Q&A: Looking for 1.20 to 1.50 Carat Princess Cut for Around $8000

Thanks for writing. I’m happy you found the site useful.

To address your concerns about matching, I’ve got a few things to say. Firstly, there’s no reason at all to match clarity. Clarity doesn’t affect how a diamond looks to your eye unless it’s very low quality and the inclusions are visible to the naked eye. The only things that affect how a stone looks are its size, color, and cut. You could have two 1ct I color princess cuts cut with similar proportions (ie, table and depth %) that are identical to the naked eye even though one is flawless and the other is an SI2.

Secondly, when it comes to matching diamonds of the same size, the two stones can easily be off by one color grade and you would never see the difference. Early on in my career I did a ton of matching for studs and other jewelry sets. THe rule was always that the stones in a pair or larger group can always vary by a color grade. When you’re talking about a large center stone matching with tiny pave stones on a setting, you could even go down 2 color grades and the difference wouldn’t be noticeable.

So having said all that, I would recommend you shoot for an H color stone. The largest jump in price between any two colors is between H and G. So why pay that nonsensical premium for a G color stone if an H Color stone will look the same? And as regard clarity, I always say you should buy the lowest clarity available that’s clean to the naked eye. Now in princess cuts, because of the type of rough that they generally come from, there aren’t a lot of stone available in the SI range. But lets see what I can find.

Here’s what I recommend:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1277224.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – even though it’s an SI2, it looks like it will be eye clean. Huge stone for the price.

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1101656.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – stone has an amazing cut. It’s actually got a larger face (LxW) than the stone above due to its superior cut. I love this stone. THis is my primary recommendation.

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1294088.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – H VS1

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1294770.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – if you wanted to save some money, a great option

Have a look at these, and let me know what you think.

Take a look at my articles about polish and symmetry:

https://www.diamonds.pro/education/polish/

https://www.diamonds.pro/education/symmetry/

The only thing in that stone that might be visible is if you look closely just to the right of the top left corner you’ll see a black spot on the very edge of the stone. From the top down, you most likely would never notice this since it’s on the edge, but it’s possible this might be visible from the side since I have no way of knowing how tall the inclusion is. It might just be a black speck on top, but it might also be a vertical line that would easily be seen from the side. You can have JA’s customer service reps check out the stone for you if you’d like and they can tell you for certain whether or not it’s visible to the naked eye.

Let me know what you decide to do in the end!

The 1.72ct stone is a hard one to judge because the picture isn’t so clear. But from what I can tell as it is, it looks like it will be eye clean.

It’s true that with princess cuts especially, you can see more SIs from the side, but this never bothered me, as nobody looks at a diamond set in a ring from the side. Diamonds are meant to be viewed top down, not from the side. This is how they’re cut, and this is how they’re displayed in the ring.

As far as my recommendation goes – I would say that if JA says that it is eye clean, then you should definitely go for it. It’s the largest of the 3 remaining suggestions, and if it’s eye clean, then it will be as brilliant and fiery as the others, just larger.

let me know what you decide to go with in the end!

……

Hey. Just wanted to follow up with you. Did you pick any of those stones I recommended or are you holding out for something else?

If not, I found another good alternative:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1271983.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – it’s 1.51, but it’s just as large in LxW as the 1.72! And best of all, it’s $400 cheaper!

I just noticed that the 1.51 is no longer available. Did you grab it?? I hope it’s because of you that it’s not available anymore!!!

Doe! The hunt continues….

Wow. Where are you deployed? I’ve actually helped a few soldiers/contractors buy rings. A couple in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Thank you for what you’re doing.

You could have it shipped to a fedex location in NJ, if your parents don’t mind going in to pick it up.

Let me know when you have that figured out, and then I’ll take another look so you don’t have to suffer another let down!

My Pleasure! This one’s got an awesome cut, but it’s a bit expensive:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1289140.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

Can you hack that price, or do you need to keep it a little lower?

Stay safe!

Ha! Let me know when you resolve the shipping issue and you’ve got your finger on the trigger. Then I’ll go back and find you some more options.

Sure thing. Here’s a great option:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1260690.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

It’s got an amazing cut. Don’t pay attention to the fact that JA gives it a “premium” cut. It’s rare to find a princess cut with a table under 70%. Also, it’s pretty much the same size as the others that I sent you that you liked.

It was my pleasure! I wish you and your fiance to be a long life together filled with health, happiness, and love!

Please let me know how the ring looks when you get it.