Radiant Cut Diamond Wedding Bands
The radiant cut is a rectangular cut with cropped corners and a many faceted top. Radiant cut wedding bands feature a stone that looks much like a princess cut stone, though the radiant cut is generally more rectangular in shape. The cut is a combination of the rectangular emerald cut and the faceting of the brilliant cut. The sides of the stone in a radiant cut wedding band are cut with steps; much like emerald and princess cut stones. The steps are cut into triangular facets that resemble the trillion cut stone. The combination of all of these influences means that the power to increase the fire and radiance of each of those stones are used to create the bright, sparkling stone on a radiant cut band.
The radiant cut was invented by Henry Grossbard in 1977. After three decades of work, Grossbard created the cut he set out to invent after observing the best qualities of several different types of cuts. The radiant cut wedding band made angular stone cuts popular again, after having fallen out of favor with the advent of the round cut. The radiant cut band is now a sought after cut for its combination of sparkle and fire. The multicolored fire emanating from the radiant cut wedding band is enhanced by the cut along the sides of the top. But on the radiant cut band, the fire is accompanied by a brilliant sparkle that has made the radiant cut band popular.
The shape of the radiant cut stone lends itself to many types of settings on a radiant cut wedding band. The rectangular shape means that it can be set with either prongs at the corners, or with a channel setting. The prong setting on a radiant cut band are set in the corners because the cropped corners of the stone can be damaged without protection. The channel setting holds the stone in place along the edges. The channel setting is popular for radiant cut wedding bands because many stones can be lined up together to create a glittering band. Radiant cut bands may also have two or more stones on either side of the radiant cut stone. Triangular trillion cut stones make attractive accent stones, as do smaller versions of the larger radiant cut set in the middle of the band. Some people pair a radiant cut stone with smaller princess cut stones, which are similar in shape but give some variety to the radiant cut band.
