Princess Cut Lab-Grown Diamonds: Everything to Know Before Buying
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IN THIS ARTICLE
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- 01 What is a princess-cut diamond?
- 02 The history of princess-cut diamonds
- 03 The pros of buying princess-cut diamonds
- 04 The cons of buying princess-cut diamonds
- 05 Princess-cut lab-grown diamonds: how to save budget while buying
- 06 Princess-cut lab-grown diamond engagement ring: how to choose and where to buy?
As one of the most popular fancy-cut diamonds, the princess cut is celebrated for its modern and edgy look, as well as its compatibility with almost any style of jewelry. This is especially true for engagement rings.
If you’re considering buying a princess cut lab-grown diamond and want to understand this sparkling diamond shape a little better, this guide will give you some pointers.
What is a princess-cut diamond?
The princess cut is one of the most exuberant shapes for diamonds. It brims with modernity and excellent fire, and has won the hearts of jewelry lovers across generations. Since it was introduced back in the 1960s, it’s never fallen out of fashion.
Featuring the traditional square shape of diamonds, but in an inverted pyramid pattern, the princess cut is marked by its dazzling sheen and intricate facets. What’s more, you’ll get all of that beauty at a lesser cost per carat compared to Round Cut diamonds.
If you’re new to the world of princess-cut diamonds (or lab-made diamonds in general), here’s a quick orientation. We’ll examine the anatomy of excellent princess-cut diamonds, as well as options to consider for different needs – engagement rings, a loved one’s gift, or a nice addition to your personal collection.
The history of princess-cut diamonds
Although the princess cut is a relatively new addition to the modern engagement ring world, it has roots buried deep in medieval times. It’s a modern incarnation of the traditional square cut, which originated as the “French cut” back in the 14th century. The princess cut began to emerge as a distinct style in the 1960s as diamond cutters became obsessed with the angle of square facets.
A few decades later, the princess cut firmly asserted itself as a staple style. With its scintillating modern look, the princess cut ranks second today (next to the classic round cuts) among the most popular diamond shapes for engagement rings.
The pros of buying princess-cut diamonds
More and more people are choosing a princess-cut diamond over a round brilliant diamond as a center stone for their engagement rings. Here are some of the major selling points of princess-cut diamonds:
Better price
The relatively easier cutting process for princess-cut diamonds minimizes the cost of production, allowing jewelry lovers to get bigger, more intense diamond pieces at a lower price compared to the traditional round cut.
Diamond manufacturers only need to divide a rough diamond – which usually has a cubic shape – in two to create princess-cut diamonds. This not only saves time and energy, but also prevents wastage from multiple cuts. With the princess cut, diamond manufacturers can retain 80% to 90% of a rough diamond, compared to just 40% with round cuts. This is why princess-cut diamonds cost roughly 30% less compared to round cuts.
Larger size
The prospect of having larger eye candy for the same price compared to other popular cuts makes economic sense to most diamond shoppers. Besides the higher carat-to-price rate, you also get a relatively bigger princess-cut diamond for the same price due to the sheer shape of the diamond. The same carat weight looks bigger in the princess cut compared to other cuts because the inverted square has a much larger surface diameter, as well as wider scatter angles for bouncing light.
Incredible finesse
The princess cut has a unique way of hiding flaws with a remarkable pattern of light dispersion that covers deficient clarity and color. Normally, natural flaws, extra facets and other inclusions of a princess-cut diamond appear at the corner of the stone. Because of this, if set with prong settings that protect and cover the corner, the flaws will be invisible after the diamond is mounted in the jewelry.
Excellent fire
Fire refers to the spectrum of light bouncing off a diamond. High levels of fire might appear too flashy, and low levels of fire result in a dull diamond that does not sparkle. Princess cut, however, has just the right level of fire, giving off a decent spectrum with a soothing charm. Princess-cut diamonds often have two to four cross patterns on their table. Diamonds with four patterns have more scintillation while diamonds with two patterns reflect a bolder sparkle of light.
The cons of buying princess-cut diamonds
As noted earlier, princess-cut diamonds do have some disadvantages that make them less appealing to certain buyers. Here are some of the points you may need to take into account while considering buying them:
Sub-Par brilliance
Unfortunately, brilliance is not an aspect where the princess cut is on equal footing with the round cut. But it’s not just the princess cut. When it comes to brilliance, round diamonds are in a league of their own, and princess-cut produce the most similar fire and brilliance compared to other fancy cuts.
