Princess Cut Lab Grown Diamond Engagement Rings

Princess Cut Lab Grown Diamond Engagement Rings

Sharp corners, clean lines, and a diamond that looks like it was drawn with a ruler. The princess cut has always been for the person who finds round a little too expected; it trades soft curves for something more architectural, more deliberate, without giving up an ounce of sparkle. Since it first appeared in the 1980s, it's earned a reputation as the shape for people who want their ring to look considered rather than conventional. Every centre stone in this edit is IGI or SDI certified to EF colour and VVS clarity, set in BIS-hallmarked gold, and hand-finished from start to finish in our own workshop in India. 

Certified lab-grown diamonds · BIS-hallmarked gold · Fancy-colour green centres with EF–VVS white accents · Free resizing & lifetime care · Cash on Delivery · Try them on in Bangalore, Coimbatore & Guwahati

Why the Princess Cut, and Who it's for

The princess cut arrived in its modern form around 1980 and did something no square diamond had managed before: it took the facet engineering of the round brilliant and folded it into a square outline. Until then, if you wanted a square stone, you accepted a step cut, the emerald or Asscher look, all mirrors and restraint, very little fire. The princess gave people a square that actually sparkles.

It became the second most popular engagement shape in the world through the 1990s and 2000s, faded slightly as ovals took over, and is now firmly back as part of the wider return to geometric, architectural jewellery.

It suits you if: you want something modern rather than traditional; you like clean lines and defined edges; you want maximum diamond for your budget; you want a ring that sits flush against a wedding band without a custom-shaped fit.

Look elsewhere if: you work with your hands constantly and won't take the ring off; the corners are the shape's one vulnerability, and while a good setting solves it, a bezel-set round or cushion is a lower-maintenance choice. See round-cut rings or cushion-cut rings.

Anatomy of a Princess Cut: What You're Actually Looking at

Four things determine whether a princess-cut diamond looks sharp and alive or flat and grey. None of them is carat weight.

Facets: 57 to 76:  A princess cut carries chevron-shaped facets in each pavilion quadrant, usually two, three or four chevrons. More chevrons means smaller, more numerous flashes of light (a crushed-ice look). Fewer chevrons means broader, bolder flashes. Neither is better; two-chevron stones read as more graphic, four-chevron as more shimmering.

Length-to-width ratio: 1.00 to 1.05 for a true square: This is the number to ask for. At 1.00, the stone is perfectly square. Up to about 1.05, it still reads square to the eye. Past 1.10, you are looking at a rectangular princess, which is a legitimate look but a different one, and you should be paying less for it, because rectangular princess rough is more common.

Depth: typically 65–75%: Princess cuts are deep relative to their face-up size. That depth is where the sparkle comes from, but it also means a princess carries more of its weight below the girdle than a round does.

The face-up size question, answered honestly: A 1.00ct round measures roughly 6.4mm across. A 1.00ct princess measures roughly 5.5mm × 5.5mm, so its face-up surface area is around 10% smaller than the round's. But its diagonal runs about 7.7mm, which is wider than the round's diameter, and the diagonal is what sits across your finger. 

The practical result: a princess doesn't look smaller on the hand; it looks different, with more coverage corner-to-corner, less in a circle.

How to Choose a Princess-Cut Engagement Ring

The order we walk customers through in-store, in the order that actually matters.

1. Set the budget first, then let the ring fit it

Ignore the three-month salary rule. It was a De Beers advertising line from the 1930s, not financial guidance. Decide on a number you're comfortable with and shop inside it.

Princess-cut rings in this collection are available across a range of price points. The final price depends on factors such as the centre-stone carat, side-stone detailing, and whether you choose 14KT or 18KT gold. If you’re working with a specific budget, you can explore engagement rings in your preferred price range and speak to us about creating a princess-cut ring with a slimmer setting or slightly smaller centre stone. 

2. Get the proportions right before you get the carat right

This is where most buyers overspend. A 0.90ct princess with a 1.02 length-to-width ratio, excellent polish and symmetry, and clean corners will outperform a 1.10ct princess with a 1.14 ratio and mediocre finish every single time, on the other hand, in real light. Ask for the ratio and the polish/symmetry grades before you ask for the carat.

