Calling all PRINCESS CUT experts out there on PS

[jami7james]

Hi there,

I''m thinking of getting the following: http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/Whiteflash-ACA-Princess-cut-diamond-2219602.htm#

The specs for the diamond (AGS) are here: http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/certificate.aspx?idno=2219602&file_name=1


Please, please give me your expert advice.

Thank you so much!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Hi James

Its a beautiful diamond, very nice choice.

 

[jami7james]

looks like i was too late. it''s already been sold. aca cuts must be hard to come by. darn.

what about this one guys?

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2210536.htm#

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/19/2009 1:26:03 PM
Author: jami7james
looks like i was too late. it''s already been sold. aca cuts must be hard to come by. darn.

what about this one guys?

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2210536.htm#

Lovely diamond, not such a fine cut as the other ACA but still a great stone.

 

[jami7james]

thank you so much Lorelei,

I have seen your posts/replies to newbies like me and it''s much appreciated.

what are your opinions about depth, table, crown angle, pavilion angle, girdle, polish and symmetry in regards to a princess cut? the ranges much like the one you wrote up for akim1220 a while back would be awesome!!!!

thanks again and have a great weekend!

Date: 11/19/2009 2:49:10 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 11/19/2009 1:26:03 PM
Author: jami7james
looks like i was too late. it''s already been sold. aca cuts must be hard to come by. darn.

what about this one guys?

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2210536.htm#

Lovely diamond, not such a fine cut as the other ACA but still a great stone.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/20/2009 12:28:20 PM
Author: jami7james
thank you so much Lorelei,

I have seen your posts/replies to newbies like me and it's much appreciated.

what are your opinions about depth, table, crown angle, pavilion angle, girdle, polish and symmetry in regards to a princess cut? the ranges much like the one you wrote up for akim1220 a while back would be awesome!!!!

thanks again and have a great weekend!

Date: 11/19/2009 2:49:10 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 11/19/2009 1:26:03 PM
Author: jami7james
looks like i was too late. it's already been sold. aca cuts must be hard to come by. darn.

what about this one guys?

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2210536.htm#

Lovely diamond, not such a fine cut as the other ACA but still a great stone.

James, thats so kind of you, thanks for the praise - it is much appreciated!

Really there are many proportion configurations which can result in a beautiful Princess so no hard and fast rules but here is something I go by written by Paul Slegers who to me is one of THE authorities on Princess cuts.


"- Reject the ones with a very thick girdle, because of weight hiding where you do not want it.
- Limit yourself to square stones, since it is much more difficult to direct light correctly if the stone is not square (depends upon your comfort-level, of course, and it is more a matter of risk-reduction, and not of correct selection).
- Reject all with VG polish or symmetry, since none of them could be seriously called ideal. Again debatable, but it is a manner of selection.
- Reject the ones with a too big table (say 80% or more). Depending upon your comfort-level, you might want to reduce this table-size-level."

Added to this I look generally for Princess which have table percentages less than the depth, and a crown height of 10% and above. Once you have all the numerical info, then its time to move onto images. ASET are preferred for fancy shapes and also detailed photos are very useful.

So to sum up when looking for a fine to top cut Princess-

-I look for table percentage less than the depth in the majority of stones
-Girdle thickness- thin to slightly thick, thin to medium, avoid extremes and check very thin/ ex thin girdles carefully to make sure these aren't a durability issue. This isn't always the case if the very thin part only measures in the microns or is in a non vulnerable area but always get a trusted vendor or appraiser to check. As above check very thick girdles because of hidden weight.
-Consider the amount of chevrons the Princess shows and look at different examples to see how these can influence the character of the stone.
- Crown height 10% and higher
- Polish and symmetry very good and above unless you want a top cut true Ideal Princess, then you want excellent to Ideal ( all AGS0 have Ideal polish and symmetry). GIA do not grade Princess at this time for cut, their highest polish and symmetry grades are excellent.

To narrow the target look at AGS0 cut Princess or hand selected for superior optical performance GIA Princess.

I see some of the experts are on board now so they might have something to add.

 

[Todd Gray]

Date: 11/20/2009 12:28:20 PM
Author: jami7james
what are your opinions about depth, table, crown angle, pavilion angle, girdle, polish and symmetry in regards to a princess cut?

This is an excerpt from an article I recently wrote for our web site, it's an adaptation of an article originally written by Paul Slegers (by permission):

As much as we'd love to provide you with a simple formula for selecting a princess cut diamond which is going to be lively and vibrant, just as we do for round brilliant ideal cut diamonds, the fact of the matter is that the basic design and facet structure of a princess cut diamond is not symmetrical like it is for a round brilliant and thus the simple ratio of total depth = spread does not apply. To be clear, the term "spread" as it applies to diamond vernacular refers to the visible diameter of the diamond or how large the surface of the diamond "faces up" to the observer.

With a round brilliant cut diamond, the depth measurement is calculated as a percentage of the diameter, the result is a direct indication of the spread of the diamond. Generally speaking, the deeper the total depth measurement of the diamond, the less surface area that is visible to the observer. Quite simply a higher total depth measurement results in lower spread while a lower total depth measurement results in a higher amount of spread or visible surface. With round brilliant cut diamonds, a total depth measurement between 59 - 61.8% is considered to be an optimum range because it will result in proper spread, while something like 62.3% would result in less visible diameter... This is an important concept with round brilliant cut diamonds because it could mean the difference between buying a one carat diamond that faces up properly in the range of 6.50 millimeters in diameter (59 - 61.8% total depth) or one which faces up closer to 6.3 mm in diameter which is more like a 0.90 carat diamond. Since there is a substantial price increase which occurs between the 0.99 - 1.00 carat marks, it makes sense to buy a diamond with a spread or visible surface equal to the carat weight which you are paying a premium to achieve.

Unfortunately the well known and time tested methods for selecting a round brilliant ideal cut diamond "by the numbers" does not work for fancy shape diamonds in our experience. In fact, attempting to purchase a fancy shape diamond by the numbers is an easy way to be misled from both a technical and psychological perspective.

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks Todd - I spotted you and hoped you would respond!!