Beautiful shape, lovely brilliance, they could only be Princess cut diamond rings !!

Princess cut diamond rings are the second most popular diamond shape after the round diamond. It is a relatively new cut having been created in the 1960’s and has since gained popularity as an alternative to the “classic” brilliant cut diamond. It has its origins in the early French cut and is sometimes called a “square modified brilliant.

A rough diamond which is square looking would be best shaped into a princess cut as opposed to any other cut.
This is particularly so if the rough stone is quite deep, because the princess cut works best with deep stones.....allowing for maximum weight retention & makes the final cost of the stone cheaper. This is because the princess cut retains about 70 - 80% of its rough weight as opposed to brilliant cuts which loose 50% and thus retain only half of their rough weight when cut.
This makes it quite popular with diamond cutters as higher retention means bigger cut diamond and thus more profit

Princess cut diamond engagement rings are naturally more brilliant and sparkly than rings with ordinary square diamonds.
However, the four corners of the princess cut allow some light to leak out of the diamond instead of being directed back to the eye in the form of brilliance....a beautiful shape none the less.
These four corners also give it a weight advantage when compared to a round diamond of the same diameter as its width. In a round diamond, the corners have obviously been rounded off.

Care has to be taken when setting Princess cut diamond rings as the four corners of the diamond are quite delicate and need to be well protected by the ring setting
An important point to note is that there is no universal agreement on “Ideal” Princess cut measurements. The American Gem Society Laboratory (AGSL), EGL-USA: European Gem Laboratories - USA and the AGA – Accredited Gem Appraisers are the only labs that grade the princess cut for its cut.
When purchasing princess cut diamond engagement rings, go for quality as opposed to size.
Large princess cut diamond rings with internal flaws will have less fire & brilliance than rings with smaller but cleaner cut stones....this basically means that the larger stone will look impressive but will not shout "Look At Me" while the smaller one will be shinning for all to see!!