Princess Cut Diamonds – Princess Cut Engagement Rings
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If you’re out there looking for the best diamond for your money, then please contact me and let me know your budget and what you’re looking for. I’ll sift through thousands of diamonds online and send you a list of 4 or 5 suggested stones to choose from that fit your needs the best. Unlike the other sites, I’m not looking to sell you anything – my advice is objective and in your best interest. The service is free, and there is absolutely no commitment to buy any of my suggestions. You have nothing to lose!
Buying a Princess Cut Diamond Ring?
Bottom Line Recommendation:
- Color: I Color or better. H Color or I Color with a Princess Cut will give you the best value. Going higher in diamond color (to D, E, F, or G Diamond Color) will give you an incremental benefit, but I’m not convinced it’s worth the incremental price. I don’t recommend J color with Princess Cuts because they retain color slightly more than Round Brilliants.
- Clarity: Stick to VS2 clarity or SI1 clarity for the best value. SI2 and I1 clarity Princess Cut diamonds are in very short supply due to the high quality of diamond rough that Princess Cut Diamonds are cut from. If you can find one, and verify that it’s clean to the eye (with, for example, James Allen’s Virtual Loupe), then that’s even better. VS1, VVS2, VVS1, and Internally Flawless (IF, or FL) are great, but why spend more money if they all look the same (clean)?
- Cut Parameters for Princess Cut Diamonds:
- Depth: 65% to 75% (under 70% is very hard to find)
- Table: Below 75% (There are two schools of thought on this, the Small Table school and the Normal Table School. Try and look at both – below 68% table and above 70% table and see what you prefer. Just one note – small tables are much harder to find)
- Polish/Symmetry: Good, Very Good, or Excellent
- Length/Width Ratio: 1.00 to 1.05 for Square Princess Cut
The Princess Cut – Modern Cut Gaining in Popularity
According to Wikipedia’s article on Diamond Cut, the modern Princess Cut was first introduced in 1960 by A. Nagy of London. The Princess Cut is universally regarded as the runner-up to the Round Brilliant in today’s market. According to the chart from Jogia Diamonds’ blog that I refer to in my article about Diamond Shapes, a full 23% of searches on their site are for Princess Cuts. That’s still a far cry from the 64% for Round Brilliants, but consider that the second runner up was the Emerald Cut with only 3% of searches. The Princess Cut is squarely in 2nd place.
A Diamond Manufacturers Dream
As I mention in my article about Diamond Shapes, the Princess Cut is a favorite of diamond cutters for one very important reason — its yield from rough. Take a look at the picture on the left. Now imagine cutting that piece of rough in two down the middle . What you’d be left with, basically, are two princess cuts! All that’s left to do is add some structure to the top of the stone and some brilliant faceting. Now imagine just how much diamond material you would lose if you were to cut a Round Brilliant out of that piece of rough. The difference is quite stark: 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.
Another outgrowth of this phenomenon is that since Princess Cuts are only made from rough diamond crystals that are very high quality and very well formed, that usually correlates with cleaner rough as well. So the selection of clarity grades on Princess Cut Diamonds is notably skewed to the high end. You will never find a large selection of SI2 and I1 Princess Cuts. In fact, this always caused a problem for my former employer, Leo Schachter, since they were supplying major Princess Cut programs to the major retail chains. It was always a problem to meet SI2 and I1 Princess Cut demand.
Buying the Best Diamond for a Princess Cut Engagement Ring
Now that you’re more familiar with the background of the Princess Cut, lets get right to the information that’s pertinent to the consumer.
Color
When it comes to Diamond 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, I recommend when buying a Princess Cut diamond that you either pick an H or I Color Diamond. You can go higher than H, but I, personally, 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 a Princess Cut Engagement Ring, then you need to make sure the color of your center stone matches the color of the accent diamonds.
Clarity
Regarding Diamond 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 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. With Round Brilliant Cuts, I recommend buying SI2s or even I1s that are confirmed to be eye-clean. With Princess Cuts, though, it’s a bit harder to do since they are so few and far between. So, with Princess Cuts, I recommend buying VS2 or SI1 clarity diamonds that are confirmed to be eye-clean (you can do this with a tool such as James Allen’s Virtual Loupe).
Cut Quality
Perhaps the trickiest part of buying the best stone for a Princess Cut Diamond Ring is diamond cut quality. With Rounds, it’s easy. GIA tells you their opinion, and you can trust it. With Princess Cuts, though, you’re pretty much on your own. GIA will only grade Polish and Symmetry on a Princess Cut diamond. Unlike Rounds, there’s really no industry wide consensus on what parameters make up the perfect Princess Cut. There’s good reason for this, of course. As I mentioned earlier, the whole genesis of this cut sprang from a desire to minimize diamond loss on the polishing wheel. As opposed to premium cut Round Diamonds, Princess Cuts are cut to fit the shape of the rough, and not the reverse. So if a piece of diamond rough happens to be shaped like a well proportioned Princess Cut diamond, then it will, by chance, end up as one. But if a piece of diamond rough happens to be shaped like a very deep and not well proportioned Princess Cut, then it will, unfortunately, likewise end up as one. Diamond cutters don’t want to be forced to adhere to one specific standard of Princess Cut diamonds precisely because of this. They need the flexibility to be able to adapt their polished diamond to the rough diamond.
