A radiant cut engagement ring holds a radiant: a rectangle or square with its four corners clipped, cut with brilliant facets so that it sparkles like a round. Henry Grossbard created it in 1977 to give the emerald cut's outline the light of a round brilliant, and the result is the sparkliest of the clipped-corner shapes and one of the most durable, because it has no points to chip. Three decisions matter. The proportion, which in lab-grown has become a choice between a square (1.00 to 1.10) and an elongated stone (1.35 to 1.55), since the classic 1.20 to 1.30 rectangle of the mined era has all but vanished from supply. The pattern of the sparkle, crushed ice or chunky, which only the video shows. And the setting, which on a radiant means four prongs at the corners or a bezel around the whole outline. Clairamor makes 39 radiant settings, from the $950 solitaire to the $2,400 vintage inspired band, and on October 5, 2026 a lab-grown radiant of D to G color and IF to VS2 clarity started at $659 for 1 carat, $1,096 for 2 and $1,909 for 3, the least expensive shape in our picker at 2 carats that day. This guide covers all of it, with the numbers from our own inventory.
Radiant cut engagement rings at a glance
| The stone | A cut-cornered rectangle or square with brilliant faceting, about 70 facets; the report reads Cut Cornered Rectangular (or Square) Modified Brilliant |
| Proportions | Square (1.00 to 1.10) or elongated (1.35 to 1.55); of 3,876 radiants between 1 and 3 carats in our picker, 346 were square, 3,519 were 1.30 or longer and 11 sat in between |
| Size at 2 carats | About 9.1 by 6.3 mm elongated, 6.9 by 6.7 mm square; a round is 8.2 mm across, an oval 10.3 by 7.1, an emerald cut 8.3 by 5.9 |
| Sparkle | Small flashes from edge to edge; crushed ice (a continuous glitter) or chunky (bigger, slower flashes); the video shows which one you are buying |
| Bow-tie | Faint or absent on most elongated radiants; check the middle of the stone on the video |
| Durability | No points: the corners that chip on a princess cut are already cut away; with the emerald cut, the most robust of the straight-sided shapes |
| Prongs | Four, one at each clipped corner, on our solitaire and cathedral heads; a bezel or half bezel follows the eight-sided outline on the other designs |
| Color and clarity | Hides inclusions, so VS2 is clean to the eye; holds a touch more color than a round, so D to F in white metal above 2 carats and G elsewhere |
| Lab-grown price, our picker | $659 at 1 ct, $801 at 1.5, $1,096 at 2, $1,327 at 2.5, $1,909 at 3, $2,339 at 4, $2,811 at 5, on October 5, 2026; square radiants cost more for the weight |
| Clairamor settings | 39 radiant designs in nine metals, $950 to $2,400 in 14k gold, the setting without the stone |
What a radiant cut diamond is
A radiant cut is a brilliant-cut diamond on an emerald cut's outline. The New York cutter Henry Grossbard created it in 1977 and patented it in 1985; until then a rectangle with cut corners was always a step cut, with long parallel facets that flash in sheets and show every inclusion, and Grossbard's idea was to keep the outline and change everything inside it. GIA describes the result as a mix of step-cut facets on the crown and brilliant-cut facets on the pavilion, about 70 facets in all, with the pavilion doing the work: its facets are cut to return light from every part of the face, so the stone glitters the way a round does instead of flashing the way an emerald cut does. The outline has eight sides, four long ones and four short ones at the corners, and the corners are the point of the design as much as the facets are. A square brilliant with sharp corners, the princess cut, can chip at its tips and has to be held by prongs that cover them; the radiant has no tips, so it is one of the most durable shapes a ring can hold. The report does not use the word radiant. On the IGI reports for our stones the shape line reads Cut Cornered Rectangular Modified Brilliant, or Cut Cornered Square Modified Brilliant for the square version, with the measurements beside it; our certification guide walks through a report line by line.