A second saving: prices step up sharply at round carat numbers. A 0.92ct princess and a 1.00ct princess are visually indistinguishable and are not priced the same.

3. Choose a setting that protects the corners

The corners of a princess cut are its thinnest, most exposed points, and they are where damage happens. This is not a reason to avoid the shape; it's a reason to set it properly. Every princess-cut ring we make uses one of these:

• V-prongs (chevron prongs) wrap each corner in metal rather than gripping the side of the stone. This is the standard, and it's what most of our solitaire settings use.

• A halo sits smaller diamonds tightly around the centre stone, which both frames the corners and physically shields them and makes the centre look noticeably larger. See halo rings.

• A bezel or half-bezel encircles the stone in a rim of gold. Maximum protection, lowest profile, the right answer for hands-on lives.

• Channel setting drops the stone between two walls of metal. Very secure, very clean, very 90s in the best way.

Avoid a princess set in bare four-prongs that grip the flat sides and leave the corners exposed. It happens; it's a shortcut; we don't do it.

4. Choose your gold

White, yellow or rose, this is about skin tone and taste, not performance. Full guidance in choosing your metal below.

5. Match the ring to the life it will live

Hands-on job, gym five days a week, small children? Go lower-profile: bezel or halo, a slightly smaller centre stone, a sturdier shank. Rarely worry about knocks and want presence? Go taller, go bolder, go three-stone.

6. Get the size right

The most common surprise-proposal mistake. Borrow a ring she already wears on that finger and bring it in, or let us help; we can confirm sizing during a design consultation before anything is crafted. Every Reia ring includes free resizing for life, so a near-miss is fixable.

One princess-specific note: square stones sit differently on the finger than round ones. If you're between sizes, size up rather than down; a snug princess is harder to live with because the corners catch.

Understanding Diamond Quality: the 4Cs, Applied to a Princess Cut

Generic 4Cs advice is written for round diamonds. Here's what changes for a princess.

Cut: The thing nobody tells you about fancy-shape certificates

Neither IGI nor GIA issues an overall cut grade for fancy shapes, including the princess cut. Cut grading is standardised only for round brilliants. Your princess-cut certificate will show polish and symmetry grades, plus measurements, depth % and table %, but no single "Excellent cut" verdict.

So judge cut this way instead:

• Polish and symmetry: Excellent or Very Good on both.

• Length-to-width ratio: 1.00–1.05 for a square look.

• Depth: roughly 65–75%.

• Table: roughly 65–75%.

• Then look at it. A princess cut that is too shallow has "windows"  you see straight through the middle. Too deep and the centre goes dark. Neither shows up as a grade; both show up instantly to the eye.

This is why we photograph and video every stone, and why we'd rather you come to a store and look.

Colour: Why princess cuts need a little more care than rounds

Graded D (colourless) to Z (visibly tinted). Princess cuts hold colour slightly more visibly than rounds, particularly at the corners where the facet geometry concentrates body colour. Standard trade advice for a princess in white metal is G or better.

Reia's house standard is E–F, comfortably above that threshold, which is why our princess cuts read bright white in white gold rather than faintly warm. In yellow or rose gold, you can go lower without seeing tint, because the metal masks it, but we don't, because the difference is visible the day she switches from office light to sunlight.

Clarity: The one place inclusions actually matter structurally

Graded Flawless down through VVS, VS, SI and I. In a princess cut, the brilliant faceting scatters light so effectively that most inclusions are invisible face-up well down into the SI range.

There is one exception, and it's a durability issue rather than a beauty one: an inclusion sitting at or near a corner is a weak point. That's the part of the stone most likely to take an impact. It's the reason we hold a VVS house standard on centre stones rather than buying to the eye-clean line at VVS; the question doesn't arise.

Carat: Where a princess cut wins

One carat = 0.2 grams. Two things to know:

Because a princess cut retains more of the original rough crystal than a round brilliant does, princess-cut diamonds have historically carried a meaningful price advantage per carat over an equivalent round. That convention holds in lab-grown pricing too.
Practically, the same budget buys you a visibly larger princess than a round.

