Princess Cut Diamond Shapes
If you love the fire of the traditional Round Brilliant Cut (the standard diamond engagement ring cut), but want something a little
different, you might just fall in love with the icy fire of the square
Princess Cut Diamond.
Most square or rectangular cuts just don't live up to the round brilliant for sparkle, but the Princess Cut was designed for
getting maximum brilliance from a square cut.
Always ensure that the setting for your princess cut diamond protects the four pointed corners -- these are the points most likely to chip
(and why most rectangular or square diamond cuts have cropped corners).
Choosing a Princess Cut Diamond
The princess cut diamond is more forgiving of diamond flaws and weaknesses than the less sparkling
Emerald Cut Diamond
or the
Asscher Cut Diamond, so we provided two sets of "minimums" --
one giving more weight to quality and one giving more weight to budget.
Our minimum recommendations for buying princess cut diamonds are as follows (please remember these
recommendations are opinion only, and your tastes may vary):
- Cut: Very Good
- Color: G
- Clarity: VS2
- Depth Percentage: 58-77%
- Table: 58-77%
Now if you're on a tight budget, you can still find a nice stone going with these minimums:
- Cut: Good
- Color: I
- Clarity: SI2
- Depth Percentage: 56-84%
- Table: 53-85%
Could you purchase cheaper princess cut diamonds by going below these minimums? Absolutely. But we don't recommend it -- at some
point, one must consider the beauty of the stone, not simply the cost.
Princess Cut Diamond Ring
While not the traditional selection, princess cut diamonds are very popular right now and
make lovely engagement rings (either as a solitaire or with accent stones).
Princess cut diamonds do require four-pronged settings (as pictured). Make sure to keep that in mind when making your selection.
To give you some ideas of what's available for a princess cut diamond ring, we've preselected a range of certified princess cut diamonds for you to
examine (all from Mondera or Blue Nile, two of the premiere diamond stores). Unless otherwise noted, these diamonds are within
our minimum requirements as listed above and are suitable for solitaire settings or settings with accent stones:
*PLEASE NOTE: All "Bargain Basement" diamonds fall below our minimum specification standards in one category or more.
Where to buy Princess Cut Diamonds
Any reputable dealer who sells loose diamonds will have a good selection of cuts, including the princess cut.
For online purchase, we recommend the following three stores:
