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Princess Cut Diamonds Guide

Learn more about diamond shapes and their properties. Find the perfect diamond and create your unique diamond engagement ring.

The princess cut diamond is the second most popular diamond ring shape, after the round brilliant cut. First developed in the 1960’s, the shape of the stone is typically square, with similar brilliance and cut to the round brilliant cut diamond. To achieve the perfect square shape, a length to width ratio would be 1.0 to 1.03.

From the side and bottom views, the diamond has a pyramid shape with bevelled sides joining together. The princess cut allows most light to enter the stone compared to any other square or rectangular shaped diamond. The shape’s most important feature is the symmetry – perfect the cut and everything else will follow suit.

The diamond shape is a popular choice for engagement rings, earrings, pendants and diamond set wedding bands. The shape of the stones allows them to be placed near one another without any gaps, creating the perfect full eternity ring. When selecting a setting for a princess cut diamond, make sure it covers the sharp diamond corners.

Princess cut diamonds could be slightly cheaper due to the cutting process. With Princess cut, up to 80% of the raw diamond could remain in the cut and polished stone, compared to round brilliant cut diamond where about 50% of the raw diamond is used.