Lab-grown has changed what the radiant is. In mined diamonds the radiant was usually a modest rectangle, 1.20 to 1.35 times as long as wide, the proportion most buying guides still recommend. In lab-grown the rough is grown rather than found, and cutters have turned the radiant into an elongated stone, 1.40 to 1.50, that carries the length of an oval on straight sides: a bar of sparkle that runs up the finger with the clean geometry of an emerald cut. On our own site the radiant versions of the tulip and cathedral settings rank on the first page of Google for their names, and the radiant is the shape people choose when they want the oval's effect without the oval's softness. Our guide to elongated shapes sets it beside the oval, emerald, marquise and moval, and our radiant vs emerald cut guide puts it head to head with the step cut it came from; this one is about the radiant alone.
Square or elongated: the length-to-width ratio
The ratio is the stone's length divided by its width, straight off the report's measurements, and for a radiant it decides the character of the ring more than any grade does. Most buying guides still describe three families, the square radiant at 1.00 to 1.05, the classic rectangle at 1.20 to 1.35 and the elongated radiant above that, and recommend the middle one. Our inventory says the middle one has nearly gone. On October 5, 2026 our picker listed 3,876 radiants between 1 and 3 carats, D to G color and IF to VS2 clarity: 346 of them were square, with a ratio of 1.10 or under; 3,519 were 1.30 or longer; and 11, eleven, sat between 1.10 and 1.30. Among the 720 least expensive of them the ratios ran from 1.00 to 1.63 with a median of 1.44, and 535 of the 720 were in the 1.40s. The radiant you can actually buy in lab-grown is either a square or a long rectangle, and the long rectangle is the one nine stones in ten are cut to.
Three radiants of the same face-up area, by ratio
1.03
Square; 346 of 3,876 in our picker
1.25
The classic rectangle; 11 of 3,876
1.45
Elongated; the median, 3,519 of 3,876
Outlines drawn to the same area, so the only thing that changes is how the stone spends it. Counts are radiants of 1 to 3 carats in our picker on October 5, 2026, square meaning 1.10 or under and elongated 1.30 or over.
What the number does on the hand: a square radiant reads like a cushion with corners or a princess cut with its tips taken off, sits compactly on the finger and suits a halo, a wide band or a short finger; an elongated radiant at 1.40 to 1.50 lengthens the finger the way an oval does and is the shape most people now picture when they say radiant; and above 1.55 the stone reads long and slim, shows the bow-tie more and is scarce, with four of the 720 in our sample at 1.60 or over. The square costs more for the weight, because far fewer are cut: $788 for a 1 carat square against $659 for the elongated 1.03 on October 5, 2026, $1,346 against $1,096 at 2 carats and $2,315 against $1,909 at 3. Compare stones by their millimeters rather than their carats, since two 2 carat radiants at 1.39 and 1.50 are visibly different rings. Two more things to check on the outline, both of which GIA flags for this cut: the sides should be parallel and the four cut corners the same size, neither so wide that the stone reads as an octagon nor so narrow that it reads as a princess; symmetry graded Excellent or Very Good on the report covers most of this and the face-up photo covers the rest.
Crushed ice or chunky: the pattern of the sparkle
Two radiants with the same grades and the same measurements can look like different stones, because the cut leaves the cutter a choice in the pavilion. Cut the pavilion facets small and many and the stone returns light as a shimmering field of tiny flashes with no pattern in it, the crushed-ice look, which reads as a continuous glitter and can make the outline of the stone hard to see from across a table. Cut them fewer and larger and the stone returns bigger, slower flashes with dark contrast between them, the chunky look, closer to a cushion or a round, which keeps the shape legible and goes still for a moment as the hand turns. Neither is better and no report records it; the only way to know which you are buying is to watch the stone's video in our picker, which every stone has. Watch for two things: whether the flashes have edges, which is the chunky pattern, or merge into a sparkle with no edges, which is crushed ice; and whether the middle of the stone goes dark as it turns. That dark band across the middle is the bow-tie, the same shadow the oval and the marquise show, caused by the viewer's own head blocking light to the facets under the center. An elongated radiant can have one, but the brilliant pavilion breaks it up, so on most it is faint and on many it is not there at all; a square radiant has none. Pass on a stone with a fixed wide one, and do not worry about a flicker.
