This whole necklace testing mission started ’cause my sister needs a “good tennis necklace” for her wedding photoshoot. Yeah, another unpaid family consultant gig. Grabbed three cheap but decent-looking chains off my usual discount spot: one with marquise diamonds, one with tiny round ones, and another with princess cut stones. Okay, maybe not real diamonds, but sparkly enough for testing. Total cost? Less than a fancy dinner. Poured coffee and got ready to just look at them, hard.
The First Look (On My Dirty Table)
First things first, just dumped them out on my scratched up work desk. Normal room light, kinda dull overhead bulb. The marquise chain? Immediately stood out like it was pissed off. Longish, pointed stones. The other two? Nice, yeah… sparkly… fine. But the marquise one felt like it was trying harder, you know? Like it had little lines of fire instead of just dots of light.
- Round Cut: Classic little twinkles. Safe. Maybe… boring?
- Princess Cut: Boxier sparkles. Crisp, but didn’t grab me.
- Marquise Cut: Bam. Lines stretching down the chain, way more face-up sparkle per stone.
Sunlight Showdown (The Real Kicker)
This is where it got interesting. Clamped each necklace onto an old ring holder thing using rubber bands and a tiny screwdriver – looked ridiculous, totally worked. Walked my crazy setup outside into direct noon sun. Holy smokes.
The round cut? Reflection city, baby. Tiny fireballs bouncing off each stone, blinding me in patches. The princess cut? Also bright, but the flashes felt smaller, chunkier. Cool, but predictable.
Then the marquise. Stabbed me in the eyes. It wasn’t just sparks. The pointy ends acted like little light cannons, shooting lines of glare down the whole chain surface. The long shape trapped way more sunlight and threw it back like crazy, making the whole necklace look bigger, denser than the others, even though the stones were roughly the same size. My neighbour yelled “Damn! Shiny!” across the fence. Proof.
Tried splashing water on them later to see if the marquise still held up. Looked even more dramatic. The round stones looked okay wet. The princess cuts looked kinda pathetic, almost dull. Marquise? Still firing light beams.
Why Marquise Wins (My Totally Unscientific Conclusion)
It boils down to how it cheats with light. That long, pointy shape gives it way more surface area facing up, catching every single photon stupid enough to hit it. Compare it to the others:
- More Face: More flat top area means more space to glitter per stone.
- Pointy Fire: Ends act like light projectors, adding beams to the standard sparkle.
- Trap Game: Seems like the shape just holds light better inside the stone before blasting it out.
End result? For a tennis necklace meant to drape and shimmer continuously, the marquise cut just pumps out way more visible light per inch than the others. It doesn’t hide. Feels bolder. Makes the whole chain look more dramatic and solid, even if the stones are small. Princess and round are nice, sure, but they felt like background noise next to the marquise laser show. Yeah, that princess cut was pretty, but looking at the three side by side? Big difference. Marquise grabs your eye and doesn’t let go.
Sister tried them on later. Didn’t even need to tell her which one looked best on camera. “This one.” Pointed to the marquise. Exactly.