The Princess Cut
The princess cut is probably one of the best known styles of diamond you can buy today, the gem often being often set in gold or platinum. This cut is a relatively recent innovation having been developed in the late 1970s as a variation of the earlier Barion cut. The princess is particularly popular as a solitaire stone in rings, earrings or studs.
One particular square form of the Princess cut is called the Quadrillion.
What Is The Princess Cut?
The Princess is a modified form of the standard and ever-popular round brilliant cut and is sometimes referred to as a square modified brilliant cut. Whereas the top of the Round Brilliant is circular, the Princess cut produces a square or a rectangle. Thus whilst the Round Brilliant resembles a cone the Princess is more like a four sided pyramid. The number of facets on the finished gem varies depending on the exact cutting, 50 and 58 are popular choices.
Advantages
Why are Princess cut diamonds so popular? Part of the reason is that the shape maintains more of the original stone than the round brilliant. An octahedral rough diamond can often be split in two to yield two stones which in turn produce two Princesses with a total weight greater than a round brilliant from the same original stone. Because less of the orginal stone is wasted you can get more stone for your money; this means that the price of a Princess cut diamond is often less than would be expected for a round brilliant of similar carat weight.
Disadvantages
The Princess cut isn't without its problems as a gemstone. The corners are prone to chipping and damage so when used in jewelry such as rings they are often protected by the setting using metal prongs. Sometimes the corners of the stone will be deliberately "clipped" during cutting to make setting easier.