How big a radiant looks: size by carat
The radiant has a reputation for facing up small, and in lab-grown it is only half true. A radiant's depth runs from 58 to 73 percent in our picker, with a median of 66, against a round's 60 to 62, which sounds like weight hidden under the stone, but the percentage is measured against the width, and the width of an elongated stone is short: a 2.03 carat radiant 6.3 mm wide at 68 percent depth is 4.3 mm deep, while a 2.04 carat round at 61 percent of 8.2 mm is 5.0 mm deep. The elongated radiant is physically shallower than the round of the same weight, and it shows a few percent more face, about 54 square millimeters at 9.1 by 6.3 mm against the round's 52, with its length running up the finger where the eye reads size. The square radiant is the one that faces up small, because all of its depth sits under a short outline: 6.9 by 6.7 mm at 2 carats, roughly 44 square millimeters, about 15 percent less face than the round. The table gives the least expensive elongated radiant at each weight in our picker on October 5, 2026, D to G color, IF to VS2 clarity, with its measurements and the price of the ring on our 14k solitaire; our carat size chart does the same for every shape and the size comparison simulator draws them on a hand.
| Carats | Radiant in our picker | Ratio | Price | With our 14k solitaire ($950) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | 0.50 ct, 5.6 x 4.0 mm | 1.41 | $368 | $1,318 |
| 1 | 1.03 ct, 7.5 x 5.0 mm | 1.49 | $659 | $1,609 |
| 1.5 | 1.57 ct, 8.2 x 5.9 mm | 1.40 | $801 | $1,751 |
| 2 | 2.03 ct, 9.1 x 6.3 mm | 1.46 | $1,096 | $2,046 |
| 2.5 | 2.56 ct, 9.5 x 6.9 mm | 1.39 | $1,327 | $2,277 |
| 3 | 3.03 ct, 10.4 x 7.1 mm | 1.46 | $1,909 | $2,859 |
| 4 | 4.17 ct, 11.7 x 7.8 mm | 1.49 | $2,339 | $3,289 |
| 5 | 5.01 ct, 12.1 x 8.5 mm | 1.42 | $2,811 | $3,761 |
| 7 | 7.01 ct, 13.1 x 9.5 mm | 1.38 | $4,066 | $5,016 |
| 10 | 10.06 ct, 15.2 x 10.6 mm | 1.44 | $4,889 | $5,839 |
Square radiants, the least expensive at each weight the same day: 1.00 carat at 5.6 by 5.4 mm for $788; 1.50 at 6.3 by 6.0 for $1,091; 2.01 at 6.9 by 6.7 for $1,346; 3.05 at 7.9 by 7.7 for $2,315; 4.01 at 8.8 by 8.5 for $3,157; 5.03 at 9.3 by 9.1 for $3,649. Read the length column against something you know: a 2 carat elongated radiant at 9.1 mm is half the width of a dime, a 3 carat at 10.4 mm is more than half, and the 17 carat radiant that was the largest in the picker that day, at 18.2 by 12.9 mm and $13,049, is longer than a dime is wide. Supply is deep in every size: 3,876 radiants between 1 and 3 carats, 3,743 at 3 carats and up and 371 under 1 carat were listed that day, so the ratio and the pattern you want are available at every weight.
Radiant vs round, oval, cushion, emerald cut and princess
Here is every neighbor at 2 carats, the least expensive stone of each shape in our picker on October 5, 2026, D to G color, IF to VS2 clarity, with the measurements that decide how it looks on the hand.
| Shape, 2 ct | Size | From | Against the radiant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radiant | 9.1 x 6.3 mm | $1,096 | The reference: straight sides, cut corners, sparkle edge to edge, the cheapest shape at 2 carats that day |
| Round | 8.2 mm across | $1,204 | The brightest cut, with no bow-tie and no pattern to choose; a few percent less face and no length |
| Oval | 10.3 x 7.1 mm | $1,454 | Longer and softer, with more face for the weight and a stronger bow-tie; a third more expensive that day |
| Elongated cushion | 8.5 x 6.6 mm | $1,216 | The same idea with rounded corners and curved sides: softer, more vintage, a little shorter for the weight |
| Emerald cut | 8.3 x 5.9 mm | $1,183 | The same outline as a step cut: calm flashes instead of glitter, shows color and inclusions, no bow-tie |
| Princess | about 6.8 x 6.8 mm | few listed | The square brilliant with sharp corners that can chip and need covering; a square radiant is the same stone with the corners cut off |
| Pear | 11.6 x 7.0 mm | $1,222 | Longest of the brilliants for the money, with one point to protect and a direction on the finger |
Radiant or emerald cut is the comparison most people are actually making, and it is about light: the radiant glitters and forgives a VS2, the emerald cut flashes in sheets and shows its clarity, and the radiant vs emerald cut guide goes through it stone by stone, with our emerald cut guide covering the step cut on its own. Radiant or cushion is about edges: the radiant's straight sides and crisp corners read modern and architectural, the cushion's curves read soft and antique, and the elongated cushion sits a little shorter for the weight; the elongated cushion guide covers that side and our cushion cut guide the whole shape, square and long, with its settings and prices. Radiant or princess is the easiest call in the list: a square radiant gives the princess cut's square sparkle without the four sharp corners that chip and have to be hidden under prongs, which is why the radiant, not the princess, is the square brilliant on our shape menu. Radiant or round comes down to the round's extra brightness against the radiant's length and lower price. Our which shape looks biggest page ranks all of them by face-up area.
