Unconventional gems and shapes are driving the jewellery industry to greater heights and fulfilling the market’s stronger desire for exceptionality.

Coloured gemstones are at the heart of this phenomena, with gemstone cutters and manufacturers increasingly offering a variety of shapes and cuts in their latest creations. This, in turn, affords jewellery designers greater artistic liberty and flexibility. 

Apart from the usual rounds, ovals and pears, gemstone cuts such as marquise, heart, emerald and square, to name a few, are making waves in the market today. 

More modern shapes such as triangle, tapered baguette, trilliant or trillion as well as triangle and freeform are likewise gaining popularity as side or shoulder stones that help highlight jewellery centre gems.

Companies like Fuli Gemstones, meanwhile, regularly unveils new cuts for its peridots. The latest is the Beidou cut, inspired by the stars in the night sky and the Big Dipper. Reflecting the seven brightest stars of the Ursa Major constellation, the Beidou cut has seven sides and 85 facets. The latter consists of Table: 1; Crown: 28; Girdle: 7; and Pavilion: 49. 

A cut above the rest

Taking gemstone cuts to another level are legendary gemstone cutters who continue to push the envelope of innovation and design in the gem trade. Renowned gem specialist Bernd Munsteiner, who passed away in 2024, invented the beloved fantasy cut, which features concave cuts made on the back of a gemstone. One of his most renowned works is Dom Pedro, a 35cm-tall, 10,363-carat aquamarine carving that is now in the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection in Washington DC.

Award-winning gemstone cutters John Dyer and Victor Tuzlukov are also instrumential in placing designer cut gems in the limelight. Over the years, these gemstone artists have delighted the trade and the public alike with their mesmerising creations, including some of the most highly sought-after gem specimens.

Non-traditional gems

Further fuelling ingenuity in the trade is the rise of non-mainstream gemstones as popular alternatives to diamonds and the gem trio of ruby, sapphire and emerald. 

Morganite, an orange or pink variety of beryl, is fast becoming a go-to gem since it is viewed as a budget-friendly substitute for pink sapphire and pink diamonds. 

Another up-and-coming gem is kunzite, a variety of the mineral spodumene that comes in a striking pink or purple hue. According to the Gemological Institute of America, the gem is named after famed gemmologist George Frederick Kunz, who was the first to identify it as a unique variety of spodumene. Kunzite gets its delicate colour from trace amounts of manganese.