The Princess Cut is universally regarded as the runner-up to the Round Brilliant in popularity. Nearly 23% of diamond buyers search for Princess Cuts. That’s still far behind the 64% for Round Brilliants but still a solid 2nd place.
A Princess Cut diamond is traditionally designed from the inverted pyramid of the rough diamond stone. Princess Cuts are among the most brilliant of all diamond shapes and are a popular choice for engagement rings.
The highest quality Princess Cuts are those with a distinct square shape with a length to width ratio of 1.0-1.05. While you can find rectangle Princess Cuts, they can lack brilliance.
Key Features of a Princess Cut Diamond:
Why Princess Cut Diamonds Are Cheaper
A Round Brilliant will yield usually around 40% (meaning a sawed 1 carat piece of rough will yield a 0.40ct polished round diamond) while a Princess Cut will yield in the 80%-90% range! This is the primary reason why all else being equal, a Princess Cut is cheaper than a round diamond.
Do Princess Cut diamonds look bigger?
Princess Cuts tend to look slightly smaller than other diamonds of a similar carat weight because of their square length-to-width ratio. A Princess Cut has a smaller diameter and surface area.
Shape : Princess Cut Diamond
A Princess Cut diamond usually has between 50 and 58 facets, depending on how the diamond is cut. Most of the facets are on the pavilion and crown, with a few on the girdle. Princess Cuts also typically have two to four chevron patterns, which are cross patterns that can be seen when viewing the diamond from above.
When a diamond has two chevron patterns, the diamond reflects bolder flashes of white and colored light. When a diamond has four chevron patterns, the diamond has more scintillation — resulting in more smaller flashes of white and colored light that can be seen when the diamond moves.
Overall Cut Parameter Recommendations for Princess Cut Diamonds:
- Depth: 68% to 75% (under 70% is very hard to find)
- Table: Below 75%
- Polish/Symmetry: Good, Very Good, or Excellent
- Length/Width Ratio: 1.00 to 1.05 for Square Princess Cut
Color: Princess Cut Diamond
When it comes to Color, you need to be a little more careful with a Princess Cut diamond than you would with a Round Brilliant. Since both are brilliant cuts, they both succeed in chopping up the light so the true color of the rough material is harder to perceive.
But since the light return on the Round Brilliant is superior, it is also better at keeping the true color of your diamond a secret. Because of this, we recommend when buying a Princess Cut diamond that you either pick an H or I Color diamond for the best value.
You can go higher than H, but don’t believe the incremental whiteness you’ll gain is worth the incremental price you’ll have to pay.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is if you are buying your diamond to have it set in an engagement ring, then you need to make sure the color of your center stone matches the color of the accent diamonds. Unless you’re choosing a yellow gold or rose gold setting, We don’t recommend J color with Princess Cuts because they retain color slightly more than round brilliants.
Clarity: Princess Cut Diamond
Regarding Clarity, a Princess Cut is likewise similar to the Round Brilliant in that it’s a decent hider of inclusions. One thing you need to remember with Princess Cuts, though, is that there are serious issues of durability.
Since Princess Cuts have four sharp corners, they are prone to chipping (and you thought Diamonds Were Forever!). If an inclusion is in one of the four corners of the diamond, that will greatly increase the chances of the diamond chipping.
If you’re buying the diamond already set in a ring, this is less of an issue unless you think that you might want to have the stone reset in a new ring in the future.
Be sure to look at each Princess Cut diamond closely to ensure it offers the brilliance and fire that you’re looking for. Feel free to reach out to our experts for a second opinion before making your selection.
Still not sure which princess cut diamond to choose? Feel free to contact us for personal help. Our experts are here to help you with the very best diamonds to choose from.
