The second most popular cut for engagement rings today, by a long shot, is the princess cut. Ladies love those clean lines, crazy sparkly hearts and arrows, and perfectly crisp corners. The princess cut steals many a heart, and our RLJ brides can’t get enough. So when their grooms come to us to start shopping, all they need to do is tell us their budget so we can find the perfect princess cut for their lovely ladies. Now, you already know I can’t tell you how much a 2 carat diamond costs, but I can show you what one looks like. I took this picture of three of our fabulous princess cut engagement rings, two of which are similar in size. The third is, of course, a certified B.A.D. Literally it’s certified (EGL) and it wouldn’t be a post ’round these parts if I didn’t include at least one massive diamond. It shows off the difference that 4 carats of solid ice makes, and the lighter two diamonds demonstrate that to the naked eye, the difference between carat weights is pretty subtle. All the better for our grooms’ budgets and for their fiancé’s ring pics. Remember, a princess cut is a more bottom-heavy cut, so a significant portion of its carat weight is not in its table – so less surface area. Which is why I always recommend a radiant cut as a more cost effective option for the guys and gals looking for the biggest rock possible for their budget. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and many a heart have nothing but love for the princess cut.
The princess cut diamond is a variation of the French cut, with its criss cross facet design. It’s a relatively newer diamond cut, hailing back only to the 1960′s. It skyrocketed to popularity as an equally symmetrical alternative to the round brilliant. Again, its only down side is that you need more carats to achieve the same surface area as a round brilliant (because on the round the corners will have been cut down to a circle.) And the facets are completely different. While the princess cut still achieves that fire and flash that brilliant cuts are famous for, it’s got chevron shaped facets in its pavilion, giving it a unique and highly covetable pattern. So while GIA calls a princess cut a “square modified brilliant” it’s not simply a square shaped brilliant cut.
And speaking of cut, GIA doesn’t grade the quality of cuts on a princess. Only EGL, AGA and AGSL will give it a specific grade – though GIA will still grade for the other 3 C’s. Both of the smaller beauties above are GIA certified, and the largest one is EGL certified, so you can take your pick from our two favorite diamond grading labs.
