What Is a Hexagon Cut Diamond? Shape, Faceting, and How It Wears
What a Hexagon Cut Diamond Is
A hexagon cut diamond is a six-sided diamond with a long, geometric outline. It can be faceted in different styles: a step cut, with clean parallel lines and an architectural look, or a brilliant style, for more sparkle. The six-sided outline is the shape; the faceting is a separate choice.
Two further things decide how a particular hexagon actually looks on a hand: what happens at the two narrow ends, and how long the stone is compared with how wide it is. Neither of those is fixed by the word "hexagon," which is why two stones sold under the same name can look genuinely different side by side.
It is one of the more distinctive modern shapes, and it is closely related to one of our signature cuts. Here is what it is, how the versions differ, who tends to love it, and what to check before you buy.
The shape, and the faceting
Two things define how any hexagon reads, and they are independent of each other:
The outline: six sides in a long, narrow arrangement. This is what gives the shape its clean, geometric look and its length on the finger.
The faceting: a step cut gives broad, flat facets and clear, mirror-like flashes; a brilliant style breaks light into smaller, busier sparkle. Same outline, very different personality.
Neither faceting style is higher quality than the other. They are aesthetics. Decide which look you want, then judge the specific stone.
It is worth being precise about the word itself. "Hexagon" describes an outline. It is not a standardized cut with agreed proportions the way a round brilliant is. It tells you the stone has six sides, and that is all it tells you. It says nothing about how elongated the stone is, what the two ends do, how deep it is, or how it is faceted. That gap is where most buyer confusion starts, and it is why the same word covers stones that look nothing alike in a tray. If the difference between a shape and a cut is new to you, we walk through it in diamond cut versus shape.
What happens at the ends
Stretch a hexagon lengthwise and there is a decision to make at the two narrow ends: put a corner there, or put an edge there. A hexagon has six sides and six corners, so both are available, and that single choice does more to change the character of the stone than anything else in the outline.
A point at each end. From the widest part of the stone, the two long sides angle inward and meet at a single tip. The outline tapers to a point at both ends the way a marquise does, while the sides stay straight and angular rather than curved. The ends are not softened, not rounded, and not cropped to a flat edge. This is the Dutch Marquise.
A short flat edge at each end. The sides angle in and then stop against a straight edge across the tip. The outline reads like a long, clean box with angled shoulders. This is what most listings mean when they say simply "elongated hexagon."
Both are hexagons. Both face up long and slim. Both are correctly described by the same word, which is exactly the problem when you are shopping from photographs. The pointed version reads sharper and more dramatic. The flat-ended version reads calmer and more architectural, and it has no exposed tips to think about.
Because this trips up so many buyers, we gave it its own page, with what to look for in a listing photograph and what each one shows up as on a report: Dutch Marquise vs elongated hexagon.
How it relates to the Dutch Marquise
Our signature Dutch Marquise is a specific elongated hexagonal cut: a long, six-sided outline whose straight angled sides meet at a corner at the widest point and then taper to a point at each end rather than finishing in a flat edge. So every Dutch Marquise is a hexagonal cut, but not every hexagonal cut is a Dutch Marquise. If you are searching for an "elongated hexagon engagement ring," the Dutch Marquise is the pointed version, it is the one we publish a clear definition for, and it is hand-set and finished in New York City.
Two questions come up so often that each has its own page. The first is whether the Dutch Marquise is a real diamond cut. The honest answer is that it is a real shape sold under a trade name, like a great many shapes in the trade, and trade names like that generally do not appear on a grading report. The second is how it differs from a traditional marquise. A marquise has two smoothly curved sides sweeping from tip to tip, the navette or boat outline. A Dutch Marquise has straight, angled sides. If a stone sold as a Dutch Marquise has continuously curved sides, it is a marquise, whatever the listing calls it.
Step cut or brilliant: what actually changes
Once the outline is settled, the faceting decides how the stone behaves in light. The two families are easy to tell apart once you know what you are looking at, and the difference is obvious the moment you see them next to each other.
Step faceting uses broad, flat facets cut in parallel rows, like a flight of steps running toward the table. You get long, clean, mirror-like flashes and stretches of open surface rather than busy glitter. It reads calm, deliberate, architectural. Because the facets are large and open, inclusions and body color have nowhere to hide, so a step-faceted stone rewards a cleaner clarity grade and a whiter color grade than a brilliant of the same size would need.
Brilliant faceting uses many smaller facets arranged to split light into a lot of quick flashes. It reads livelier, it carries better across a room, and the busier pattern conceals small inclusions well. On any elongated brilliant, look for a bow-tie, the dark band that can sit across the middle of the stone when the pavilion is cut poorly. A faint one is normal, a heavy one is a reason to keep looking.
