Freaking out over princess cut

[trentfrog]

Hello All

I have been lurking here for a while but it´s coming down to the crunch now to make a decision on what I want and I really need your opinions. I really like the square look of the princess. Square Hearts and Arrows, Jubilee etc are all lovely but aren´t square enough for me. The problem is I am so afraid that a princess will chip. If I were to purchase a princess with a thin to slightly thick girdle, polished or chamfered corners and V prongs would this greatly reduce the chance of the stone getting chipped? I know I can purchase insurance in case this happens but I would rather know upfront about the durability of a princess if I take these precautions.

Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/11/2008 11:27:22 AM
Author:trentfrog
Hello All

I have been lurking here for a while but it´s coming down to the crunch now to make a decision on what I want and I really need your opinions. I really like the square look of the princess. Square Hearts and Arrows, Jubilee etc are all lovely but aren´t square enough for me. The problem is I am so afraid that a princess will chip. If I were to purchase a princess with a thin to slightly thick girdle, polished or chamfered corners and V prongs would this greatly reduce the chance of the stone getting chipped? I know I can purchase insurance in case this happens but I would rather know upfront about the durability of a princess if I take these precautions.

Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

If I remember rightly one of the experts thinks that chamfered edges can help avoid chipping, and taking the measures you propose also could help. But as you know there are no guarantees with any shape diamond that you can completely avoid the risk of chipping, all you can do is try to minimise the risk as you are aware, get insurance, wear with care and enjoy!

Also I know you don't see many Princess set this way, but here is a thread with a bezel set Princess, just thought I would show you.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-pics-bezel-princess-with-baguettes.74394/

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/where-do-i-find-princess-bezel-pix.22010/

 

[neatfreak]

What about a princess with clipped corners? Looks pretty much the same when set (same patterns in the middle) but less of an issue with chipping.

Whiteflash has some beauties, they call them X-Factors.

And I have to ditto everything Lorelei says, especially the bezeling. It can really protect the stone.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/11/2008 11:35:15 AM
Author: neatfreak
What about a princess with clipped corners? Looks pretty much the same when set (same patterns in the middle) but less of an issue with chipping.

Whiteflash has some beauties, they call them X-Factors.

And I have to ditto everything Lorelei says, especially the bezeling. It can really protect the stone.

Definitely check those out trent!

 

[John P]

No need to freak out. All diamonds have cleavage planes, regardless of shape. This is why good jewelry insurance is a prudent precaution.

You''ve done good research on protecting the vulnerable corners of princess cuts. Chamfering certainly helps. The skill of the stonesetter is even more important, as the seats must be cut in the prongs correctly and equal pressure should be applied to each corner when setting. When a well-crafted diamond is set correctly your own wear habits will have the most influence on it over time, regardless of shape.

 

[dbsdiamonds]

I ocassionaly see these questions on diamond chipping. I''d be curious as to some statistical analysis of the percentages or numbers of diamonds chipping related to different girdle thicknesses.

I know many times people are feared into choosing one diamond over another because of this topic. In 23 years I''ve just not seen girdle as an issue. Of course if one has a "hack" jeweler on staff setting stones then anything is possible

But if a real number of diamond chipping occured at any detectable rate then people just wouldn''t buy these things at such dollars.

Marty
CEO/Pres
Diamond Brokerage Service, Inc
www.dbsdiamonds.com

 

[trentfrog]

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. I´m not so freaked out now. Will look into the x-factor from Whiteflash.