Princess-Cut Diamonds - The 4 C’s
As with any diamond shape, the overall quality and value of a princess-cut diamond is determined by four factors: cut, clarity, color, and carat. Together, these are known as the 4 C’s.
Cut — While the shape of a diamond refers to its physical appearance, the diamond cut refers to how a diamond’s features interact with light. Clean Origin only offers diamonds at or above a good cut quality; good, very good, excellent, or ideal are the four available options. While there is not an official GIA rating for princess-cut diamonds, we provide a rating system for our princess diamonds to help you determine how well it shines — but you’ll want to look at the stone yourself to decide whether it has what it takes to put a sparkle in your loved one’s eye.
Clarity — Clarity refers to the number of inclusions and blemishes in a particular stone. Each princess-cut diamond will have a different amount of these flaws, ranging from SI2 (having the largest amount) to VVS1 (having the least). While princess-cut diamonds hide flaws better than a round diamond might be sure that your stone passes the “eye test” once you see it; you should not be able to spot any flaws when you examine the stone yourself. If the stone appears clean to the naked eye, then you should be good to go.
Color — In this case, color refers to the absence of color in a diamond. Using an alphabetic scale starting at D (completely colorless) and ranging all the way down to Z (noticeably yellow), diamond experts are able to grade a diamond’s color and value. Clean Origin only offers diamonds from D through J on the scale. While the choice of color in a diamond is very subjective, keep in mind that princess diamonds can hide some color, but are not capable of disguising it all.
Carat — Carat refers to the weight of the diamond, though purchasers often think of carats in terms of size. One of the best assets of princess-cut diamonds is that they often cost less than other stones, due to the amount of uncut stone they use. As an added bonus, when you purchase a lab-grown princess diamond, you can save an additional 20-30%. This means that you can purchase the kind of diamond that will sweep your loved one off her feet — without wiping out your bank account.
LEARN ABOUT THE 4 C'S