And because lab-grown diamonds are cultivated under controlled conditions, they cluster naturally at the high end of colour and clarity. D–F colour and VVS clarity grades that command a steep premium in mined stones are the everyday baseline in a lab-grown princess. That is the whole value argument in one sentence.

Princess Cut vs the Other Square and Rectangular Shapes

The four cuts people cross-shop against a princess, and how they actually differ.

Princess vs round, since that's the real decision for most buyers: the round brilliant is the most sparkle-optimised shape ever engineered, and it will never look dated. The princess trades a little of that sparkle for defined geometry, a larger diagonal spread, and a better price per carat. If you want the safest possible choice, take the round. If "safest possible choice" sounds like a criticism to you, take the princess.

Lab-Grown vs Natural Princess-Cut Diamonds

A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond. Pure crystallised carbon, 10 on the Mohs scale, with identical optical and chemical properties. The only difference is origin: one is grown in a few weeks using CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) or HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) technology; the other is formed underground over roughly a billion years. Side by side, a trained gemologist needs specialist equipment to tell them apart.

The honest summary: if you want the most beautiful princess-cut diamond your budget allows, with certification, traceability and a clear conscience, lab-grown is the better buy, which is why most new engagement rings now use a lab-grown centre. If your priority is rarity as a store of value, a mined stone still has the edge. Reia is a lab-grown specialist; what protects your spend with us is the Carat Club exchange and buyback, not the open resale market.

Choosing Your Metal: White, Yellow and Rose gold

Every Reia engagement ring is crafted in BIS-hallmarked 14KT or 18KT gold. 18KT is purer with a richer colour; 14KT is slightly harder and a little more affordable. Both are excellent for daily wear. The bigger decision is colour, and with a princess cut, it genuinely changes the character of the ring.

White gold is cool, bright, and contemporary. It makes the geometry of a princess cut read sharpest, because there's no colour contrast softening the outline, and it makes an EF stone look even whiter. The closest look to platinum at a far friendlier price. Shop white gold engagement rings.

Yellow gold is warm, classic, and the dominant choice in Indian bridal jewellery. A princess cut in yellow gold is a striking combination: the modern square outline against traditional warm metal. Never needs re-plating. Shop yellow gold engagement rings.

Rose gold is soft, romantic, and flattering on virtually every skin tone. It takes the slight severity out of a square stone, which is exactly why some people choose it. Shop rose gold engagement rings.

What about platinum? Platinum is naturally white, hypoallergenic and very durable, but considerably more expensive, and it's a large part of why engagement rings from Western brands cost what they do. Reia specialises in BIS-hallmarked gold, and 18KT white gold delivers the same bright-white look for less. Paired with a lab-grown diamond, that's how our rings stay genuinely luxurious without the luxury markup.

Princess-Cut Ring Styles at Reia

Solitaire: one princess-cut diamond, V-prong set, nothing competing with it. The purest expression of the shape and our most-requested. Browse solitaires.

Halo: a frame of smaller diamonds around the centre stone. On a princess cut, a square halo amplifies the geometry and can make a 0.70ct centre read closer to a full carat. It also shields the corners. Browse halo rings.

Hidden halo: the halo sits under the centre stone rather than around it, visible only in profile. Sparkle from the side, clean square outline from above. Browse hidden halo rings.

Three-stone: a princess centre flanked by two smaller princess cuts, trapezoids or tapered baguettes. Past, present and future, in the most architectural version of that idea. Browse three-stone rings.

Pavé and micro-pavé bands: small diamonds set along the shank for continuous shimmer leading up to the centre stone. Four of the rings in this edit use pavé work. Browse pavé rings.

Twisted and split bands: the shank splits or twists around the centre stone, adding movement against the square's straight lines. Twisted band · Split band.

Side-stone designs: marquise, heart or round accents running along the shoulders, softening the geometry. Browse side-stone rings.

For him: princess and square-set designs in bolder, lower-profile forms. Rings for him.

