The Royal Treatment - The Princess cut diamond is a relatively new addition to the world of diamond shapes. It was first developed in the 1960s by London-based designer Arpad Nagy, who reimagined the square-cut diamond as a profile cut that resulted in less wastage of the rough diamond during the cutting process. In the early 1970s, he was closely followed by Basil Watermeyer, a South African designer who invented the 'Barion' cut, which proved notoriously difficult to make.
The 'quadrillion' cut diamond, designed in 1979 by Israeli jewellers Betazel Ambar and Israel Itzkowitz, was the actual forerunner to the Princess Cut diamond in its current form.
Princess cut diamonds have climbed through the ranks in a relatively short period of time to become a popular choice for diamond buyers, particularly those searching for earrings or engagement rings, for a variety of reasons. Not the least of these benefits is the excellent value for money that a princess cut diamond provides. Princess cut diamonds are often priced 25-40% lower than a round brilliant diamond of comparable weight with the same colour and clarity when compared carat for carat.
Princess cut diamonds have the least amount of rough stone waste during the cutting process, resulting in significantly lower prices that are passed on to the consumer. A comparison of a round brilliant diamond and a princess cut diamond shows that from a 1 carat rough stone, a round brilliant yields approximately 40% (0.40 ct) and a princess cut yields nearly 80 – 90 percent (0.80 – 0.90 ct), which is a fairly significant difference when it comes to pricing a diamond.
Princess cut diamonds can have up to 50 facets, with 58 facets being the average. The facets on a cut diamond contribute to its brilliance and sparkle because each facet reflects light, and the more facets a diamond has, the more light it can gather and reflect back to a viewer's eyes.
The dazzling Elqan Ring with diamonds and amethysts is a great example. Cutters will also often choose high-quality raw stones from which to cut and polish princess cut diamonds, resulting in higher-quality final stones. The most frequent clarity grading for princess cut diamonds are VS2 and SI1, and finding stones with SI2 and I1 clarity might be difficult.
The best approach to safeguard your princess cut diamond engagement ring is to select a setting that covers and holds the stone's four sharp corners, preventing them from colliding with anything nearby. A 4-prong or claw setting is the most common and generally the safest setting for a princess cut diamond. Although this style of setting may appear unappealing to some customers, the advantage is that once your diamond is fastened, you can build your ring exactly how you or your significant other wish. The Adelle Ring features a princess cut stone set in a 4-prong or claw setting.
Princess cut diamonds are also slightly less expensive per carat than round cut diamonds. This is because the princess cut diamond's four-sided pyramid shape is analogous to one half of the octahedron raw stone from which it is cut. Because of this resemblance, two princess cut diamonds of identical size can be cut from the same rough stone with little waste (roughly 60 percent of the weight of the original rough stone is retained after cutting). The higher the efficiency, or yield, the lower the price.
The princess is generally carved in a square shape (four sides of equal length). Many princess cut diamonds, however, are slightly rectangular, but this is frequently difficult to notice. When all other factors are equal, the more rectangular a princess cut diamond, the cheaper the price. Some purchasers prefer a somewhat rectangular princess cut; it's all about figuring out what looks best on you. To the naked eye, any length to width ratio of 1.05 or less seems square. If the princess is set with side diamonds, a length to width ratio of 1.05 - 1.08 may still appear square because the side diamonds provide the illusion of larger width in the centre stone.
Color evaluation of princess cut diamonds is subjective. Remember that many customers may prefer the somewhat warmer tones of a G-H diamond to the chilly colorlessness of a D-F diamond. In truth, the majority of the price premium associated with princess cut diamonds at the higher end of the colour scale is due to supply and demand; clients desire the D-F colour grades and are prepared to pay a premium for them. In a world without diamond colour grading, the price premium for higher grades would be substantially lower because true colour distinctions are difficult to discern. The colour chart below serves as a general guide for assessing colour in princess cut diamonds.
The princess cut, a relative newcomer to the diamond world, was invented in 1981 by Betzalel Ambar and Israel Itskowitz. Princess cut diamonds are described as square modified brilliants in GIA grading reports, separating them from the step cut facet configurations found on other square diamonds such as the Asscher cut. A princess cut diamond can also be tapered or rectangular. Because the princess cut is shaped like an upside-down pyramid, with much of the weight concentrated in the pavilion, the final diamond may appear smaller than another diamond of a different shape but of similar carat weight.
