A Modern Classic: The Princess Cut Diamond Engagement Ring

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” Brides-to-be can get a head-start on that traditional wedding-day good-luck rhyme by choosing the elegant and modern princess cut diamond for their engagement ring.

Round brilliant-cut diamonds are beloved for their fiery natures, while emerald-cut diamonds play up the lustre of the stones. But some women wanted a cut to combine the best of both worlds, and jewellers answered this demand: The princess cut was created to dazzling acclaim in the 1960s, as it combines an eye-catching shape with the fire of the brilliant cut. In fact, the princess cut is a modification of that most famous of all diamond cuts, the round brilliant.

Squared diamonds are just unusual enough to be fresh and modern. The faceting of a princess cut ensures that a diamond’s ability to “throw” its fiery glints accompanies this shape, unlike some older square cuts. Princess cut engagement rings are perfect for those looking to combine classic styling with modern taste.

Princess cut engagement rings can feature a variety of settings. The diamond can be prong-set, with prongs at the corners to protect the beauty of the stone, featured in twist rings, or featured in a shoulder setting, among other setting treatments. They are especially modern-appearing in tension settings, where the stone seems to float between the two sides of the band.

A highly desirable feature is the ability to set the diamond in princess cut engagement rings at an angle, where it appears as an actual “diamond shape” sparkling on the hand. This unique setting is termed the “star set,” and it is rightfully considered elegant and remarkable.

With its square sides, diamonds in princess cut engagement rings can easily be set to form clusters and trios of diamonds, with no gaps in-between as would occur with round-cut or other stones. Cluster engagement rings can even feature six princess-cut diamonds arranged to form a large square, giving the look of a huge amount of carats at a fraction of the cost of a single stone that weight.

Princess cut engagement rings are now the second-most favoured style in the entire world, after the round brilliant. Now couples can choose something “new” and be assured it is already a modern classic.