Radiant vs. Round

[stary-eyed04]

Which will APPEAR bigger: 2.23 ct radiant or 2.00 ct round? I''m going for size here- I want it to look HUGE! Assuming all else is equal, which one will hide tiny inclusions better?

 

[precious jemz]

After shopping for radiants, cushions and rounds for a while, I believe that a radiant cut will tend to "hide" more - you can get lost just staring into a beautiful radiant. However, I feel that a beautifully cut RB looks bigger! For me, it took a 4 carat+ to equal a 3 carat round.
I get what you''re saying about a big bang though - a gorgeous setting will cap the total look, no matter the shape of the stone.

 

[Deelight]

all the radiants i have looked at have been really small for carat size (I looked at 1-1.5ct ones with ideal cut proportions that to me looked the same as my friends 1/2 ct mall bought diamonds

) they are a magnificent looking diamond I *heart* them but the 2 ct round will most likely look bigger which is why in the end I have given up looking at radiants and am now looking at RB''s I like size (and quality)

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

A search of "in house diamonds" here shows a range of spreads from 2% bigger to -39% smaller.

A cushion 2% bigger would look about 5% smaller than a well cut round because rounds punch more light back and look bigger.

some (not all) crushed glass type cushions hide inclusions well

 

[Lorelei]

Adding on some more thoughts here, you mention you are after size, then have you considered shapes such as pear, marquise, oval etc? These shapes can in some instances look larger than rounds of a similar carat weight.