Diamonds
Princess Cut Diamond Rings: The Square Alternative to Round
The princess cut is sometimes described as a square version of the round brilliant, which is accurate in terms of the facet system but misses the most important practical difference: those corners.
The Cut’s Identity
What Makes a Princess Cut Different From Other Square Shapes
The princess cut — developed in the 1960s and refined into its current form in the 1980s by Betzalel Ambar (no relation to this studio) and Israel Itzkowitz — is a square or near-square brilliant cut with pointed corners. Its defining visual characteristics are its sharp, 90-degree corners, its square outline, and its brilliant-cut facet arrangement that produces light return comparable to round brilliants for a given level of cutting precision.
The princess cut is distinct from the radiant cut, which shares the square shape but has truncated corners rather than sharp points, and from the asscher and emerald cuts, which use step-cut faceting rather than brilliant-cut faceting. The radiant cut looks softer and more cushioned at the corners; the princess cut looks crisp and geometric. The emerald and asscher cuts have a completely different optical character — they emphasize depth and reflection rather than brightness and scintillation.
The face-up appearance of a well-cut princess is characterized by X-shaped light patterns radiating from the center, with chevron-style facets in the quadrants and a specific arrangement of main facets that creates organized, symmetrical scintillation. The number of chevron facets — typically 2, 3, or 4 per quadrant — is a variable in princess cutting that affects the stone’s visual pattern. Two chevrons produce fewer, larger scintillation elements; four chevrons produce a more divided, detailed pattern. Neither is objectively superior; it is an aesthetic preference.
The Corner Risk
The Most Important Practical Consideration in Princess Buying
The princess cut’s pointed corners are its most significant durability vulnerability. Diamond is the hardest natural material, but hardness and brittleness are separate properties. Diamond cleaves readily along its octahedral crystal planes — meaning a sharp impact at the correct angle splits the crystal cleanly rather than scratching it. The pointed corners of a princess cut place the stone’s most acute angles at positions where edge impacts during daily wear are most likely.
A chipped corner on a princess cut is one of the most common ring damage events I see in studio. It most often results from striking the corner against a hard countertop, doorframe, or stone surface. The repair requires recutting — the chipped corner must be polished out, which removes some carat weight and changes the stone’s outline from a pointed corner to a truncated one. This effectively converts the stone from a princess cut to a radiant cut at that corner, and the combination is aesthetically incoherent.
The preventive solution is the setting. Princess cuts require corner prongs — prongs placed directly at the four corners that protect the most vulnerable points of the stone. V-shaped corner prongs, also called V-tips, are the preferred solution because they cup the corner geometry rather than simply sitting adjacent to it. The prong configuration is not optional. A princess cut in a setting that leaves corners exposed or underprotected is a maintenance problem waiting to happen.
Cut Quality in Princess Cuts
What GIA Measures and What It Does Not
GIA (Gemological Institute of America) does not issue an overall cut grade for princess cut diamonds. It reports the 4Cs — color, clarity, carat weight — plus polish, symmetry, and fluorescence, but no comprehensive cut quality assessment equivalent to the round brilliant’s Excellent grade. This is the same gap that exists for all fancy shapes and creates the same evaluation challenge.
For princess cuts, the key proportional variables are table percentage (ideal range 62 to 72 percent for princess) and total depth percentage (ideal range 64 to 75 percent). A princess cut with a table above 75 percent loses fire because the large flat surface returns light uniformly without the crown facets providing dispersive refraction. A total depth above 80 percent buries mass in the pavilion where it does not contribute to face-up appearance.
The length-to-width ratio for a princess cut determines whether it reads as square or slightly rectangular. A ratio of 1.00 to 1.05 reads as square. Above 1.08, the rectangular tendency becomes visible face-up. Most buyers targeting the princess cut prefer the squarest possible outline — anything above 1.05 should be evaluated in person to confirm whether the slight rectangle is acceptable.
Setting Options
Designing Around the Square Brilliant
The four-prong V-tip setting in white gold or platinum is the conventional princess cut mounting and remains appropriate for most contexts. Channel-set princess side stones on a princess center stone create a clean, geometric aesthetic that emphasizes the cut’s architectural quality. Baguette side stones frame a princess center differently — the parallel step-cut sides of the baguette contrast with the brilliant-cut center in a way that can be compelling or jarring depending on execution.
Halo settings for princess cuts use smaller diamonds cut to fit the straight and pointed geometry of the shape. Square halos around a princess center amplify the geometric identity of the stone. Round halos are also used but tend to soften the visual language of the cut, which may or may not be the intended effect. Channel-set bands on both sides of a princess solitaire are among the most enduring designs in the contemporary engagement ring market.
What People
Ask Us
Is a princess cut more or less expensive than a round brilliant? Princess cuts typically cost 10 to 25 percent less per carat than round brilliants of equivalent quality because they are cut more efficiently from rough diamond — less material is lost in achieving the square shape than in achieving a perfect circle. This price difference makes princess cuts attractive for buyers who want maximum visible size per dollar in a geometric format.
What is the best clarity grade for a princess cut? VS2 and above for most princess cuts. The princess cut’s brilliant facet arrangement is moderately good at masking inclusions compared to step cuts, but not as effective as round brilliants. VS2 is reliably eye-clean in princess cuts across common sizes. SI1 can work if the specific stone is examined and inclusions confirmed to be off-center and non-dark, but SI1 acceptance based solely on grade should not be automatic.
Can a princess cut be set in a bezel? A full bezel for a princess cut requires a square metal collar that covers the corners, providing excellent corner protection. The aesthetic is more modern and industrial than prong settings and is appropriate for some design intentions. Partial bezels that leave the corners exposed defeat the purpose of the bezel for corner protection. If you want a bezel, use a full bezel with metal walls that reach the corners.
How do I tell the difference between princess and radiant cuts? The corners are the reliable distinguishing feature. A princess cut has perfectly sharp, 90-degree pointed corners. A radiant cut has truncated corners — the corner is cut off to create a small diagonal facet, giving the stone an octagonal edge profile rather than a purely square one. Under magnification, the difference is immediately apparent. Face-up, the princess looks crisper and more angular; the radiant looks slightly softer.
Does a princess cut look larger than a round brilliant of the same weight? In face-up area, yes — a princess cut typically shows slightly more face-up surface per carat than a round brilliant because the square outline uses the stone’s width differently. Perceptually, though, round brilliants often appear larger to observers because the eye reads the widest dimension (diameter) rather than area. The princess cut’s square aspect reads differently on the finger than the round’s circular aspect; the comparison is less about size than about different visual footprints.
Continue Reading
- Quadrillion Cut vs Princess Cut: What Is the Difference?
- Rose Cut Diamond Rings
- Round Brilliant Cut: Why Cut Quality Determines Everything
Explore the Bez Ambar diamond education guide.
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