Marquise: The Largest-Looking Carat in the Collection

An elongated shape with two pointed ends, said to trace back to an 18th-century French royal commission. The largest-looking face-up shape per carat of any cut in the collection.

• The largest visual footprint per carat of any diamond shape, a genuine, often-cited trade fact.
• A widely told origin story: commissioned, as trade legend has it, by King Louis XV to resemble the smile of the Marquise de Pompadour.
• Two pointed tips, both need the same protective prong care as a pear’s single point.
• Shares the bow-tie risk common to elongated brilliant cuts.

The largest-looking carat you can buy

Because a marquise spreads its mass across the longest, narrowest outline of any standard shape, it consistently reads as the largest diamond for a given carat weight, a genuine optical effect, not a marketing claim. For a client prioritizing visual size on a defined budget, it is worth a serious look.

A French royal legend, told honestly

Jewelry trade lore, repeated for generations, credits the marquise’s shape to King Louis XV of France, who is said to have commissioned a diamond to mirror the smile of his court favorite, the Marquise de Pompadour. It is worth passing along as the charming legend it is, a well-known piece of trade history, not a verified historical record.

The largest smile in the collection, by design or by legend.

Protecting both points

A marquise carries the same vulnerability as a pear, doubled: two thin, pointed tips that need dedicated V-prong protection at each end. This is standard, necessary setting practice for the shape, never skipped regardless of setting style.

Who chooses marquise, and when

Marquise suits a client who wants maximum apparent size and a genuinely distinctive, elongated silhouette, and who is comfortable with a more delicate, attention-grabbing shape than a round or cushion.

Marquise or pear

Choose marquise for two pointed ends and the largest visual footprint per carat. Choose pear if you prefer one pointed end and one rounded end instead.