PRINCESS CUT DIAMOND

The popularity of the princess cut diamond can be attributed to its reference in numerous popular tabloid magazines, reality shows, and red carpet events. One would have to be leaving under a rock to not have heard of it. However, telling the difference between a princess cut diamond, a round cut diamond, or a cushion cut diamond is another matter altogether. To the untrained eye, the different cuts will appear similar in shape, clarity, or color, but the princess diamonds’ most glaring quality is its square shape and sharp corners. Best of all, its classic design and unique sparkle, as well as brilliance, make women from all over the world fall in love, making it the perfect purchase for popping the question or to add to one’s jewelry collection. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that it has a relatively lower price tag given it’s a stone fit for royalty.

Beginnings

In the 1960s the princess cut was dubbed the profile cut by its designer Arpad Nagy. Nagy’s profile cut diamond had 58 facets, which are 9 more facets than the current princess cut we know and love. Its appearance was also much flatter than the current cut. In the 1970s the square cut of the profile diamond saw several variations from a barion cut to a quadrillion cut. The princess cut was a result of searching for the perfect diamond women would want to have. Its fairytale name was made famous by designers Yigal Perlman, Betzalel Ambar, and Israel Itzkowitz. The stone is also sometimes referred to as a square brilliant cut or rectangular brilliant cut.

Appearance

The princess cut is described by GIA grading reports as rectangle, square, or tapered diamonds. From the side, the stone looks like an inverted pyramid owing to its four beveled sides that come in at a point while from the top, a distinct cross pattern is observed. Most of the weight of the diamond is hidden below the top surface in the pavilion due to its relatively deep cut. Although they have a somewhat smaller crown than other cuts, princess cuts give an optical illusion of being bigger than they actually are when viewed from the top because its table has a large diameter when measured from corner to corner along the diagonal. In fact, a princess cut has a 15 percent greater diameter than a round brilliant with the same carat weight.

Analysis of  Princess Cut

Simply put, the cut of a diamond refers to how well the facets interact with light. A well-cut diamond not only has superb brightness but also excellent scintillation and fire. Therefore, the quality of the cut should be the first thing to look at when selecting the perfect stone. The quality of a diamond cut is determined by the overall condition of the facet surfaces, its angles, and relative measurements along with the symmetry of its shape and facets. A good cut effectively boosts other aspects of the stone by making it appear larger, brighter, and with minimal flaws!

Fundamentally speaking, it’s the symmetric proportions of a well-cut diamond that doesn’t allow for excessive carat weight hiding in its profile. Making the stone appear just right for its weight and size. The square shape of the princess cut lends the facets more surface to reflect light into an observer’s eye, giving it a shiny, sparkling look that enhances its luster. Reflection and refraction also play a hand in determining the amount of scintillation and sparkle of a stone.

Another way to determine if a diamond is well cut is to examine its depth and table. It’s a common misconception that diamonds with large tables are more brilliant than those with small tables. In reality, the size of the table only affects its fire dispersion such that larger tables have a lower dispersion quality and vice versa. The depth of a stone refers to the distance between the table and the culet. In contrast, a depth percentage is the ratio of the measurement between the culet and table in relation to the width of the diamond. The significance of the depth is primarily because it determines the angle light will be reflected, which in turn affects brilliance and sparkle. Ideally, a well-cut princess stone will have a table percentage of 63-69 and a depth percentage of 69-76. This range should help you instantly weed out the lesser diamonds.

Princess Cut-Guide

Economic Value

A princess cut will be priced relatively lower than other diamonds because the former uses a whopping 80 percent of the rough cubic stone. What does this imply? The diamond manufacturers are using more of the original stone resulting in less wastage. In contrast, the other cuts use about 40-50 percent, meaning that more than half the rough stone goes to waste. Consequently, the less the rough stone the cutter uses, the more expensive the diamond cut! Contributing to the relatively lower prices of the princess cut.