Neither family is better. They are two different looks, and most people know which one they want within seconds of seeing the pair together. What matters is that you choose deliberately rather than discovering it after the ring arrives.
One honest caveat, because we would rather say it than let you assume it. The two hexagonal shapes we sell are cut on opposite sides of that line. Our Elongated Hexagon is a step cut, with parallel step facets and a glassy, hall-of-mirrors flash. Our Dutch Marquise is cut for brilliance, its facets arranged to maximize sparkle and fire, which gives it a chunkier flash of light. That is the practical difference between two stones that share a six-sided outline. The longer version, with what each style does to sparkle, clarity, and color, is here: step cut vs brilliant faceting in a hexagon.
Length to width, and what it changes
Length-to-width ratio is the number that tells you how elongated a stone is, and on a six-sided shape it does a lot of work. You never have to take a seller's word for it, because you can calculate it from the report yourself in about five seconds.
Find the measurements line, which gives length by width by depth in millimeters. Divide the first number by the second. If the line reads 9.00 x 5.00 x 3.20 mm, the ratio is 9.00 divided by 5.00, which is 1.80. That is the entire calculation, and it is the single most useful thing on the report for a shape like this.
What the number does to the stone:
A lower ratio reads broader. The stone looks fuller and squarer in the setting and holds more visible width across the finger. It sits closer to a compact hexagon than a long one, and it pairs comfortably with wider bands.
A higher ratio reads slimmer. The stone stretches, the elongating effect on the finger gets stronger, and the outline looks sharper and more graphic. Push it far enough and the stone starts to read narrow next to a standard wedding band.
There is no official ideal, and we do not publish a target range for the Dutch Marquise, because no standard one exists. Six-sided shapes are not a graded category with agreed proportions, so any range quoted as the "correct" one is somebody's preference dressed up as a rule. What we would tell you instead is simpler: look at the stone at the ratio it actually is, ideally on a hand, and decide whether you want broad or long. Then confirm that the ratio you liked in a photograph matches the measurements on the report, because photographs get cropped and hand sizes vary.
How a hexagon compares with its neighbors
Most people arrive at the hexagon after looking at an emerald cut, a marquise, or an oval. Here is how the four differ where it counts.
| Hexagon | Emerald | Marquise | Oval | |
| Outline | Six straight sides, usually elongated | A rectangle with the four corners cut off | Two curved sides, the navette or boat outline | One continuous curve, no corners |
| Ends | A point or a short flat edge, depending on the stone | A cut corner at each of the four corners | A point at each end | No points at all |
| Typical faceting | Step cut, or brilliance on a Dutch Marquise | Step | Brilliant | Brilliant |
| Reads as | Geometric and modern | Calm, clear, hall-of-mirrors | Dramatic and elongating | Soft and classic |
| Watch for | What the ends actually do | Inclusions, the open facets show them | Bow-tie, and protecting the tips | Bow-tie |
The hexagon is the only one on that list where the name does not tell you what the ends do. An emerald cut always has cut corners, a marquise always comes to a point, an oval never does. A hexagon can go either way, which is why the outline in the photograph and the measurements on the report matter more here than for the others. If you are still narrowing the field, the full diamond shapes guide lays all of them out together.
Who a hexagon cut suits, and how it wears
A hexagon cut tends to suit someone who wants a modern, geometric look rather than a classic round or oval, and who likes the way an elongated shape lengthens the hand. Like other elongated shapes, it faces up large for its carat weight, so it can look bigger than a round of the same weight. It is a distinctive choice, which is part of the appeal for a buyer who does not want the same ring as everyone else.
Three practical things about how it actually wears, since a shape has to survive daily life and not just a photograph:
It lengthens the finger. The long axis of the stone carries the eye down the hand rather than across it. This is the reason most people give for choosing an elongated shape, and it holds true across finger sizes.
It spends its weight on surface area. Carat is weight, not size. A stone cut long and shallow shows more of itself face up than a compact stone of identical weight, which is why an elongated hexagon can look a size up from its carat number. The trade-off is that a stone cut too shallow loses light through the bottom, so read the depth on the report rather than chasing spread alone.
The tips decide the setting. Diamond is a 10 on the Mohs scale, so scratching is not the worry. Concentrated force on a sharp point is. On the pointed version, a setting that covers or shields the two tips, such as prongs placed directly over the points or a bezel around the stone, is worth choosing, and it matters more for someone who is hard on their hands. A flat-ended hexagon sidesteps the question entirely, which is a legitimate reason to prefer it. We go into the durability of pointed tips separately.
