5 Carat Marquise Diamond Ring
Ultimate Guide To Buying A Five Carat Marquise Diamond
5 carat marquise diamonds are a beautiful choice – their shape gives them unparalleled elegance and the incredible flashes of sparkling light they deliver are stunning.
Marquises are one of the less common choices for 5 carat diamond engagement rings, which means that there may not be a huge selection available when you are looking.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should just settle for the first 5 carat marquise you see. This guide will help you avoid sub-par stones and ensure you get a beautiful and brilliant four carat marquise that will be the perfect centerpiece for your ring.
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Key takeaway:
There are many factors that affect price and value of a 5 carat marquise diamond and no two marquises are the same, even if the specs on the certificate indicate that they should be.
Due to the high cost of these diamonds and the variation in size, shape and beauty that can be present in two diamonds with the same carat weight, we strongly recommend that you work with a specialist in significantly-sized diamonds, who can guide you through the process and ensure you get the most beautiful diamond and pay a fair price.
Our recommendation for this is Alon at The Diamond Oak, a third generation diamond dealer who puts a huge emphasis on personalised service and finding the right stone for each person.
Why working with a diamond specialist makes sense for such a significant investment
While smaller diamonds may be virtually interchangeable, at this carat weight there can be a significant different between two diamonds that look similar on paper.
Their specs may be similar but they are worth very different values.
A diamond specialist will take the time to understand what you are looking for, present several options (often sourced through personal connections and otherwise inaccessible) and guide you towards the diamond which is the absolute best fit for you.
5 carat marquise diamond price
As a broad range, the cost of a 5 carat marquise diamond can vary from $45,000 to $288,000.
To understand how much a 5 carat marquise diamond costs, we conducted research across three online diamond aggregation services which collectively have over 1,000,000 diamonds available to choose from, and then checked this against the most widely-accepted list of wholesale diamond prices.
$45,000 to $288,000 is a significant range, and the price you will pay will depend on the color, clarity and the ‘make’ if the stone ie. how well the diamond has been shaped.
With diamonds, you generally get what you pay for, so ‘cheap’ 5 carat marquise shaped diamonds will likely have a low-price for a reason – this may be significant inclusions (or ‘flaws’), yellow tinges of color or an undesirable shape.
But, when buying a diamond, there is always a balance that needs to be found between the 4Cs and the fifth C – cost. Where that balance lies for you is an individual choice, so it can be worth looking at a few options to where you are comfortable compromising, and where you aren’t.
How much do 5 carat marquise diamonds cost?
The table below will give you an idea of how color and clarity affect a 5 carat diamond’s price:
clarity | K | J | I | H | G | F | E | D |
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If a price doesn’t appear, it means that no diamonds at that spec were available at the time this article was written.
One thing to note is that marquise diamonds are not commonly chosen by diamond cutters to be transformed into higher carat weight stones as their elongated shape means that there is a lot of ‘wastage’ from the original stone.
More than any other shape, marquise diamonds can have significant changes in the prices between two stones with similar specs on paper, so the prices above are very much just a guide.
Factors such as availability at the time you are looking, and then specific of the individual diamond (e.g. the L/W ratio) will affect the price of any individual stone. However, the prices quoted should be a good guide to understand the relative pricing of different combinations of color and clarity for 5 carat marquise diamonds.
5 carat marquise diamond size
Marquise diamonds are one of the ‘spreadiest’ shapes of any diamond, which means that for a given carat weight, they appear larger than other shapes.
A typical A typical 5 carat marquise diamond may be around 17.76mm × 8.88mm × 5.42mm.
Here’s how it looks compared to a 4 carat and a 6 carat:
One important thing to understand when you are looking at marquise diamonds is that carat weight is a measure of weight rather than size.
Carat weight is therefore spread out throughout the volume of the stone ie. length, width and depth.
This can mean that two 5 carat diamonds can actually appear very different sizes when set into a ring and viewed from the top.
The benefit of this for marquise diamonds is that a 5 carat marquise will ‘face up’ significantly larger than other pointed shapes like a 5 carat pear shaped diamond ring and much larger than squarer shapes like a 5 carat heart diamond ring.
5 carat marquise diamond L/W ratio
Length-width ratio is, unsurprisingly, the ratio between the length and the width of a diamond:
This can hugely change what an marquise cut diamond looks like
For smaller marquise diamonds, I usually recommend a L/W ratio of between 1.75 and 2.25, as these all deliver a pleasing shape and should face up at a good size for their carat weight:
However, for higher carat weights, a longer stone can look too large, and you may find that a stone at around 1.75 length-width ratio looks better on the finder than a more elongated stone.
