What Is A Princess Cut Ring?

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If you are searching for the perfect engagement ring, then princess cut diamond engagement rings are an extremely popular choice today both with women and jewellers! Women love these rings because the cut accentuates a diamond’s fire and brilliance. Jewelers especially relish working on this type of cut too because, of all the cuts, it wastes the least amount of the original crystal. The cut does not refer to shape (round, oval, pear), but rather the symmetry (arrangement of facets), proportioning, and polish of the diamond. The way the diamond is cut seriously impacts the brilliance of the diamond.

The facet of a diamond is so important because every facet has the potential to change a light ray’s plane of travel or, in other words, light can enter a diamond from different directions and many angles.

The polish describes the smoothness of the diamond’s facets. If the polish of the diamond is poor, the surface of a facet can be dulled and, in turn, can create blurred or dulled sparkle. If the symmetry is poor, light can be misdirected as it enters and leaves the diamond.

Princess cut engagement rings have 76 facets in all. This is the main reason they give off so much brilliance and sparkle. This style was initially created because jewelers wanted to combine the best features of the round diamond and the best features of the square diamond. It was not until the 20th century, with the development of diamond saws and advanced jewelry lathes, used to create the symmetry, that jewelers could begin developing these diamond-cutting techniques, and the beautiful princess cut diamond was born.

When choosing a cut diamond ring, make absolutely certain that the setting for your princess cut engagement ring protects the four corners of the stone. This will ensure that the stone will not chip.

The variables that are used to calculate the value of diamonds are known as the 4 C’s – clarity, color, cut and carat.

Clarity is the clearness or purity of a diamond. The number, size, nature and location of the internal and external imperfections determine clarity. Before you purchase your princess cut engagement ring ask the jeweler some questions about the clarity of the stone. Is it flawless – if the stone has flaws how easy is it to see them at 10 times magnification? If it is very easy to see imperfections with the naked eye, the calibre of the stone is substandard. Be sure to enquire if the clarity of the diamond was treated, as all ‘clarity treated’ diamonds must be disclosed as such prior to the sale.

Color describes the amount of color the diamond contains. Colorless and near colorless as opposed to yellow is best. I already discussed the cut of a diamond above, and the carat is the unit of weight used.

If you are looking for a sparkling, beautiful ring for that special occasion, then the princess cut diamond engagement rings are certainly worth investigation.