Princess Cut Diamonds Basics

While the princess cut diamond is not the traditional diamond cut, it can be a great option for a person who wishes to wear a more unique and catchy diamond. It is similar to the round brilliant cut and is second popularity to it but is square-shape, where the round cut does not have any corners. It is also more forgiving of flaws or weaknesses than such diamond cuts as emerald or asscher. When viewed directly under the table, a distinct cross shaped reflection can be seen in the stone.

The cut was designed to get maximum brilliance from a square cut and has a high degree of light return for its square or rectangular cut. The princess cut has significantly grown in popularity in recent years.

The princess cut is a fairly new design for diamonds, having been created in the 1960’s. The name originated after being used in combination with the profile cut which was designed by a London cutter, Arpad Nagey, in 1961 and was developed after three years of optical research. The name was later made popular in Israel by Ygal

Perlman, Betzalel Ambar, and Israel Itzkowitz. Princess cuts are only made from rough diamond crystals which are high quality and well-formed. They are cut from octahedral, a true form of crystallisation of a diamond, and all the corners are left square to make the most of the particular crystal.

Princess cut diamonds are normally cheaper than the round cut diamonds. This is because it retains more of the rough diamond pure carat weight. This fact makes the cut a favourite among diamond cutters.

When choosing a princess cut diamond jewellery it must be remembered that the cut requires a four-pronged setting because the four corners need to be protected from chipping. There is no universal definition of what makes the ideal princess cut and there are only three labs that grade the cut: Accredited Gem Appraisers, American Gem

Society, and European Gem Laboratories. However, when choosing a diamond it is helpful to judge three basic aspects to determine the best colour, clarity, and cut quality.

A princess cut diamond’s colour is harder to judge than a round brilliant, simply because the light return on a round brilliant is greater so the true colour is better hidden. Luckily, as far as clarity’s concerned, the princess cut is pretty adequate at hiding inclusions. The hardest part, though, is judging a princess cut diamond’s cut clarity, because there is usually no grade, as mentioned earlier. It is best to simply choose whatever adheres to your taste best. On the plus side, this gives you greater flexibility in choosing a ‘high quality’ diamond.