Engagement Rings :
Princess Cut
The Princess cut is the second most popular cut shape for diamonds, next to a round brilliant. The face-up shape of the princess cut is square or rectangular & the profile or side-on shape is similar to that of an inverted pyramid. The princess cut is a relatively new diamond cut, having been created in the 1960s. It's gained in popularity in recent years as a more unique alternative to the more popular round brilliant cut, in which the top of the diamond, called the crown, is cut with a round face-up shape & the bottom, called the pavilion, is shaped similar to a cone. A princess cut with the same width as the diameter of a round brilliant will weigh more as it's four corners which would otherwise have been cut off & rounded to form a round brilliant. The princess cut is sometimes referred to as a square modified brilliant. However, while displaying the same high degree of brilliance, its faceting style is matchless & different from that of a round brilliant. The Princess cut had its origins in the early "French" cut, having a step-modified "Double-French" or "Cross" cut crown & a series of matchless, chevron-shaped facets in the pavilion which combine to give a distinct cross-shaped reflection. Effectively, the Princess cut combines the high degree of light return of a round brilliant cut with a unique square or rectangular shape.
Accredited Gem Appraisers (AGA) & American Gem Society Laboratory (AGSL) & European Gem Laboratories-USA (EGL-USA) are currently the only labs that grade the Princess cut for cut. There is no universal definition of what measurements make an ideal princess cut diamond & lots of diamond manufacturers market ideal diamonds with differing facet patterns & angles as "ideal cut". In contrast to the AGSL, AGA, & EGL-USA the Gemological Institute of The united states (GIA) has stated that there is not industry consensus or empirical data to specify cut grading standards for Princess cut diamonds & to do so is at the risk of consumers who may be deceived by diamonds accompanied by unqualified Ideal or Excellent cut grades.
The name "Princess Cut" was originally used in connection with another diamond cut, otherwise known as the "Profile" cut, designed by Arpad Nagy a London cutter in 1961. The same name was later used & made popular by Ygal Perlman, Betzalel Ambar, & Israel Itzkowitz in Israel in 1979. A similar cut with only 49 facets, as opposed to the original 58 facets of the princess cut, was later branded the "Quadrillion" & initially distributed by Ambar Diamonds in Los Angeles. One years of optical research yielded a square stone with faceting similar to that of a round brilliant cut diamond.