Color and clarity for a radiant
A radiant is among the most forgiving shapes for clarity. Its 70 facets break light into a field of small flashes that hide inclusions the way a round's do and better than any step cut, so a VS2 is clean to the naked eye at any size we sell and VS1 or VS2 is where the money should stop; GIA's own advice is that a stone with less than exceptional clarity is a good candidate for this cut for exactly that reason. Every stone in our picker is IF to VS2, so there is nothing below that to avoid. Color is the one place the radiant asks for a little more care than a round. GIA notes that the cut has a remarkable ability to change how a diamond's color appears from above, lighter or darker, which is why fancy yellow diamonds are so often cut as radiants: the pavilion concentrates whatever color the stone has. In a near-colorless stone that same property means a G radiant can show a trace of warmth in white metal above 2 carats where a G round would not. The practical rule from our color scale guide holds: G reads white in yellow or rose gold at any size and in white metal under 2 carats, D to F in white metal above that. The price of the letter is small at the top of the scale: on October 5, 2026 the least expensive 2 carat radiant in our picker was $1,096 at G, $1,353 at F, $1,366 at E and $1,368 at D, so once you leave G the three remaining letters cost the same. Our VS clarity and VVS1 guides cover the clarity side.
Settings for a radiant
A radiant's clipped corners are where the stone is held, so every setting works and the choice is about how much of the outline you want to see. On our solitaire ($950) and cathedral ($1,000) heads the stone is held by four prongs, one at each clipped corner, which covers the one part of the outline that is not a straight line and leaves all four sides open; the double claw ($1,100) splits each prong into a pair for a finer grip. The tulip designs ($1,000 to $1,350) replace the claws with petals that cup the stone from below, and the tulip and cathedral radiants are the settings our customers find us for most. The hidden halo ($1,050) sets a ring of small diamonds into the gallery rail under the stone, where it shows from the side and braces the prongs without changing the outline from above; a classic halo around a radiant has to turn eight corners and tends to soften them, which is the one thing most radiant buyers do not want.
The full bezel ($950) follows the eight sides exactly and looks more at home on a radiant than on any curved shape, and the half bezel ($950) covers the two short ends and leaves the long sides open. East-west, with the stone set across the finger, suits an elongated radiant well: the east-west half bezel ($950) and east-west cathedral ($1,000) turn a 1.45 radiant into a bar of light that sits low and reads wide. Three stone designs are where the radiant's straight sides pay off, because the side stones can meet them flush: matching radiants ($1,850), trapezoids ($1,350) or tapered baguettes ($2,200). The low profile designs ($950 to $1,300) drop the whole head toward the finger. The table has every radiant design we make, with prices before the stone.
Setting prices in 14k, 18k and platinum from our catalog on October 5, 2026, before the diamond; every design also comes in 14k and 18k yellow, rose and two-tone gold. The radiant collection holds all 39, with sub-collections for solitaires, bezels, cathedrals, hidden halos, tulips, low profile, pavé bands, three stone, wide bands and engraved designs.