Pairing a Princess Cut with a Wedding Band

A practical advantage worth knowing before you buy, because it costs money later if you don't.

Elongated and pointed shapes, pear, marquise, oval, and any stone set low with a wide halo often need a contoured or notched wedding band, custom-shaped to sit around the centre stone. That's an extra design step and an extra cost.

A princess cut sits flush against a straight band. Its flat bottom edge means a plain or pavé eternity band lines up cleanly against it with no gap and no custom shaping. If you like the idea of stacking bands over the years, anniversary bands, and eternity bands, the princess is one of the easiest shapes to build a stack around.

Browse wedding bands and stackable bands, or bring your ring to any store and we'll match a band to it in person.

Custom Princess-cut Engagement Rings

If nothing in this edit is exactly right, we'll make the ring that is. Reia has an in-house design team and our own workshop, so a custom ring is genuinely bespoke rather than a catalogue swap. Bring a Pinterest board, a family heirloom to reimagine, or just a feeling.

You can specify:

• Centre stone  carat, length-to-width ratio, and how square you want it to read

• Setting: solitaire, halo, hidden halo, three-stone, bezel, channel, pavé

• Corner protection: V-prong, half-bezel or full bezel, chosen around your daily life

• Gold: white, yellow or rose, in 14KT or 18KT

• Side stones: princess, trapezoid, tapered baguette, marquise or round

• Engraving: a date, initials or a private message inside the band

Start a design consultation or design your own ring online. Sizing and final design are confirmed with you before anything is crafted.

Proposals, Anniversaries and Milestones

Proposals: A lab-grown princess cut lets you propose with a larger, cleaner, brighter diamond and still keep room in the budget for the rest of it: the trip, the dinner, the wedding.

Anniversaries: A princess-cut eternity band or a three-stone ring is a natural way to mark a year, five years, or twenty-five. Explore anniversary rings.

Milestones: A new home, a promotion, a personal "I made it." A diamond ring isn't only for "I do." Everyday and daily-wear designs.

Vow renewals and upgrades: Through the Carat Club, you can trade up to a larger centre stone later and put the value of your original diamond toward it.

Why Couples Choose Reia

Certified diamonds, every time: Every centre stone is IGI- or SDI-certified with full documentation of its 4Cs, measurements, polish and symmetry. You know exactly what you're buying.

Independently hallmarked gold: Every ring is BIS-hallmarked 14KT or 18KT. Purity is stamped on the ring and verified by a third party, not just promised by us.

A house standard above the commercial norm: EF colour, VVS clarity as our baseline, not our premium tier. On a princess cut specifically, that means no visible warmth at the corners and no inclusions sitting at the stone's weakest points.

Made in our own workshop: Hand-finished by skilled Indian artisans, with an in-house design team for genuine customisation. We control the craft end-to-end.

Ethical and conflict-free by design: Lab-grown diamonds are traceable and conflict-free, with a far smaller environmental footprint than mining.

The Carat Club: Lifetime exchange and buyback: Upgrade your diamond or restyle your ring later and recover up to 70% of your diamond's value toward the upgrade. Members also enjoy zero making charges. See how it works.

Buy the way you want. Shop online with Cash on Delivery, or book an appointment and see the rings in person.

Lifetime care. Free professional cleaning, prong-tightening, and resizing for the life of your ring, which matters more on a princess cut than on most shapes.

Caring for a Princess-Cut Diamond Ring

A diamond is the hardest material there is. The gold around it, and the four corners holding your stone in place, are not.

Check the corners, not just the prongs: On a princess cut, ask your jeweller to specifically inspect the V-prongs at each corner. Prong wear on a princess shows up at the corners first, and a loose corner prong is the single most common cause of a lost stone in this shape. We do this for free for life, at any store.

Clean it at home every couple of weeks: Soak for 20–30 minutes in warm water with a drop of mild dish soap, brush gently behind the stone with a soft toothbrush, that's where skin oil and lotion collect and dull the sparkle- rinse, and pat dry with a lint-free cloth. Princess cuts have deep pavilions, so buildup underneath affects them more visibly than it does a shallower shape.

