Princess-cut diamonds feature clean edges and bright fire, creating a sharp, modern look that honors your bond and future together. Explore our collection with confidence.
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Princess settings come with V-tip prongs over each of the four sharp corners as standard, so the corner geometry that defines the cut stays protected from chipping during daily wear.
Pavé, halo, three-stone, and bezel princess settings are stocked in 14k gold, 18k gold, and platinum, and the entry point into the collection is a thin solitaire priced at $1,925.
One jeweler at our Los Angeles workshop handles the setting, polishing, and final inspection of each princess ring. Every piece is crafted in recycled gold. The finished ring ships overnight, fully insured, and requires a signature upon delivery.
Every ready-to-ship princess ring includes free 30-day returns. After that, a lifetime warranty covers resizing, polishing, prong tightening, and replacement of small accent stones.
A princess cut is one of the brightest square diamond shapes because its faceting borrows from the round brilliant, and its crisp 90-degree corners give it the sharpest outline of the common cuts. The Asscher is also square, but its Art Deco look comes from concentric step facets that produce broad flashes instead of the princess’s sparkle. It also needs a higher clarity grade than a princess at the same budget, because those open facets make inclusions more visible.
The cushion takes the same square footprint and softens every edge, rounding the corners into something gentler on the hand. The princess keeps the geometry crisp, emphasizing straight lines and defined corners. In daily wear, the difference is at the corners, where the cushion’s rounded edges need no extra protection, and the princess depends on its V-tip prongs.
The emerald cut is an elongated rectangle with cropped corners and step facets parallel to the edges. Its appeal is depth and clarity rather than sparkle, with long flashes that travel across the table as the hand moves. That look requires a cleaner stone, since step facets show inclusions a brilliant pattern would mask. The princess gives dense sparkle across the whole face instead, and it forgives lower clarity grades, which matters on a budget.
The decision here is mostly about the finger. The marquise is an elongated shape with pointed ends, and because the eye registers length before width, it makes shorter fingers look longer, which is why it has come back into fashion. The princess sits square on the hand, a better match for a wearer who prefers a symmetrical, centered stone.
An old European cut is round, antique, and slightly imperfect in a way modern cuts engineer out, with chunky hand-cut facets and a culet you can see through the table. Most surviving stones date from the late 1800s through the 1930s, so no two are alike. The princess is machine-cut with exact symmetry, and the choice between them comes down to a taste for precision versus an antique character.
Where the princess is the contemporary pick, the old mine cut is the oldest shape here, a squarish antique cut with a high crown, a small table, and an irregular outline that varies stone to stone because each was cut by hand. Its sparkle comes in broader, slower flashes, especially under low light. A buyer drawn to heirloom character should look at the old mine, while a buyer who wants uniform proportions and a bright modern face-up should stay with the princess.
A pear narrows to a single point and, worn point-out, draws the eye down the finger, which is the effect behind its return in recent seasons. It is also asymmetrical, so setting orientation becomes a real decision. The princess avoids that question, since it offers the same profile from every angle and a look a traditional family would recognize on sight. With a pear, plan on choosing point-up or point-out before the setting is made.
The biggest practical difference between these two cuts is durability. The radiant crops the corners of the square, so there is no exposed point to snag on a sweater cuff or take a knock against a counter, while the pointed corners of a princess catch more and rely on V-tip prongs. The radiant also has more visual movement, while the princess emphasizes crisp geometry. For hands-on daily wear, the radiant is the lower-maintenance choice.
The round brilliant has more total light return than any fancy shape and a larger face-up at the same carat weight. The princess typically costs 20 to 40% less per carat at the same grades while keeping a crisp square outline. The same budget stretches further on a princess.
"We don't believe in one right answer when it comes to diamonds. Lab-grown or natural stone to finished pieces, what matters is that you walk away with something exceptional. That's always been our standard."
- Blake Asaad, founder
A princess-cut diamond is a square or near-square modified brilliant cut with sharp 90-degree corners and 49, 58, or 76 facets, depending on the chevron pavilion design. The pavilion is shaped like an inverted pyramid that converges to a point, with no flat culet. The modern princess was developed in 1979 by Israeli cutters Betzalel Ambar and Israel Itzkowitz, building on a 1961 profile cut by London cutter Arpad Nagy.
Yes. The four pointed 90-degree corners of a princess cut are the most vulnerable feature on the stone because they lie close to the cleavage plane and concentrate stress. A standard round prong sits along the sides of the stone, leaving the corners exposed to impact. V-shaped prongs that cradle each corner are the standard recommendation. V-tip prongs on all four corners, a partial bezel around the stone, or a full bezel are the safest setting options.
A princess-cut engagement ring is a modern classic rather than an antique or a dated shape. The modern princess emerged in 1979 and reached its peak market share in the early 2000s, when it ranked second behind round at about 25 to 30% of sales. Current share is around 7% as oval and elongated cuts have taken share. Princess is an established choice with strong design heritage rather than a trend-driven shape on the market today.
A princess cut delivers crisp, bright, geometric sparkle but less total light return than a round brilliant. The round brilliant remains the benchmark for brilliance, fire, and scintillation, with 58 facets optimized for light performance. The princess uses a chevron pavilion pattern with brilliant-style crown facets that produce sharp, angular flashes of light. Its sparkle appears more geometric than a round’s and often shows a visible X pattern under bright light.
