Creating your engagement ring can be a lot of fun. The options are unlimited. There is always a possibility to design your own setting style, or, if you want to make things easier, you can pick one that’s already made. That way, you know what diamond you need right away and the process becomes faster.
That was the case of one of our readers who picked a gorgeous split shank halo setting for a princess cut diamond center.
Here’s the reader’s original email:
“Hi, I started looking for an engagement ring recently and since I didn’t have any background in the area, I found your website extremely helpful.
I think I have settled on the following setting:
14K WHITE GOLD SPLIT SHANK PRINCESS SHAPE DIAMOND HALO ENGAGEMENT RING
I would like some advice on which stone to go with it. If I understand the criteria from your website, I should be looking at the following:
Color: G-I
Clarity: SI1-SI2
Possible Center Stone
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.08-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-sku-7851761
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.05-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-7805900
Budget: $5-5.5k
Thank you for your time.”
This person took a great approach to the diamond search. Filtering the lowest possible color and clarity and seeing which diamond looks good. A lot of people take the safer approach and instantly go to very high color and clarity grades to avoid any possible issues. We don’t like that approach because you’re wasting money on aspects nobody will notice. It’s always better to start low and build your way up if necessary.
Choosing The Right Princess Cut Diamond
Princess cut diamonds are getting more and more popular because they are simply gorgeous. The perfect square shape with sharp edges and a ton of brilliance is unlike any other diamond shape. There are pros and cons to every shape so you should always choose what you like.
The reader picked out two diamonds and they weren’t sure which one would be the best. They picked two I color princess cuts, so let’s talk about the color first.
Princess Cut – Color
I color for princess cut diamonds is usually absolutely fine. However, the reader chose a halo ring setting which makes it a bit more complicated. Because the center stone in such a setting is surrounded by smaller diamonds, there is a great chance that an I color diamond would look yellowish compared to them. That’s why we recommend getting a G/H color to ensure it doesn’t happen.
Princess Cut – Clarity
They picked one SI1 clarity diamond and one with a VS1 clarity grade. Looking at the videos on their own, the diamonds look very nice. However, you should always check the certificate as well. The GIA for the SI1 diamond showed a huge knot right on the table:
That’s a big problem (even though you can hardly spot it in the video) as it would negatively affect the light refraction and therefore the brilliance.
Another thing you should always check with princess cuts is the inclusions in the corners. Because princess cut diamonds have sharp corners, any inclusion that appears there increases the chance of the edge chipping when it hits something.
Princess Cut – Cut
The reader did a great job choosing well-cut diamonds. Not only were the depth and table proportions in the right range, but none of the diamonds had a flat crown which could affect the brilliance significantly. It’s safe to say that they did a great job reading our educational material on our site and learning from it.
Princess Cut – Price
When you have to go up in color to accommodate a halo setting, it usually means paying more for the diamond. But sometimes, you can avoid that if you adjust the search correctly. When searching for a 1carat diamond, there is no need to start at the actual 1ct mark. Diamonds that are just below that mark would look unrecognizable from the full 1 carats and might cost significantly less. So do yourself a favor and search for, let’s say 0.94ct up and see what you can find.
We were able to find this awesome 0.96 carat E color VS2 clarity princess cut diamond that fit right in the reader’s budget.
Our Recommendation
Princess cut diamonds are a perfect shape for an extraordinary engagement ring. For those who enjoy sharp edges and perfect square shapes, they are top-notch. If you keep in mind to avoid inclusions in the corners of princess cuts, you can get a beautiful diamond that lasts.
And because we know that there are thousands of diamonds to choose from, you can reach out to us anytime and we’ll help you with whatever question you might have. We’ve helped tens of thousands of people and aren’t planning to stop anytime soon.
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisal
- One free resizing within the first year of purchase
- High quality images of about half of their diamonds
- 24/7 Customer Service
- 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
- Best in class fulfillment
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