Radiant cut engagement rings with a wedding band
An elongated radiant overhangs the band a little at each end, less than a marquise and about as much as an oval, so it pairs easily. On the solitaire, the flat band and every bezel the head sits on a basket above the band, and a straight wedding band slides underneath and sits flush. On the cathedral and hidden halo designs the arches or the rail rise to meet the stone, so a straight band usually leaves a small gap at the top unless it is curved or notched; on the low profile designs the stone sits at the band, so a straight band meets its overhang and a curved one closes the gap. A square radiant overhangs nothing and takes any band. We make curved and notched bands to order to fit any of our settings, and our guide to matching a wedding band goes through the pairings.
What a lab-grown radiant costs
The table above gave the least expensive elongated radiant at each weight; the pattern behind it is that the radiant is one of the best-priced shapes in lab-grown at 1 and 2 carats, and the cheapest of all at 2 carats on October 5, 2026: $1,096 against $1,183 for the emerald cut, $1,204 for the round, $1,216 for the cushion, $1,222 for the pear, $1,376 for the marquise and $1,454 for the oval. At 1 carat it was $659 to the round's $651 and the oval's $720; at 3 carats the day's stock ran the other way, $1,909 to the round's $1,638 and the oval's $1,870, so compare on the day rather than by rule. The square is the exception at every weight, $130 to $840 more than the elongated stone of the same carats from 1 to 5 carats, because far fewer are cut. Color barely moves the price above G, as the numbers in the color section show, and clarity moves it most: a 2 carat radiant ran $1,096 at VVS2 and $1,999 at IF that day. With the setting, a 14k solitaire with the 1 carat radiant is $1,609, with the 2 carat $2,046 and with the 3 carat $2,859; the lab-grown pricing guide explains the levers and the price calculator estimates any combination.
How to pick a good radiant
Six checks, all of which our picker lets you make from the report, the measurements and the video. First, the family: decide square or elongated before you look at anything else, and if elongated, aim for 1.40 to 1.50 unless you want the rarer long stone. Second, the outline: the sides parallel, the four cut corners the same size, the culet centered under the table; symmetry graded Excellent or Very Good on the report is the first filter and the face-up photo the second. Third, the pattern: watch the video and decide whether you want crushed ice or chunky, then make sure the middle of the stone does not hold a dark band as it turns. Fourth, the proportions: a radiant is cut deeper than a round by design, and the stones in our picker ran 58 to 73 percent depth with a median of 66 and tables of 55 to 72 with a median of 64, so do not apply the round's 60-to-62 rule to it; below about 70 percent depth the weight stays where you can see it. Fifth, the grades: VS1 or VS2, G in gold or under 2 carats in white metal, D to F above that in platinum or white gold. Sixth, the measurements: compare your finalists by millimeters and ratio rather than by carat weight, then put them on a hand in the simulator. The 4Cs guide covers the grades behind the report.
Where Clairamor fits
Every radiant ring we make is a setting from the 39 above plus a radiant you choose from our picker, which listed 3,876 radiants between 1 and 3 carats and 3,743 above 3 carats on October 5, 2026, every one lab-grown, D to G color, IF to VS2 clarity, with an IGI, GIA or HRD report, the measurements and ratio, a face-up photo and a video. The setting price is the setting without the center stone, so the $950 solitaire with the 2 carat radiant at $1,096 is a $2,046 ring. Every ring carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, comes with an appraisal for insurance, and includes one complimentary resize within 100 days for clients in the USA. A radiant has no points to worry about, but it still comes off for the gym, the garden and any work with tools or ropes.
Radiant cut engagement rings Choose a radiant diamond See it on a hand
Torn between a square and an elongated radiant, or between a radiant and an emerald cut? Book a design consultation.
Frequently asked questions
What is a radiant cut diamond?
A brilliant-cut diamond with a rectangular or square outline and clipped corners, about 70 facets, created by Henry Grossbard in 1977 to give the emerald cut's shape the sparkle of a round. The report calls it a Cut Cornered Rectangular or Square Modified Brilliant. It sparkles edge to edge, hides inclusions and has no points to chip.
Is a radiant cut diamond a good choice for an engagement ring?
Yes, for three reasons: it sparkles like a round, it is one of the most durable shapes because its corners are cut away rather than pointed, and it is usually among the least expensive shapes per carat in lab-grown. In Clairamor's picker on October 5, 2026 a 2 carat radiant started at $1,096, the cheapest shape that day.
Are radiant cut diamonds more expensive than round?