Yes. A princess cut holds more of its weight in pavilion depth because of its inverted pyramid shape, which leaves a smaller face-up than a round diamond of the same carat weight. A well-cut 1-carat princess measures around 5.5 by 5.5 millimeters, while a 1-carat round measures about 6.4 millimeters in diameter. The corner-to-corner diagonal of a princess is longer than its width, which helps offset some of the difference in visual spread.
Each option protects the corners differently. A solitaire with V-tip prongs wraps each corner in metal as the standard tip protection and keeps the classic look. A bezel offers the safest option, since the full metal collar around the stone covers each corner entirely, eliminating corner exposure. A halo’s metal frame and accent stones add a partial buffer around the corners, though less directly than V-tips or a bezel.
A princess cut yields about 80 to 90% of the rough crystal during cutting, while a round brilliant wastes around 60% of the rough. The yield difference lowers the per carat cost of the princess compared with the round. Demand is also lower for princess than for round, further softening princess pricing. Princess cuts typically cost 20 to 40% less per carat than round brilliants at the same color and clarity grade, with the gap widening at larger carats.
Sharp corners concentrate body color on a princess, so G or H is the safe target for platinum or white gold settings, where the cool metal looks cleanest against the stone. The corners and culet point of a princess can concentrate body color more than a round does, so dropping below H in white metal can show tint at the corners of the stone. I and J work in yellow or rose gold rings, where faint tint blends into the warm metal across the table.
VS2 and SI1 are typically the best-value clarity grades for a princess-cut diamond. The brilliant chevron pattern hides moderate inclusions well in the body of the stone. Inclusion location is the one caveat. Avoid inclusions at or near the corners because the prongs apply pressure there, and a corner inclusion can increase the risk of chipping. Eye-clean SI1 stones with the inclusion centered or under a prong are safe choices, and some SI2 stones can also work.
Yes. Princess-cut diamonds work well in three-stone engagement rings because their square shape pairs cleanly with a variety of side stones. Common choices include trapezoids with a straight edge that sits flush against the center stone, tapered baguettes for an Art Deco look, and smaller princess cuts for a uniform geometric design. The GOODSTONE collection includes Translunar Tapered Baguette and Triad three-stone designs with princess centers in stock.
For many buyers, yes. Lab-grown princess-cut diamonds are widely available across the full carat range and typically cost far less than comparable natural diamonds. Reported pricing for a 2-carat lab-grown princess ranges from roughly $1,600 to $6,100 depending on color and clarity, while a comparable natural stone may range from roughly $5,400 to $32,900. Lab-grown diamonds often cost 40 to 70% less, depending on the specifications. We offer both lab-grown and natural princess cuts through our configurator.
There is no single best metal for a princess-cut engagement ring. Platinum is the most protective option because its density holds V-tip prongs and corner pressure well, and it does not yellow. White gold offers a similar look at a lower cost. Yellow and rose gold create warm contrast against the diamond and can complement lower color grades. Choose based on your style, skin tone, and budget.
A straight wedding band often sits flush against a princess-cut engagement ring because the flat bottom edge of the princess silhouette runs parallel to the band edge. This creates a clean, seamless stack with little or no gap between the rings. A contoured or notched band is only needed when the engagement ring setting has a high basket or thick cathedral shoulders that physically block direct contact. Princess-cut rings are often paired with straight bands, unlike oval, pear, or marquise rings.
Start by checking depth, targeting 64 to 75%. Stones cut deeper than 75% often face up smaller than expected and hide weight in the pavilion. Also look for a table of 65 to 75%, a length-to-width ratio of 1.00 to 1.05, and Excellent or Very Good polish and symmetry on the grading report. As a general rule, the table should be equal to or smaller than the depth percentage. If the report lists chevrons, four typically produce sharper sparkle than two.
Most buyers find that a princess-cut diamond between 1 and 1.5 carats offers a good balance of size and proportions. A 1-carat princess measures around 5.5 millimeters across, a 1.5-carat around 6.5 millimeters, and a 2-carat around 7 millimeters. Smaller princess cuts can appear slightly smaller than other shapes of the same carat weight because more of their weight is carried in the pavilion rather than the face-up dimensions.
Yes. Lab-grown princess-cut diamonds are widely available above 2 carats, with 2-carat, 2.5-carat, and 3-carat stones routinely offered. They are often a strong value at larger sizes because comparable natural diamonds typically cost significantly more. Our configurator supports searches up to 10 carats and offers a wide range of color and clarity options.
Trapezoid side stones are a classic pairing for a princess-cut three-stone ring because their straight edge sits flush against the center stone. Tapered baguettes create a sleeker, Art Deco look. Smaller princess accents maintain a uniform geometric design across all three stones. Half-moons soften the overall appearance with rounded edges. The best choice depends on whether you prefer matched geometry, an Art Deco style, or a contrast between straight lines and softer curves.
Less than a round. The round brilliant is the most liquid shape on the secondary market because it represents the largest share of historical demand. Princess cuts generally rank below rounds in resale liquidity. Any engagement ring purchase should center on wearing the ring rather than reselling it, since no diamond cut should be viewed as an investment asset.
Get in touch with our concierge team to book a one-on-one call with us to discuss about your Engagement Ring. We will walk through the process from diamond sourcing to choosing the perfect setting.