The heart cut is the most emotionally loaded shape in the catalog. It is bought for proposals, Valentine's Day pieces, and milestone gifts, and it is almost never bought as a default engagement shape. That seasonality is the wholesale story: heart sales spike in January and February for Valentine's and again in the late spring for Mother's Day. Stocked right, it is a profitable seasonal line. Stocked wrong, it is a drawer of lopsided stones no retailer wants.
What makes a heart read well
A heart cut is a modified brilliant with two rounded lobes and a cleft at the top, tapering to a point at the bottom. The facet pattern is brilliant rather than step, so it sparkles. The number that decides whether it looks good is symmetry: the two lobes must match, and the cleft must be centered. A heart where one lobe sits higher than the other reads as a defect even if no one can say why. We inspect every stock heart face-up against a symmetric template before grading.
Proportions
Hearts are sold by width rather than length, because the width is what customers visualize. Typical widths run from 5mm to 8mm. Length-to-width should sit close to 1.00:1 to 1.10:1; longer hearts read as pears with a cleft, shorter hearts read as clover. The cleft depth is a matter of taste, but a shallow cleft looks like a defect and a deep cleft looks cartoonish. We stock clefts that read clearly but do not dominate.
Face-up size and wholesale price
| Width (mm) | Diamond equivalent | Wholesale band (USD, D-F VVS1, GRA) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | ~0.2 ct | $10 - $18 | accents, pendants |
| 5.0 | ~0.4 ct | $18 - $30 | pendant, small ring |
| 6.0 | ~0.7 ct | $32 - $52 | pendant, stud earring |
| 7.0 | ~1.0 ct | $55 - $85 | statement ring, pendant |
| 8.0 | ~1.5 ct | $90 - $140 | statement ring |
Setting orientation
The point faces down the finger on a ring, toward the knuckle on a pendant, and down on a drop earring. The two lobes sit at the top. Prong placement is specific: a V-prong sits in the cleft at the top, one prong on each lobe shoulder, and a V-prong at the bottom point. The bottom point is the chip risk, same as a pear, and it needs a capped or wrapped prong rather than a prong sitting on the point.
- Rings: point toward the knuckle; this is the orientation customers recognize.
- Pendants: point down, with a bail attached at the cleft so the heart hangs straight.
- Earrings: order two stones from the same parcel; the two hearts must be mirror-matched for lobe size and cleft depth.
Metal pairs
Rose gold is the natural partner. The warm metal against a D-F heart reads directly as romantic and is the combination that sells on Valentine's Day product pages. Yellow gold gives a sweeter, more childhood-heirloom look. White gold and platinum suit customers who want the heart to read modern rather than kitschy; a white-gold heart on a thin chain is a current right-hand-ring look.
Who buys heart cuts
Three groups. Gift buyers, who are buying emotion and not shape expertise, which is why product photography matters more on hearts than on any other cut. Customers who specifically asked for a heart after seeing one on social media. And bridal buyers who want a non-traditional engagement ring; this is a small but growing segment. Hearts rarely sell to walk-in customers browsing rings; they sell when the customer already knows they want one.
Durability
The bottom point is the chip point, and the cleft is a structural stress line. Moissanite at 9.25 Mohs resists scratching fine, but a knocked point cracks. We recommend hearts in pendants and earrings as the safest settings; daily-wear heart rings should have a capped point and a slightly thick girdle. Season the stock: do not carry more hearts in August than you can sell by Valentine's, because the line does not move year-round.
The seasonal ordering calendar
Hearts move on a calendar, not on steady demand. Place the main heart order by mid-December to hit Valentine's Day retail shelves; late January orders risk missing the window because cutting and setting take three to four weeks. A smaller reorder in late March supports Mother's Day pendants. Do not hold heart stock through the summer; the line goes quiet from June through October, and stones left unsold in Q3 tie up capital better spent on ovals and rounds.
One sizing note: heart rings read larger than their mm width on the finger, because the two lobes spread horizontally. A 6mm heart looks comparable in face-up size to a 6.5mm round. Use that comparison in product descriptions rather than quoting carat equivalents, which customers overestimate on heart shapes.
See current heart stock in the loose stone catalog under Heart Cut.