As I mentioned earlier in the Bottom Line Recommendation, look for a Total Depth between 65% and 75%. Generally lower is better. I prefer stones in the 68% to 73% range. They seem to give the best balance of brilliance to size. For Table Percentage, I recommend staying under 75%. As I alluded to in the introduction, there are two schools of thought regarding Princess Cut table sizes. One camp swears by small tables (68% and below) while others claim it really doesn’t matter, so they just go with what the rough naturally produces – slightly larger tables in the 73%-78% range. Small tables are the serious minority in the industry, so just be aware that if that is your taste, you might have a harder time finding a diamond.
If you would like help finding the perfect Princess Cut Diamond, then please feel free to contact me. I will usually answer rather quickly. I will be happy to scour the internet to help you find the best deal for the best diamond.
If you have any questions, please post them in the comments below. I will usually respond within 24 hours.
Related posts:
- Asscher Cut & Emerald Cut Engagement Rings and Diamonds
- Great Upgrade Stone – 1.58 carats G SI2 Princess Cut
- Diamond Cuts (Shapes)
- Q&A: Looking for Princess Cut Engagement Ring for $2500 to $3000
- Cushion Cut Diamonds – Cushion Cut Engagement Rings
Hi Mike,
Thank you for this very informative and easy to comprehend website! I just purchased this diamond (link included) a few hours ago. Now, I am aware I am going high on color and clarity, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go any lower..Being a bit OCD and just wanting the best I could afford, at 1 carat or above of course…. I know I could go lower in both categories but I couldn’t sacrifice the quality over quantity..taking in consideration that a better quality diamond can seem larger than a lesser quality of the same weight or even slightly larger…This is actually a step below what I was initially looking at which has saved me approx 1.2k…..Your opinion is appreciated….
Hi Kal-El. It’s a great looking stone! A diamond is only as useful as it makes the giver and receiver happy – it’s not an investment. So if this is what you need to make yourself happy, then that’s fine.
Thank you for your honest opinion!…..One more use of your expertise… As far as the table is concerned, I’ve read views which indicate a smaller table is better than a larger (within the ideal range that is)…with two nearly identical diamonds except a difference between a 68% or 72% table is there one that would be more ideal with regard to dispersion/scintillation/fire?
Also, between the link I included and this one, which one would you recommend? The 1.1 that is VS1 and the placement of inclusions shown on the report, how visible would that be to the eye in comparison to the VVS2 that I have selected? You have a trained eye for this, so your opinion is valued and appreciated.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1456099.asp
Hi Kal-el. I’m not sure the smaller table makes much of a difference in terms of brilliance, but I do tend to like the look of the smaller table more. So between the two stones you linked to, I definitely like the 1.10 E VS1 more.
Also, between the two stones, the measurements are off by only a couple hundredths of a point….Is that all it takes to make a difference in weight of .08ct and is it really visible to the naked eye with regard to size (I realize that carat refers to weight and not size).
In terms of size, these two diamonds will look identical. You need a difference of about 0.30mm to notice a difference in size.
Hi Mike-
What are thoughts on this diamond? thanks
http://www.israel-diamonds.com/product/Diamond/sg/37496.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fSearch%2fDiamonds%2fDefault.aspx
The table is really big and the depth is too shallow, but the price is amazing!
I’m looking for around a 1.5 carat princess cut diamond. Any diamonds you would suggest from jamesallen.com?
Thanks.
what’s your budget? What kind of ring is it going in? Yellow gold or white gold/platinum? Side stones?
ok. I’m looking at two different diamonds and settings at bluenile and jamesallen. Can you give me your opinion.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Good-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1421073.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/18k-White-Gold-3-Row-Pave-Set-Diamond-Engagement-Ring.html
total price=6,150.00
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?first_step=diamond&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP#diamonds_forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD02415381
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?oid=5336&sAction=basket&is_ring=1&action=add&builder=BYOR&offer_id=5336&shape=&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP
Total Price: 4,722.00
Hi Christoper. #1, I don’t comment on settings. That’s 100% a personal matter of taste and style. I can only help you with the technicals (ie, does the center stone match the side stones, etc).
#2, the stone you chose on James Allen is not nice. The table is too large and it’s off square (1.08 L/W ratio will look ever so slightly off-square).
This is a much better choice:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1454429.asp
The fact that it’s just under 1.00ct gives it much better value.
