How to count chevron facets on a princess cut diamond?

“I’m shopping for a princess cut diamond engagement ring, and have a friend who bought a Brian Gavin Signature round diamond last year that happens to be absolutely amazing, so I thought I’d start off by looking through the inventory of Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamonds. I think I’ve got it narrowed down to either this 1.185 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity, BGD Signature princess cut diamond, or this 1.210 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity, BGD Signature princess cut diamond; but then I read on a diamond forum that the number of chevron facets located on the bottom side of a princess cut diamond can affect the sparkle factor of the diamond. Could you explain this concept in more detail, and tell me how to count the chevron facets on a princess cut diamond?”

How do chevron facets affect sparkle factor of princess cut diamond?

Let’s begin by taking a look at the plotting diagram for the 1.210 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamond that appearsabove, which I’ve masterfully color coded in Adobe Photoshop (laughs) to make it easier for you to identify the different facets that are polished on to the pavilion (bottom) section of a princess cut diamond. The orange colored ‘X’ shaped facet which is located in the middle of the pavilion section is known as the pavilion main facet and every facet which extends outward from it towards the edge of the stone is known as a chevron facet, because of the ‘V’ shape.

So to count the number of chevron facets on a princess cut diamond, you simply identify the pavilion main facet, and then count the number of ‘V’ shaped facets that extend outwards from the pavilion main facet, towards the outer edge of the stone. Each row of ‘V’ shaped chevron facets is counted as one facet, even though there are four sections, each section representing one side of the square which is the basic outline of a princess cut diamond.

The 1.210 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamond features four rows of chevron facets, thus it is considered to be a four chevron facet princess cut diamond; the pavilion main facets are colored orange in the diagram that appears above; the first row of chevron facets is colored yellow; the second row of chevron facets is colored green; the third row of chevron facets is colored blue; and the fourth row of chevron facets is colored purple.

If you look at the plotting diagram provided on the Diamond Quality Document (DQD) issued by the American Gem Society Laboratory (AGSL) for the 1.185 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity, BGD Signature princess cut diamond you’ll see that it features three chevron facets, which are going to enable the diamond to exhibit flashes of light, or sparkle, which is just a little bit larger than the sparkle that will be exhibited by the 1.210 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamond, however the difference is actually pretty slight… enough so that I’m not sure that it would be something that either of us would pick up from across the dinner table, but it might be something that is visible when we compare the diamonds side-by-side.

However part of the reason why these two Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamonds exhibit a volume of light return and a balance of brilliance and dispersion which is so similar, is because Brian Gavin designs each diamond to maximize the light performance.

Every Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamond is cut to AGS Ideal-0 proportions, and cut to a degree of optical symmetry that surpasses the requirements for the overall cut grade of AGS Ideal-0, which is why our diamonds look so exceptional when viewed through an ASET Scope (as pictured on the diamond quality document) and through an Ideal Scope (which is provided on the diamond details pages).

Note: after we responded to the questions posed by this customer, he discovered that his girlfriend really had her heart set on a Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond, but we thought that this tutorial on how to count the number of chevron facets on a princess cut diamond might be of use to other people who might be shopping for a princess cut diamond.