Band fit is the last thing worth thinking about before you commit, because it is the part people notice only after the wedding band arrives. A long six-sided stone sits across a lot of finger, and a straight band pushed up against a tapered end can leave a visible gap under the taper. Contoured, notched, and open bands all solve it in different ways, and so does simply wearing the band on the other side. We laid the options out in what wedding band fits a Dutch Marquise, and the same reasoning applies to any elongated hexagon.
What to verify before you buy
A hexagon is a specialty shape, so a few checks matter more than usual:
Expect no cut grade. Most fancy shapes carry no overall cut grade from the labs, so cut quality varies from stone to stone and no single letter answers the question for you. Look at the actual stone and its proportions.
Expect the name to be missing. "Hexagon," like most specialty names, may not appear on the report. Labs certify measurable geometry, not the words a seller uses. On one real IGI report for a Dutch Marquise we sell, the shape line read "Hexagonal Modified Brilliant" (IGI report, 2026). Another lab, or a stone faceted differently, may word it another way. Read the measurements rather than trusting the label.
Use the measurements line. Length by width by depth, in millimeters. Divide length by width for the ratio, and check the depth and table percentages while you are there. A stone cut deep to hold weight leaks light and looks smaller than its carat number suggests.
Confirm the report at the source. Look the report number up on the issuing lab's own site rather than relying on a PDF you were sent, and check for the "LG" inscription on the girdle if it is a Lab Grown Diamond. Our walkthrough on how to read a grading report goes line by line.
Know which lab you are getting. IGI and GCAL still issue full 4C-style reports for Lab Grown Diamonds, while GIA now grades Lab Grown Diamonds on Premium and Standard descriptive tiers rather than the full 4Cs. (Source: GIA, 2025-10-01.) If you want detailed grades on a Lab Grown Diamond, ask for IGI or GCAL.
The rule that covers all of it: a name is marketing, the report is fact. That applies to our cut names as much as anyone else's, which is why we publish the definition and tell you to check the paperwork behind it.
If the pointed version is the one you want, that is the Dutch Marquise, and every one of our elongated hexagon settings can be built around it. If you are still weighing the shape against everything else, start with the full range of Lab Grown Diamonds and narrow from there.
See the elongated hexagon cutsIf you would rather judge a stone in person, we show by appointment in New York. Book a viewing.
About the Author
Tasha Adison
Tasha Adison crafts engaging content that highlights the beauty of jewelry design. Her writing connects readers with the stories behind each creation.
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FAQ's
A hexagon cut diamond is a six-sided diamond with a long, geometric outline. It can be faceted as a step cut for a clean architectural look or in a brilliant style for more sparkle. The outline is the shape; the faceting is a separate choice.
Not exactly. A Dutch Marquise is a specific elongated hexagonal cut with straight angled sides that meet at a corner at the widest point and taper to a point at each end. Every Dutch Marquise is hexagonal, but not every hexagon cut is a Dutch Marquise.
The ends. A Dutch Marquise tapers to a point at each tip, while a stone sold simply as an elongated hexagon usually finishes in a short flat edge instead. Both have six straight sides and both face up long and slim, so the tips are the tell.
Either. The six-sided outline does not fix the faceting, so a hexagon can be cut in a step style with broad, mirror-like flashes or in a brilliant style with busier sparkle. Neither is higher quality. Our own two hexagonal shapes split along exactly this line: the Elongated Hexagon is a step cut, and the Dutch Marquise is cut for brilliance.
There is no official ideal, because six-sided shapes are not a graded category with agreed proportions. Work the ratio out yourself by dividing the length by the width on the measurements line of the report. A lower ratio reads broader and fuller, a higher ratio reads slimmer and more elongated, and the right one is the one you prefer on a hand.
Usually no. Most fancy shapes carry no overall cut grade from the labs, so cut quality varies. Judge the specific stone by its proportions and how it looks, and read the report.
Often not. Labs certify measurable geometry, not marketing names, so the report describes the shape rather than printing a specialty name. On one real IGI report for a Dutch Marquise we sell, the shape line read "Hexagonal Modified Brilliant" (IGI report, 2026). That is how one lab worded one stone, not a statement about how every Dutch Marquise is faceted. Read the measurements and confirm the report on the lab's own site.
Yes, with the right setting. Diamond is a 10 on the Mohs scale, so scratching is not the concern. The concern on a pointed hexagon is the two tips, where force concentrates on a knock. A setting that covers or shields the points, such as prongs placed over the tips or a bezel, is worth choosing. A flat-ended hexagon has no exposed points at all.
Outline and faceting. An emerald cut is a rectangle with the four corners cut off, faceted in long parallel steps. A hexagon has six sides in an elongated arrangement and can be faceted as a step cut or a brilliant. They can read similarly when a hexagon is step faceted, but the hexagon narrows toward its two ends rather than staying rectangular.