Thanks for the quick reply, but you didn’t have any opinion on the diamond at bluenile.?
Under $12,000. She likes a pave setting with a halo around the diamond. It would have to be a platinum because she’s allergic to nickel.
If that budget includes the ring, then please go to JamesAllen.com and find the ring you like and send me a link so I know how much $$$ is left for the diamond. Thanks!
Budget does not include the ring. But here’s the link to a ring I’m thinking she’ll like:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-9013.asp
Hey KV. This stone looks perfect:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1031598.asp
Great value with the SI2, and perfect cut!
Excellent web site! I wanted to get your opinion on a stone before I committed to the purchase. The GIA cert and the web site states the following:
Carat Weight: 1.00 carat
MM: 5.52X5.28X3.94
L/W: 1.045
Color: G
Clarity: VS2
Cut Premium
Depth: 74.6%
Table: 64%
Girdle:Very TK
Culet: None
Polish: EX
Symmetry:VG
Fluorescence: None
Price: $4,861
Thank you for your time and knowledge.
Hey Bryan. The price is right, but this is a nicer cut, so you might want to consider it:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1419926.asp
Mike, thank you for your prompt response. the diamond form JA looks like a great diamond as well. I do have one more question in regards to the diamond i asked you about. Do you think the very thick girdle is to thick? Also the depth and table % looks good to you?
Thank you!
Very thick is fine. The depth is a little high, that’s why I showed you the JA stone. It’s not terrible, but it’s on the higher end of the acceptable range.
Am looking into engagement rings and love your website. It has been so helpful to me. Can I get your opinion on these two diamonds I am looking at?
James Allen (searched first based off your review of James Allen and being able to see the actual diamond)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1442847.asp
Blue Nile
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?&pid=LD02413606&builder=BYOR&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP
Thanks,
TH
Hey TH. Thanks for the kind words. If the money isn’t an issue, the JA stone will look significantly larger, so I’d go with that one.
Hi
i have been searching high and low for a diamond i missed out on this one by about 24 hours can you please help me find one similar i want it to really sparkle my budget is about $3500 i would spend over 4ooo for the right diamond
http://www.israel-diamonds.com/product/Diamond/sg/37090.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fsearch%2fdiamonds%2fdefault.aspx%3floc%3dleft
this diamond was only $3500
greatly appreciate your help
antoni
Hi Antoni. This looks like a nice alternative: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1450993.asp
i bought this diamond yesterday.. just wanted your opinion if it was a goog buy.. thx
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1441453.asp
Great looking stone
Hi
Your site has been very helpful and has help taken some of my stress down a level. Thank you!
I am looking for a princess cut diamond for an engagement ring (platinum, 2 small blue sapphires accent stones and small round diamonds in the band). I think I will be in the 2000 to 3000 range for the stone and was looking at these.
1) http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&builder=BYOR&pid=LD02410792
2) http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&builder=BYOR&pid=LD02410792
I was wondering which you thought was better. Looking at the dimensions it would appear to me that the stones would look the same size from the top down
Hey Ken. You actually sent me the same link twice. The dimensions on this stone happen to be very very nice.
I am thinking about buying the following diamond… My budget is around 5,ooo for the diamond, princess, and at least 1 ct if possible. Thoughts or other ideas?
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1454109.asp
also thinking about this bluenile one”http://www.bluenile.com/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-very-good-cut-d-color-si2-clarity_LD02312215
Thanks!
Hi Allison. That stone looks great except for the small black inclusion dead center. I’m nervous it might be visible now that you know where it is. This is the best alternative I could find:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1442365.asp
As for the stone from BN – hopefully now you understand from your choice on JA that you absolutely cannot buy an SI2 blindly. You need to see a picture!
Hi Ira
I am considering buying a diamond from the 77diamonds.com website. I have chosen the following diamond and would very much appreciate your comments/recommendations. The ring is going to retail at approx £8.7k excl VAT. This is the first time I am buying:
Shape: Princess
Carat: 1.32
Colour: E
Clarity: VVS2
Certificate: GIA
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Table: 71.00%
Depth: 73.50%
Thanks
RR
Hi RR. Why such a high color and clarity? Have you seen my Color and Clarity articles? Everything else looks fine, it’s just that this is a ton of money to spend when you don’t need to. Even just one drop down in color can get you a much better value. Something like this:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1413535.asp
Their shipping is free, and this price is also obviously excl VAT. This price in GBP is only 6290! The price INCLUDING VAT is only 7611 GBP.
Hi Mike
Thank you for your comments. I would love to order from one of your recommended retailers, but I am being offered the below diamond on a platinum ring on a finance package which is ideal for me. Please let me know what you think of the following diamond:
Shape: Princess
Carat: 1.31
Colour: F
Clarity: VVS2
Certificate: GIA
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Table: 71.20%
Depth: 70.00%
Measurements: 6.08×5.96×4.24
Many Thanks
RR