Durability
Unlike round-cut diamonds, princess-cut diamonds have many protruding edges. The four corners that are weak points of the diamond which are likely to chip. It’s always advisable to protect them with prongs.
Princess-cut lab-grown diamonds: how to protect your budget while buying
Princess-cut diamonds match round-cut diamonds in many regards, giving you just as good (or better) of a stone for the same price. Just like round-cut, princess-cut diamonds command a moderate price tag. It’s not the cheapest, but it does offer the best bang for your buck among all of the fancy cuts.
Choosing lab-grown princess-cut diamonds instead of natural diamonds
If you want to save your budget, the origin of the diamond is important to consider. While sharing the same physical, chemical, and optical properties as natural mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds generally cost far less (typically 30-50%) compared to natural diamonds, and princess-cut lab diamonds are no exception.
Another good thing about choosing a lab-grown diamond is that you will have a wider range of choices for your diamond’s 4Cs, and you can even customize your diamond. For a reasonable price that is much less expensive than a natural diamond, companies like Sunny Eden™ offer you the chance to create a truly unique and meaningful diamond out of the carbon extracted from your and your loved one’s hair.
From 0.1 carat to 3 carats, you can create your one-of-a-kind princess-cut diamond and even choose to grow it in fancy colors such as yellow, pink, blue, and green to tell your special love story.
The most cost-effective 4C grades for princess-cut lab-grown diamonds
The 4Cs not only determine a diamond’s quality, but also the main factors that affect its price. Although ideal 4Cs mean the best quality, they reflect expensive prices. If you are willing to buy relatively high-quality princess-cut lab-grown diamonds at the best value for money, here are some of our 4C recommendations:
Carat weight
The choice of carat weight for your princess-cut lab-grown diamond largely depends on your budget and preferences. It is common to want the biggest carat weight within your budget. However, we do not recommend you contribute all of your budget to the diamond carat weight, as a big-carat princess-cut diamond of a lower quality will not look as impressive as a smaller diamond with a higher quality cut and less visible inclusions.
When buying a princess-cut lab-grown diamond, it is advisable to purchase one with a relatively smaller carat weight, but well-cut with decent color and clarity grade. What’s more, a princess-cut diamond which is cut in a more rectangular shape appears larger which allows you to go for a carat weight of 0.9 carats instead of 1 carat. This can save you a great deal of money!
Cut grade
The cut describes how the attributes of a diamond interact with light – shape, size, etc. There are no hard standards to grade the cuts of princess cuts, and this is where your preference and personality can shine through. Although it doesn’t really affect the quality, your choices here can still make a difference.
It is best to choose a princess cut diamond with a depth percentage of 65-75%, table percentage of 75% and below, a length-to-width ratio up to 1.05, a slightly thick girdle to support the prongs, and a polish and symmetry grade of “good” or better. A princess-cut diamond that meets the above criteria has almost the same brilliance, sparkle and fire as those with “ideal” or “excellent” cut grades, but is much less expensive.
Color grade
With its special structure and design, a princess-cut diamond has a lower retro-reflectivity than a round-cut diamond and can better hide the original color of the diamond. Thus, when buying a princess-cut lab-grown diamond, you can choose a lower color grade to save your budget.
For a colorless princess-cut lab-grown diamond, we recommend a color grade between G to E, depending on its size. If you are setting the diamond in rose gold or yellow gold setting, you can even go for a lower color grade (an H-I color for the best price value).
Clarity grade
Due to their special structure, the inclusions or flaws at the corner of the princess-cut diamonds may cause cracks when setting them in the jewelry. Thus, it is important to make sure there are no obvious inclusions at any of the corners when buying princess-cut lab-grown diamonds.
To save your budget, we recommend choosing a clarity grade of VS2-SI1 (VS1 for diamonds bigger than 1 carat) instead of higher ones, as these above-mentioned clarity grades already give your princess-cut diamond a clean, eye-catching look for a decent price.
Princess-cut lab-grown diamond engagement rings: how to choose and where to buy
Fancying a princess-cut diamond engagement ring? Here are some frequently asked questions about princess-cut lab-grown diamond engagement rings. Hopefully the answers below can help you on your journey of buying your dream engagement ring.
