems are also used in other ways. Because baguettes reflect light differently and don’t have the same sparkle as brilliant cut diamonds, when used in a design with round or other shaped diamonds, baguettes will add definition to a piece. Baguettes may be used as an outline around another gem, giving it a very contemporary feel. They’re also sometimes used in the stem of a flower, their linear shape works beautifully for any item that needs to have a straight line adding emphasis to the design with a shimmer that highlights the focal point of the piece. Baguettes are also channel set in rings, especially eternity bands, adding an avant-garde edge to the jewel. The look of a jewel using baguette diamonds will also shift depending upon whether or not the gems are set horizontally or vertically.
One of the best ways to showcase baguette diamonds is with a ballerina ring. Ballerina rings were very popular during the 1950s and 1960s, when large glamorous rings were worn regularly for evening events. A Ballerina ring is recognizable by a center stone, generally a colored gemstone, surrounded by tapered baguettes that seem to float and twirl like a ballerina’s tutu. From a jewelry making point of view, this a complex style as the baguettes need to be set tightly together and at slightly different heights to create a sense of movement for the tutu.
Baguette diamonds are small, but an essential shape in creating a design, acting as building blocks, a foundation, or as connectors for any piece of jewelry.
Top of Page: Baguette, round diamond and 18-karat gold bracelet, courtesy Roman Malakov Diamonds (@romanmalakovdiamonds).
Authored by Amber Michelle