Princess Cut

Contemporary Brilliance with Deep Roots

The princess cut is the most popular fancy-shaped diamond, accounting for approximately 15% of all diamond sales. Its clean, square silhouette with sharp corners creates a bold, contemporary aesthetic, while its brilliant faceting delivers exceptional fire and scintillation that approaches the round brilliant.

This efficiency translates to better value: princess cuts typically cost 20-30% less than round brilliants of equivalent quality, with only 20-25% weight loss from rough compared to up to 60% for rounds.

The Lineage

The princess cut's history traces through a series of innovations by master cutters solving the same fundamental challenge: how to achieve brilliant-cut sparkle in a square or rectangular outline.

1961 — Arpad Nagy's "Profile Cut" (London): The earliest square brilliant concept. Nagy created the first attempt at an inverted-pyramid pavilion with brilliant-style faceting, establishing the basic architectural principle that all subsequent square brilliants would build upon.

1970 — Basil Watermeyer's "Barion Cut" (South Africa): The critical breakthrough. Watermeyer — the renowned South African master cutter whose book Diamond Cutting (ISBN 0620132485) remains essential reading — created the Barion Cut, named by combining his and his wife Marion's names. With 80+ facets, the Barion was the first true mixed cut, combining step-cut craftsmanship with brilliant-cut light return. It proved the principle that square and rectangular shapes could achieve genuine brilliance, but its complexity (80+ facets requiring extraordinary precision) made it extremely difficult to produce consistently.

Late 1970s — The "Quadrillion Cut" (Israel): Fascinated by Watermeyer's Barion but seeking something more producible, Israeli cutters Betzalel Ambar, Ygal Perlman, and Israel Itzkowitz simplified the concept to 49 facets — proving that the mixed-cut principle could work with fewer, more manageable facets.

~1979-1980 — The Modern Princess Cut: The same Israeli team refined their design into the definitive princess cut with 50-58 chevron-pattern facets. The shape gained rapid commercial traction, becoming the second most popular diamond cut worldwide within two decades.

Without Watermeyer's Barion Cut proving that mixed-cut faceting could solve the brilliance problem in non-round shapes, the princess cut as we know it would not exist.

The Brian Gavin Signature Princess

Brian Gavin's Signature Princess features 53 precisely cut facets — 32 on the pavilion, 20 on the crown, and 1 table — using a 3-chevron configuration specifically chosen for its optimal balance of brilliance and scintillation. This configuration yields more virtual facets than 2-chevron designs while avoiding the overly fine, diffused sparkle of 4-chevron patterns.

What truly sets the BGD Signature Princess apart is the crown height: approximately 15%, compared to the industry-standard 10-12% found in typical GIA Excellent princess cuts. This taller crown acts as a more effective prism, producing dramatically more fire (spectral color dispersion) and sparkle. Every BGD Signature Princess achieves AGS Ideal-0 light performance — the highest cut standard available for princess cuts.

Chevron Configurations Explained

The chevron (V-shaped) facets on the pavilion determine the princess cut's sparkle character:

• 2-chevron patterns: Larger, bolder light flashes similar to round brilliants. Fewer facets, simpler sparkle
• 3-chevron patterns (Brian Gavin's choice): Optimal balance — more virtual facets creating an optically balanced look with both brilliance and fine scintillation
• 4-chevron patterns: Maximum scintillation with very fine sparkle, but can appear diffused rather than crisp

The Corner Challenge

The princess cut's defining characteristic — sharp, unprotected corners — is also its primary vulnerability. Unlike radiant cuts with cropped corners or cushion cuts with rounded corners, princess cuts have 90° corners that can chip if struck.

This requires protective settings: V-prongs or bezel settings on the corners are essential. Avoid thin, knife-edge corners in very thin girdle areas — these are chip-prone.

Key Proportions

• Table: 62-70% optimal
• Depth: 64-75%
• Length-to-Width: 1.00-1.05 for square (most desirable); 1.05-1.10 slightly rectangular
• Polish/Symmetry: Excellent/Very Good minimum

No standardized cut grade exists for princess cuts. Depth is typically greater than rounds, and princess cuts with too much depth appear smaller face-up for their carat weight.

Clarity Considerations

Princess cuts hide inclusions better than emerald cuts but not as well as rounds. The brilliant faceting helps mask minor inclusions, though inclusions near corners are a concern — they can compromise the corner's structural integrity, increasing chip risk.

Recommendation: VS2 or better. Avoid inclusions at or near the corners.

Our Princess Cut Standards

• ✓ BGD Signature 3-chevron configuration — 53 facets optimized for balanced brilliance and scintillation
• ✓ 15% crown height — dramatically more fire than the industry-standard 10-12%
• ✓ AGS Ideal-0 light performance — the highest cut standard available for princess cuts
• ✓ Corner integrity verified — girdle thickness at corners assessed for chip resistance
• ✓ Inclusion mapping — no inclusions at or near vulnerable corners
• ✓ Square proportions — L:W within 1.00-1.05 for ideal square appearance
• ✓ Setting guidance — protective V-prong recommendations with every purchase

Each Shape Tells a Different Story

• Round Brilliant — Maximum brilliance; The Gavin Effect® patented cut
• Emerald Cut — Sophisticated step-cut elegance; patented light performance
• Cushion Cut — Romantic pillow shape; patented Hearts & Arrows precision
• Oval Cut — Elongated brilliance; appears larger for carat weight
• Pear Cut — Elegant teardrop; versatile and flattering
• Radiant Cut — Brilliant fire meets geometric outline
• Princess Cut — Modern square brilliant; exceptional scintillation
• Marquise Cut — Royal heritage; maximizes carat weight appearance
• Old Mine Cut — Historic hand-cut diamonds; antique brilliance

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