Analysis of color

In the diamond industry, the lesser the color, the higher the grade! Exceptions to this rule are the rare pink, orange, red, and blue stones. The color grading system starts from D to Z, with D being the highest. From D to J, the stone is a nearly colorless while from M to Z color becomes noticeable. The best color for a princess cut is G, H, I, or J. However, you shouldn’t twist yourself with worry over color because we all have different tastes. If your heart beats for a well-cut princess diamonds with color X, go for it! It’s your money, right?

Colorless diamonds will have many breaking the bank even though the distinction in color is so subtle that few can tell the difference. If you like to color in your jewelry, don’t pander to others preference. Princess cuts in the K-Z range are not so shabby; the color lends it a subtle warm tint. Ultimately, the cut is king. A well-cut diamond, no matter its color grade, will appear white when observed from the top, and since the rest of the diamond will be enclosed in the setting don’t tie yourself in knots over color. Focus on the choice of setting as it affects the color perceived by the eye such that if a grade D princess cut is paired with a yellow setting, the stone will pick up the yellowish tint.

Fluorescence

This is the color of a stone portrays when observed under UV light. Your white tees look whiter, teeth brighter, and black-light posters glow largely because of ultraviolet light. Not all diamonds fluoresce. The big question is, which is better, fluorescing, or not fluorescing? And like in choosing the color of your diamond, your answer should lie with individual taste and preference.

The fluorescing of diamonds is attributed to the elements nitrogen, aluminum, and boron. The elements absorb ultraviolet light and vibrate at increasing speeds. To maintain physical stability, the elements release the absorbed energy in the form of photons of light, which is known as fluorescing.

The different grades of fluorescence are none, faint, medium, strong, and very strong. The degree of fluorescence determines how hazy the stone will look. Diamonds with very strong fluorescence appear the haziest. Nonetheless, fluorescence is not all bad. It usually improves the appearance of color, for instance, a medium fluorescent princess cut of a lower color grade will appear much whiter, giving it the illusion of being a color grade higher!

Analysis of carat

Whenever a discussion about diamonds abounds, the word carat is usually tossed around like a plastic bag in a hurricane. But, what does a carat really mean? Why is it relevant? Critics argue that when buying a diamond, its carat doesn’t matter because when you look at the stone, do you see its weight? No. Your eye only sees the physical attributes- color, shape, clarity, and cut. In most cases, only the top of the diamond is seen as the rest is covered in jewelry. It’s, therefore, crucial to strike a balance between buying a large diamond and one with substantial carat weight because a high carat diamond will not always appear larger.

In technical terms, one carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams such that when you buy a one carat stone, you have essentially purchased 0.2 grams of a diamond. While the carat size of stone has little bearing on its size, it has a tremendous impact on its economic value. The surprising thing is that the monetary value attached to high carat diamonds is not even largely because of its weight, but rather it’s based on people’s misplaced belief that bigger is better! Acquiring a bigger house, a bigger car or a bigger diamond is an indication of a person’s higher status and greater wealth. Who doesn’t want to be regarded as an upper class? Such misgivings have made many manufacturers sacrifice brilliance and color for more carat weight.

Analysis of Clarity

Clarity is the measure of imperfections that occur in diamonds such that the ones with the least flaws get the highest clarity grade. This measurement is not a reflection on the beauty of the stone. In fact, clarity, like the color is subject to individuals’ tastes and preferences. Unlike the square cuts of baguette, Asscher, and emerald, princess cuts tend to mask imperfections such that its clarity grade will not be so obvious. Clarity grading ranges from included (I), slightly included (SI), very slightly included (VS), very very slightly included (VVS), flawless (FL), and internally flawless (IF). It is rare to find princess cuts with I or SI clarity grading as the diamonds are cut from high-quality stones. For a princess cut diamond, SI1, VS1, or VS2 that appear clean to an observer will look great.

