Should I Buy a Round or Princess Cut Diamond Ring?
Hello Danny, I’m trying to decide between a round and princess cut diamond for an engagement ring and would appreciate any insight you can provide. I am on a limited budget, looking to spend around $3500 for the entire ring, which means that the diamond should cost around $3k, and while I was originally looking for a round, I noticed that princess cut diamonds seem to cost less for the same color, clarity, and carat weight. Why is that? Are round diamonds that much more rare? How do princess cut diamonds compare in terms of sparkle? How popular are princess cut diamonds? I notice that you don’t seem to have many princess cut diamonds in stock. Sorry for all the questions, I’m just trying to make sense of all this. – Vince S.
The Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamond:
I imagine that the princess cut diamond which you are considering is this 0.741 carat, G-color, SI-1 clarity, Signature Princess from Brian Gavin. It is less expensive than a round diamond of the same carat weight, color, clarity, and cut quality would be, but this is primarily because the diamond rough used to produce the majority of fancy shape diamonds is a different shape than that used to produce rounds. The diamond rough used to manufacture rounds has to be symmetrical, whereas the diamond rough used to produce fancy shape diamonds doesn’t have to be. While the type of diamond rough has an effect on price, it has nothing to do with the sparkle factor of a diamond.
The volume of light return exhibited by a diamond are a direct result of the proportions that the diamond has been cut to, while the sparkle of a diamond is largely the result of the degree of diamond cut quality and the overall optical symmetry / consistency of the facet structure.
As a fifth generation diamond cutter, Brian Gavin was able to perfect the art of producing princess cut diamonds for maximum light return and visual performance, as is evident by the overall cut grade of AGS Ideal-0 awarded this diamond by the American Gem Society Laboratory, which graded the diamond on their proprietary Light Performance grading platform which uses Angular Spectrum Evaluation Technology (ASET) to demonstrate how bright the diamond is as a result of the cut quality.
To this regard, Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamonds are comparable to Brian Gavin Signature Round diamonds, which are also cut to ideal proportions and exhibit the highest level of optical symmetry. However it actually takes considerably more time and planning to cut our round brilliant ideal cut diamonds, because of the incredible precision which is required to produce the patterns of hearts and arrows which they exhibit when viewed through a hearts and arrows scope, naturally this factors into the price.
Round Brilliant is the most popular diamond shape:
Despite all of the options which are available in terms of diamond shapes, the modern round brilliant cut diamond continues to be the most popular shape diamond selected for engagement rings. While other diamonds shapes rise and fall in popularity, seemingly taking turns at their place in the limelight, the round brilliant continues to take the lead year after year. Thus producing a high volume of round brilliant ideal cut diamonds for both the Brian Gavin Signature and Brian Gavin Blue (fluorescent) diamond collections remains the primary focus of Brian Gavin Diamonds. Check out this 0.708 carat, G-color, SI-1 clarity, Brian Gavin round diamond.
I think that it is the perfect diamond for you to consider, it offers an incredible amount of light return as a result of the proportions, and exhibits a level of optical symmetry which provides a high volume of brilliance, dispersion, and scintillation. This diamond is going to look amazing in every lighting environment and exhibits exceptional contrast between the pattern of arrows and the rest of the crown facet sections. Naturally the diamond is graded by the AGSL with an overall cut grade of AGS Ideal-0, just like the princess cut diamond referenced above.
While the Brian Gavin Signature princess cut diamond is certainly beautiful, and I would not hesitate to recommend it, I would not purchase it simply because solely because princess cut diamonds tend to be less expensive than round brilliant cut diamonds. I recommend purchasing a princess cut diamond if that is the shape that the recipient prefers, the reality is that everybody has a different preference as to diamond shape and your girlfriend might not appreciate the unique properties that a princess cut diamond has to offer.
On the same note, your girlfriend might not like rounds either, she might prefer something a little more unique like the new Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond, which is more square in shape, with rounded corners, and is also cut to a level of precision and proportions which warrants an overall cut grade of AGS Ideal-0 from the AGS Laboratory. Hopefully over time, your girlfriend has provided you with some clues regarding which shape of diamond she prefers for an engagement ring; regardless of what diamond shape that happens to be, the staff of Brian Gavin Diamonds will be happy to help you select the best option available based upon your personal preferences if you contact us.
