Close to buying a Princess Cut- Need opinions Please

[jms2000]

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[jenntheten]

I am not a pro by any means....but I think you'll hear concern over the low crown height and large table. I have a very similar princess, and although I still think it's beautiful, the lessons I learned here AFTER THE FACT make sense now---if I had it to do over again, I'd find a smaller table and increased crown height.

 

[jms2000]

Jenn, How does the crown height and table affect the diamond? I noticed that the Depth is considered excellent for Princess, correct?

 

[jenibear]

JMS 2000
I've done some research on princesses and from what I learned the diamond's measurements have to be taken together as a whole, not alone. While a 70 depth is great, a combination of a 70 depth and 79 table are not so great. I have learned that the best diamonds never have a larger table than their total depth.
Also, a crown of 10 is considered the best among princesses. The closer you can get to that the better. Why these numbers are good and others aren't, I don't know cause I'm not an expert. But from what I've seen with my own eyes, the diamonds with the best numbers will knock your eyes out with sparkle and shine. That being said, even stones with less than amazing numbers can be beautiful. Your eyes are the only judge that really matters in the end. I'd suggest looking at the stone if you haven't already.
Good luck
Jenibear

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Hi JMS. The two Jen's are both dead-on.

The AGA Cut Class ranking on this stone is a 3A, which is a commercial make on the scale of 1A-1B Ideal Makes, 2A-2B Fine Makes, 3A-3B Commercial Makes and 4A-4B Below Average Makes.

I would categorize a 3A as a "good" make, as opposed to an "exceptional" or "very good" make, or as opposed to a "fair" or "poor" make. Not the best, not the worst, an average jewelry make with a pretty show.

As the Jen's told you, it is the large table and the shallow crown which keep the diamond out of the Class 2 category. A large table combined with a shallow crown produces less "fire" (dispersed colored light return) and more light leakage than ones with smaller tables and higher crowns.

The closer you can get to a 10% crown (even 8 or 9%) is better, along with a table that is close to the same percentage as the depth, or less.

That's not to say the stone you're looking at isn't a beautiful stone. If you feel it is and fits your needs, don't worry about it and go for the gusto.

But first, if you've got time, you might want to compare it against other stones that fit the profile outlined above.

Dave Atlas' AGA Cut Class Chart for princess cuts will help you organize your thoughts regarding princess cut positives and negatives. You can find it at:

http://www.gemappraisers.com/index.htm

 

[steeda]

Is a combination of 74 depth, 77 table, and 9.9 crown good... despite the "large" table?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Hi Steeda. The specs you've listed indicate the diamond is probably an AGA Cut Class 2 stone. I would categorize the 2B cut as "good to very good", and the 2A cut as "very good".

As far as the light performance of the stone, this can only be determined by (3) sets of equipment- the brilliancescope, the idealscope, and your eyes. It's very difficult to determine the light performance of a princess cut by the numbers, as the crown/pavilion angle relationship is more complex than that of a round brilliant cut.

You might consider investing $30 in an IdealScope (with calibration cz) in order to view the light performance of the stone firsthand, or having an appraiser savvy on optical performance check it out for you.