You know that saying, diamonds are forever. Well, when it comes to the princess cut, that is not the case! The four corners are prone to chipping, and if an imperfection occurs at any of the edges, the likelihood of chipping significantly increases. That is why one shouldn’t only rely on the stones lab reports because they only provide a measurement of clarity and do not point out where the imperfections are located. The good thing is this is only an issue for diamonds that haven’t been set or ones that need to be reset.

When choosing the clarity grade of stone, your primary focus should be on its size and whether or not the inclusions are visible to the naked eye. These two attributes are more important than the clarity of the diamond. A small stone with a clarity grading of VS2 or a VS1 large diamond will to the naked eye, give the illusion of being flawless.

Setting

The square shape and sharp corners of the princess cut mean that it does not always pair well with some design settings. The corners of the stone that are susceptible to chipping should ideally be mounted in a protective setting. For example, a bezel or halo design that surrounds the stone protecting all corners. You can also opt for a 4-prong V-shaped setting that holds the princess cut securely in place. This setting adds to the brilliance of the stone by allowing more light to pass through due to its use of less metal. Remember that princess cuts retain color slightly more than round brilliants. As such, take extra care when deciding on the color of the setting. If the princess cut is set with other stones, ensure that the accent diamonds are of the same color or only a grade higher or lower than the center stone.

Certification

Go for princess cut stones with certification from the American Gems Society Laboratories (AGSL) because it is the only lab that performs cut grading for this particular cut. The labs stringent cut grading process ensures that only top-notch stones receive ideal cut grades. Cutters take advantage of the fact that other labs do not report on a cut grade to flood the market with princess stones with inferior cuts but excellent symmetry and polish that lend it extra sparkle. Since cut reigns supreme in determining the brilliance and sparkle of stone, this narrows down the options leaving space for speculation on an ideal choice in terms of other attributes. Be careful of only relying on symmetry and polish criteria to judge the quality of a stone. Advanced technological assistance such as ASET- the report will serve you better in finding that perfect princess cut. The ratings in the report range from white for light leakages, which minimize brilliance and sparkle, green represents reflection quality, red defines areas with excellent light returns, and blue is for contrast.

Buying a Princess Cut

Buying a diamond is often equated to acquiring a lifelong partner as such, the purchase must be approached rationally.

Things to look for when buying a princess cut diamond

• Symmetry

The beauty of a cut lies in the symmetry of its facets. One can identify this by drawing an imaginary line right in the middle of the diamond. Observe the two halves. Are they similar? A top-notch cut will have the halves being almost identical in shape and size. Check that all the facets meet to form an inverted pyramid. Remember that the more the facets are symmetrical, the more attractive the diamond appears.

• Scintillation

This refers to the contrast of dark and light patterns of in the facets and table of the diamond. If the stone has an unequal balance of light and dark patterns, its appearance is less attractive than one whose patterns balance.

• No culet

A culet is the small horizontal facet on the point of the pavilion. It is usually present in a round cut diamond. Don’t expect it in a princess cut.

• Shape

A square princess cut is more attractive than a rectangular or tapered shape stone. Nonetheless, its length to width ratio should not exceed 1.05.

• Pavilion

When the stone is looked at from the side using a 10x loupe, its pavilion should gently slope from the girdle to the culet making the stone appear light and reducing its weight. In contrast, if the slope is steep, it creates a pavilion bulge.

Remember

• AGSL certification
• Rectangular princess cuts are cheaper.
• Fluorescing enhances color.
• Choose table percentage below 70 percent.
• For depth percentage, stay between 65 percent and 75 percent.
• Length to width ratio of 1.05 or less will appear square.
• Protective setting minimizes chipping corners.

If you’re looking to buy a stone with brilliance and sparkle while getting more diamond you’re your dollar, then the princess cut will serve you well. It’s the perfect stone to go down on your knee and daze your significant other. Or just to accessorize with a favorite little black dress on a girls night out. Every woman should feel like a princess at least once in a lifetime, and this aptly named princess cut will leave you feeling like royalty! Now that you know exactly what to look for, diamond shopping will be a breeze. You can spot the princess cuts of great beauty AND value.

Good luck!