Lower L/W ratio marquise diamonds are also generally priced lower that higher L/W ratios, as they use more of the rough diamond (which means less needs to be wasted) and there are more of them available (law of supply and demand coming into effect).
Watch out: bow tie effect
One thing to watch out for with higher carat weight marquise diamonds is that the ‘bow tie’ effect may be more noticeable.
The bow tie is an unappealing dark band that can run across the center of some marquises:
This effect is often more noticeable on shallower stones with a high L/W ratio, as the light is reflected off the bottom of the stone (the pavilion facets) at the wrong angle to be reflected back to your eye, causing the dark band where light is lost.
While it’s not uncommon for a marquise to have some bow tie, The best way to avoid is it to ensure that you have access to high quality 5 carat marquise diamonds which have been cut to avoid the bow tie, and to specifically look for it when reviewing your options.
5 carat marquise diamond color
As you likely know, diamond color is graded on a GIA-developed scale from D to Z, although most diamonds used in jewelry fall into the D to M range:
Higher carat weight diamonds tend to show up color more easily than smaller stones, especially in the corners where they sparkle less.
If you want to ensure your diamond doesn’t have a yellow tint, it’s important to try and keep the color as high up the scale as possible.
On the other side of the equation is the effect color has on price.
In most shapes, the price difference between an H color, I color and J color diamond can be significant,
With a 5 carat marquise, the color grade you choose can be dependant on the color of the ring setting you are going to pair the diamond with. If you are choosing a white colored setting (platinum or white gold), then I color delivers a good balance of white appearance and value.
However, if you are choosing a yellow gold setting, then you can reduce the color of your diamond to J without it looking yellow, as it will still look white compared to the warm tones of the setting.
5 carat marquise diamond clarity
Clarity is a measure of the presence of inclusions (or flaws) within a diamond.
The clarity scale runs:
Marquise diamonds are a brilliant cut, which means that they are optimised to reflect light back from the bottom of the stone in the form of brilliant sparkle. This can mean that inclusions can be difficult to see under the facets, which is a good thing!
However, at the same time their elongated shape means they have a large ‘table’ (the flat area on the top of the diamond), which can mean that inclusions located here are easier to see. At higher carat weights, this issue is compounded as a bigger diamond means a bigger window where flaws can be seen.
A good starting point for 5 carat marquise diamond clarity is SI1:
However, depending on the diamonds that are available at the time you are looking, you may need to increase this to VS2, or even higher, to ensure that the diamond is ‘eye clean’ and no flaws can be seen.
Pictures of 5 carat marquise diamond rings on the hand
Higher carat weight rings mean that additional considerations can be needed to be taken into account, depending on the ring setting style chosen.
These images of 5 carat marquise diamond rings on the finger will show you how big your ring could actually look.
5 carat marquise diamond pavé ring
When choosing a pavé or channel setting, there is a big decision to make.
Either can be a great option, but one thing to consider is the color of the side stones.
Small, brilliant cut stones can appear whiter than larger diamonds, which means that even if you do match the color by the color grade, they still may appear whiter.
In cases like these, especially if you are going a little lower on the color on your center stone, it can be a good idea to work with an expert to ensure that the side stones complement the center stone
5 carat marquise diamond three stone ring
Three stone [shape] rings look great when paired with almost any other shape as the side stones.
Tapered side stones can work particularly well because the side stones make the transition from the long broad side of the diamond to the narrow band more gentle and more elegant.
Even more so than with a pave or channel setting, working with someone who can color-match the side stones to the center stone is the best way to ensure that they complement each other well.
Best Place To Buy a 5 Carat Marquise Diamond Ring
For smaller diamonds, I usually recommend buying online as retailers present hundreds of thousands of diamonds and make it easy to choose exactly what you are looking for.
However, As previously mentioned buying a diamond of this size diamond is very different to buying a smaller stone – both in the expense involved and in the potential for pitfalls.
My recommendation is to find a diamond dealer that you can trust to guide you through this process. You may be able to source a personal recommendation, or my recommendation is Alon Mor at The Diamond Oak.
Why I recommend Alon at The Diamond Oak
I’ve worked with Alon for over five years, helping people who are looking to buy significant diamonds, as well as those who are selling high quality jewelry.
Through that time, I have seen the exceptional service that Alon delivers to each and every client he works with.
I like this review – it sums up how special working with someone who truly cares can be.
If you are seriously considering making a purchase and want to ensure you get a beautiful diamond at a fair price, I recommend you book in a discovery call with Alon: