It is a well-known fact that the round-cut diamonds offer the most sparkle and shine. Unfortunately, not everyone finds the round-cut diamond desirable. Some people like an edgier, cubic shape. Consumers need not worry. Now, they can have maximum sparkle and the four-sided shape they desire in a princess-cut diamond.

Previously, the only four-sided diamond shapes were emerald-cut and baguette-cut shapes. Both of these are long rectangular diamonds that are somewhat shallow. Both the length and lack of depth to these cuts significantly reduce the brilliance and sparkle of diamonds. Approximately thirty years ago, Basil Watermeyer created the princess-cut diamond. It is cut so that the bottom of the diamond mimics a mirror and reflects the maximum amount of light through the top of the stone. He realized that this was the solution to capturing a diamond with the immense luminosity.

Princess-cut diamonds radiate so much light because of their depth. Not only does a slightly deeper cut help to make the diamonds shine fiercely, but it maximizes the amount of diamond in the actual piece of jewelry. When the diamonds are cut down to shape and size, less diamond is cut away on a princess-cut diamond to retain its depth. This results in getting more diamond for the dollar. Another great benefit of princess-cut diamonds is that the jeweler is better able to reduce the appearance of flaws and brownish tint. These diamonds tend to look more “white” than others. In other words, the diamonds are very clear. The cut results in a more perfected diamond than many of the other cuts.

Princess-cut diamonds are great to use for various designs. They are commonly placed in eternity rings. Eternity rings are wedding bands with diamonds in a continuous circle around them. Because there are no gaps between them, princess-cut diamonds are the most desirable gems to incorporate into this ring style. These diamonds can also be rotated so that the corners will point north, south, east, and west. This is referred to as a star setting, because it shines like a star when reflecting light.

Though round-cut diamonds have the same amount of fire, or light reflection, as princess-cut diamonds, they appear approximately fifteen percent smaller than the princess-cut counterpart of the same weight and price. The four corners of the princess-cut diamond seem to extend out further and cover more space than round-cut diamonds.