Are princess-cut lab-grown diamonds popular for engagement rings?
Yes, princess-cut lab-grown diamonds are an increasingly popular choice for engagement rings. Currently, the round cut continues to dominate as the most popular cut choice for engagement rings due to their unrivaled brilliance, enchanting fire, and high durability. However, given their excellent beauty and elegant and timeless look, princess-cut diamonds come in at a close second and are definitely a perfect choice for engagement rings.
Princess-cut diamonds have surged in popularity since their inception. In fact, they currently account for roughly 1 of 3 engagement rings, and lab-grown princess cut diamonds make up a significant portion of that because of their cost-efficient prices.
Where can I buy a custom princess-cut lab-grown diamond engagement ring at an affordable price?
If you would like to have your princess-cut lab-grown diamond engagement ring custom-made on a limited budget, it is better to do it online than go to a local jeweler. Customization does not always mean expensive, and brands like Sunny Eden™ make it possible for you to get an affordable personalized engagement ring in just a few simple steps.
Sunny Eden™ gives you total control over the engagement ring customization process. You’ll get access to a wide range of customization options, plus an expert guide to help you make the right choices. At Sunny Eden™ you can even design your own engagement ring from a sketch. By sending a photo or even just talking about an idea, professional jewelry designers will help to make that stunning look you dream of come true.
The most important thing is that you can customize your center diamond from the carbon extracted out of your and your partner’s hair, which is the biggest difference about the Sunny Eden™ custom diamond engagement ring that makes it special and one-of-a-kind. Starting from $2000, you can crystalize the essence of you and your partner into a stunning diamond!
In addition to classic colorless, you can even customize your princess-cut lab-grown diamond with fancy colors such as pink, blue, yellow, and green to express your personality and represent your unique love story.
What's the best carat weight to choose for a princess-cut lab-grown diamond engagement ring?
Choosing the carat weight for the center diamond of an engagement ring largely depends on your budget. Normally, the most popular carat weight for an engagement ring is 1 carat. This is specifically the case for round-cut diamonds.
Princess-cut lab-grown diamonds have a relatively larger surface area compared to round cuts, which makes them appear larger. So, how big is a one carat princess-cut lab-made diamond? If well-cut, a 1ct princess diamond should come in at about 5.5 mm by 5.5mm in dimensions which is quite an eye-catching size.
Based on this feature of princess-cut diamonds, a 0.9-carat princess-cut lab-grown diamond will produce almost the same visual effect on the size as a 1-carat round-cut diamond, allowing buyers to save their budget.
Which jewelry setting should I choose to set a princess-cut lab-grown diamond?
There is a plethora of diamond setting types to secure a diamond, such as a prong, bezel, tension, and channel settings. Which one is the best for princess-cut lab-grown diamonds? Due to its special structure, the four corners of a princess-cut lab-grown diamond are relatively fragile. To protect these corners from cracking, it is recommended to set your princess-cut diamond in a V-prong setting.
To get an optimal looking princess-cut lab-grown diamond ring, you should choose your ring setting metal material based on the color and size of your diamond. For a J-color princess-cut center stone, rose gold and yellow gold settings are the best fit. For H or I color diamonds, it is better to use white gold or platinum.
What setting style should I choose for my princess-cut lab-diamond engagement ring?
The setting style will largely influence the appearance of an engagement ring. Princess-cut diamonds can pair with almost every ring setting, including halo, solitaire, cluster, and three-stone. They can also fit well with any style from classic or vintage to natural-inspired or modern.
To choose the best setting style, it is recommended to correspond the style with the wearer’s personality and characteristics. A classic solitaire style with an edgy and modern look may be suitable for active personalities, and a vintage-style princess-cut diamond engagement ring with dainty and delicate decorations may be more suitable for elegant women. These are just some suggestions, but each ring style is perfectly unique just like your partner.
If you are not sure about your style, you are welcome to contact Sunny Eden™’s professional jewelry consultant for help. They will give you personalized suggestions on the diamond and ring settings, all tailor-made to your needs. At Sunny Eden™, you can custom design your own princess-cut lab-diamond engagement ring. We’re always eager to help you bring your dream engagement ring into reality.
