cut-cornered princess or radiant?

[kg]

Okay, so we followed your advice and steered away from the large-tabled 1 ct princess we were looking at. Now we have our eyes set on a 1.32 ct princess cut with the corners cut (GIA reports it as a cut-cornered rectangular modified brilliant). According to the AGA specs for princess cut, it falls within the 1A-1B range (except for the crown height-we don''t know what the number is for this stone). Should we be following the radiant AGA specs to accurately determine the cut or were we right in using the princess cut specs?

 

[valeria101]

Hm.... all types of radiants, princesees, the Queen of Harts and other barnded sqaures... woud be called "cut-cornered rectangular modified brilliant" on the GIA report.

I don't think cut corber princesses are all that maninstream, and teh standard for them would be the one for princesses. However, the cut corners might be an excuse to put even bigger facets on the pavilion and cut deeper stones. Not the finest. Why cut the corners?

 

[moremoremore]

Hi KG!
First, you won't find a GIA cert that says "radiant"...it will say rect modified cut corner (I am 99.999999% positive that that is how radiants are classified in the cert).... The gemappraisers chart does have radiants, so go take a look at those. Also, I do want to mention that a true radiant is a very different look than a princess....It's not just going to be a princess with cut corners....I have seen princess stones with cut corners....but the radiant is like a "bucket of crushed ice"....there is different facet placement and configuration. I personally love princess stones but don't like radiants. Just wanted to throw that in....Experts please correct me where I'm wrong (I ain't an expert)

Here is a pic: http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:kg_Hv74n89oJ:www.bigdiamond.com/pages/rad-what.asp+facets+princess+radiant&hl=en&start=10&ie=UTF-8

 

[valeria101]

No idea if anyone purposely stocks cut-corner princesses... But they 'happen' to be arround every now and then, ike the "Hip Square" on THIS page.

There are allot of cuts that go by the name "radiant" (a couple of types are all rightfully called radiant on the same site mentioned above). The pattented one can be found on www.radiantcut.com. Nicrez is an expert on those

 

[kg]

Hmmm... it did look more like a bucket of crushed ice than the typical look of a princess cut. I wonder what we have on our hands. It had fantastic sparkle. We are planning on buying the diamond this weekend. Wish me luck! Guess I'll have to leave the rest to the appraiser. Thanks for your help!

 

[Giangi]

From your description it looks like a radiant. Radiants are called and classified as ''cut-cornered rectangular (or square if the L/W ratio is <1:1.05) modified brilliant''.

 

[Nicrez]

KG, ask to at least see the report. GIA tends to be very good about giving you a more accurate mapping of the facet patterns on the crown and pavillion. Princess patterns are like concentric 4 point stars that radiate from the culet with each star pointing to each corner of the stone. A princess SHOULDN'T have cut corners, as they are known for their squareness, etc. I think they do this to shave off a bad cut or an inclusion and increase the clarity. Some jewelers try passing them off as radiants. THEY ARE NOT!

Radiants are more like bursts, when you look into them, they do not have those triangular, long sparkles, but crushed ice look to them. Not sure I captured it very well in my pics, but a radiant will be quite a different look. See my thread about The Little Radiant That Could in show me the ring. See the princesses in the Eye Candy folder. See the difference in sparkles? me personally, I didn't get a princess as I originally wanted, because their facets and cut where so sharp and severe, that the radiant just seemed more soothing and pretty. Just my opinion.

Also, princesses are cut to have lower crowns and bigger tables than radiants. They should never be considered the same. See if you like it, but find out what pattern is on the GIA. Also, if a radiant and princess is 1.05 ratio and under is it called a "square cut corner modified brilliant", if it's OVER 1.05, it is "rectangular". FYI.

 

[Nicrez]

Here's a site to help you see the difference and maybe help you figure out what you saw:

The Radiant Cut

Hope this helps!

 

[valeria101]

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On 4/6/2004 4:26:53 PM Nicrez wrote:



GIA tends to be very good about giving you a more accurate mapping of the facet patterns on the crown and pavillion.

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GIA uses a couple of 'standard' facet maps, and does not portray the actual stone. It sounds like yours is a pretty unique cut which achieved serious sparkle

With the kind of premium some pay for new cuts (the branded), I would not complain to have a unique cut, 'as long as it sparkles', as Nicrez says!

Hope we'll se a pic of this particular rock! maybe the appraiser can help with one?

 

[kg]

Hmm... the facets definitely did look more like a radiant than a princess... The jewler did not try to pass it off as a radiant - he said it was a princess cut with cut corners. So I'm not sure... He said a benefit to that is that you can have the prongs come up over the stone to hold it in place as opposed to the L shaped prongs that princess cuts usually come with. He apparently was not a fan of because of the added metal around the stone with the L shaped prongs. Anyways, I'll take pics once it's all checked out!

 

[Nicrez]

Then I think your crown height will give it away. Can you get a Sarin on it? The numbers would give it away, unless it is truly a half-breed!!!

Not that it should matter, but a princess would have a lower crown with a wide table and a deep pavillion, whereas a radiant would have a higher crown, shallower pavillion, and a smaller table.

Good luck and DO take pictures! Actually, some jewelers may not be familiar with Radiants, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was and he didn't know it...

 

[cmcwill]

Wow I didn't know that they GIA uses standard facet diagrams. How does that help the shopper know what they're getting? I was using them as a guide to what I was seeing, and what was supposed to be there. Are there ways to get a true facet diagram of your stone?

Thanks Ana!
Colleen

 

[valeria101]

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On 4/6/2004 6:09:03 PM cmcwill wrote:



Are there ways to get a true facet diagram of your stone?

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Not very straightforward. You may want to check the DiaVision at GOG. The GemAdviser software does something close but not exactly. These are based on Sarin data.

However, the distance between what the 'wireframe' and the actual stone looks like is rather big. technically, these magnified analytic representations are more tell-tale than a look at one stone, with no or little experience of what the best look like for the 'species'.

Diamonds pictured online make a rather strange world though

 

[valeria101]

Here's the run down... for a very fiery rad at GOG (WWW)

The DiaVision provides other views too. These are simmulations, but the 'look' comes close to dark-field pics in my opinion - not completely out of this world.

 

[diamondsman]

In most cases cut cornered means that the stone is a Radiant, not a princess, Although I have see a few that were cut cornered princess cuts,
I would assume that the stone you have seen is a Radiant cut diamond.