No. In Clairamor's picker on October 5, 2026 the least expensive 2 carat radiant was $1,096 against $1,204 for a round, and at 1 carat $659 against $651, so the two trade places by the day's stock. Square radiants cost more than elongated ones: $1,346 for a 2 carat square that day.
What is the best length-to-width ratio for a radiant cut?
Choose a family first: square at 1.00 to 1.10, or elongated at 1.35 to 1.55, with 1.40 to 1.50 the range most people picture. The classic 1.20 to 1.30 rectangle has nearly disappeared from lab-grown supply: of 3,876 radiants between 1 and 3 carats in Clairamor's picker on October 5, 2026, only 11 sat between 1.10 and 1.30.
What is an elongated radiant cut?
A radiant cut about 1.35 to 1.55 times as long as it is wide, which carries the length of an oval on straight sides and lengthens the finger. It is now the standard radiant in lab-grown: 3,519 of the 3,876 radiants between 1 and 3 carats in Clairamor's picker on October 5, 2026 were 1.30 or longer, with a median of 1.44.
What is a crushed ice radiant?
A radiant whose pavilion facets are cut small and many, so it returns light as a continuous glitter of tiny flashes with no pattern, like crushed ice. The alternative is a chunky radiant with fewer, larger flashes and more contrast, closer to a cushion. No report records which is which; the stone's video shows it.
How big is a 2 carat radiant cut diamond?
About 9.1 by 6.3 mm for an elongated radiant, half the width of a dime, and about 6.9 by 6.7 mm for a square one; these were the least expensive 2 carat radiants in Clairamor's picker on October 5, 2026, at $1,096 and $1,346. A 2 carat round is 8.2 mm across and a 2 carat oval 10.3 by 7.1 mm.
How much is a 3 carat radiant cut diamond ring?
In Clairamor's picker on October 5, 2026 a lab-grown 3 carat radiant of D to G color and IF to VS2 clarity started at $1,909, measuring 10.4 by 7.1 mm, and a square 3 carat at $2,315. With the 14k solitaire at $950 the elongated stone makes a $2,859 ring; the settings run $950 to $2,400 in 14k gold.
Radiant cut vs cushion cut: which should I choose?
The radiant for straight sides, crisp corners and a modern, architectural look; the cushion for rounded corners, curved sides and a softer, vintage character. At 2 carats in Clairamor's picker on October 5, 2026 the elongated radiant measured 9.1 by 6.3 mm at $1,096 and the elongated cushion 8.5 by 6.6 mm at $1,216.
Radiant cut vs princess cut: what is the difference?
Both are square brilliants; the princess cut has four sharp corners, which are the part of a diamond most likely to chip and have to be covered by prongs, while the square radiant has those corners cut off. The radiant is the more durable of the two and gives the same square sparkle, which is why the radiant, not the princess, is the square brilliant on Clairamor's shape menu.
What setting is best for a radiant cut diamond?
Four prongs, one at each clipped corner, as on a solitaire, tulip or cathedral head, cover the corners and leave all four sides open. A full bezel follows the eight-sided outline better than it does any curved shape; a half bezel covers the ends; a hidden halo adds sparkle from the side without softening the corners; three stone designs meet the straight sides flush.
Related reading
- Radiant cut vs emerald cut: sparkle, size, clarity, settings and prices compared
- Emerald cut engagement rings: clarity, ratio, settings, sizes and prices
- Elongated engagement rings: oval vs emerald vs radiant vs marquise vs moval
- Oval engagement rings: ratios, the bow-tie, settings, sizes and prices
- Elongated cushion cut: the complete guide to ratios, sparkle, size and price
- Cushion cut engagement rings: square vs elongated, sparkle, settings, sizes and prices
- What is a tulip setting? Prongs, basket and cathedral explained
- Hidden halo vs halo: which looks bigger and costs less?
- Bezel engagement rings: full, half and faux bezel compared
- Solitaire engagement rings: the complete guide to prongs, heights, shapes and prices
- Diamond carat size chart: every shape at every weight
- Which diamond shape looks the biggest?
- Diamond color scale: D to Z chart, what you can see and what each grade costs
- VS1 vs VS2 diamond clarity: what VS means, what you can see and what it costs
- Lab-grown diamond pricing guide
