Pick the center, make sure every corner is guarded, then choose her gold and size
Choose the center stone first, then check that a prong covers each corner, since a princess chips at its points. The centers here run from just under one carat to just over three. Lab-grown holds the big stones, and the natural centers are smaller. Pick her gold color next, and get her size before you order, since a ring resized for her is final sale.
Princess cut: what a princess cut engagement ring is
A princess is a square diamond with brilliant facets and four sharp corners. It sparkles like a round but keeps straight, crisp sides. The ring bought most in the year sets a 1 carat lab-grown princess on a twisted band of small round diamonds. The Demi Princess holds a single natural stone on a slim band. Two rings flank the center with princess side stones, one of them three squares in a row. Another is an 18K engagement set. For clipped or rounded corners, see radiant or cushion rings.
Corners: do princess cut diamonds chip
They can, at the points, so protect the corners. A corner is the thinnest edge of the stone, and a knock on a door frame lands right there. A prong over each corner, often bent into a V, takes that blow instead. Five rings here hold their stones in prongs, one in claws. Look for metal at all four points in the photos, or ask the live chat to check. Have the prongs looked at about once a year.
Carat: how big a princess cut diamond looks
A 1 carat princess measures about 5.5 mm on each side. Cut deeper than a round, it shows a little less face than a round diamond of equal weight, but corner to corner it spans more. Near 2 carats a side reaches about 7 mm, and a 3 carat stone about 8. The centers here come in four steps, about one carat, a carat and a half, two, and just over three. Read the center weight, the main stone alone. The diamond size chart sets carats beside millimeters.
Lab or natural: lab-grown or natural princess cut diamond
Grown or mined, a diamond is the same carbon, graded on one scale. Four of the six centers here are lab-grown, including every stone of two carats or more. The three largest are G color with VS clarity, white and clean to the eye, and the 1 carat grown center is a D, the top color. The two natural centers are smaller. The Demi Princess, the larger of them, is an SI1, so ask the live chat what shows, since a mark near a corner matters more on a princess. A mined stone stays scarce. More big grown centers wait on lab-grown engagement rings.
Gold and size: 14K or 18K, and her ring size
Take 14K for a ring worn every day, the gold on five of the six. The engagement set is 18K, a deeper yellow that is softer and marks sooner. All come in yellow or white, and five in rose. Have a ring she wears measured, and say which hand it came from. Sizes 5 through 8, half sizes included, are on every ring. Get it right the first time, since resizing counts as custom work under the refund policy, and that work is final. For a size or stone you do not see, the live chat is the quickest start, and you can call or text 212-872-9692 from 10 AM ET.