Take it off for the gym, gardening, cleaning with harsh chemicals, chlorinated pools, and when applying lotion or perfume. With a princess cut, add one more: take it off before anything that involves gripping or impact. The corners are what catch.

Store it separately in a soft pouch or lined box. Diamonds scratch other jewellery and each other.

Get it professionally checked once or twice a year. Free for the life of the ring at any Reia store.

Shipping, returns, warranty and buyback

• Secure, insured delivery. Every order is fully insured in transit and shipped in tamper-evident packaging. Shipping and delivery details.
  
  

• Cash on Delivery available, so you can pay when your ring arrives.
  
  

• Easy returns and exchanges. Return and exchange policy.
  
  

• Lifetime exchange and buyback. Upgrade or trade in over time. Buyback programme.
  
  

• Certification and hallmark with every ring: IGI or SDI diamond certificate, BIS gold hallmark.
  
  

• Lifetime care warranty: free cleaning, resizing and prong maintenance.

Visit a Reia Store

Princess cuts are a shape worth seeing in person; proportion and finish do more work than the certificate can show you.

Come in. Six stores:

• Bengaluru – Jayanagar (Flagship): 11th Main Rd, 4th T Block East, Jayanagar, Bengaluru 560011

• Bengaluru – Dickenson Road (Ring Studio): Shop No. 2, Dickenson Road, Bangalore 560042

• HSR Layout Ring Studio: No. 429, First Floor, 27th Main Rd, above Mokobara, PWD Quarters, 1st Sector, HSR Layout, Bengaluru 560102 

• Coimbatore – R.S. Puram (Flagship): Gee Jay Arcade, E.V. Swamy Rd, R.S. Puram, Coimbatore 641002

• Coimbatore – Cross Cut Road (Ring Studio): Door No. 907, Cross Cut Rd, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore 641012

• Guwahati – Fancy Bazaar: 1st Floor, Bhola Mansion, Hem Baruah Rd, Fancy Bazaar, Guwahati 781001

Or stay where you are. Book a live video call, and an advisor will pick the rings up on camera, turn them in the light, and compare them side by side for you. Camera on or off, whichever you prefer.

See all stores and book a visit → · Call +91 63605 80124

Can't get to a store? Book a live video consultation; an advisor will show you pieces on camera, rotate them, and compare stones with you in real time.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a princess-cut diamond? 

A princess cut is a square diamond with sharp, uncut corners and brilliant-style faceting. Developed in its modern form around 1980, it combines the sparkle engineering of a round brilliant with a square outline, typically using 57 to 76 facets.

2. Are princess-cut lab-grown diamonds real diamonds? 

Yes. They are pure crystallised carbon, identical in chemistry, hardness and optical behaviour to mined diamonds, and score 10/10 on the Mohs scale. The only difference is that they were grown in a lab rather than formed underground.

3. Is the princess cut still in style? 

Yes. It was the second most popular engagement shape through the 1990s and 2000s, and it has returned strongly as part of the broader revival of geometric cuts alongside emerald, Asscher and radiant.

4. Does a princess cut look bigger or smaller than a round of the same carat? 

Its face-up area is roughly 10% smaller than an equivalent round; a 1ct princess is about 5.5 × 5.5mm versus a 1ct round at about 6.4mm. But its diagonal measures around 7.7mm, so it covers more of the finger corner to corner.

5. Do princess-cut diamonds sparkle as much as round diamonds? 

Almost. The round brilliant is the most sparkle-optimised shape ever engineered. A princess cut uses brilliant-style faceting and sparkles far more than step cuts like emerald or Asscher, with a crisper, more graphic flash pattern than a round.

6. Do princess-cut diamonds chip easily? 

The sharp corners are the shape's weak point and can chip if struck hard. In a proper setting, this is a non-issue: V-prongs, a halo, a bezel, or a channel setting all cover the corners in metal. Avoid designs that leave corners exposed.

7. What is the best setting for a princess-cut diamond?

 V-prongs (chevron prongs) are the standard, because they wrap each corner rather than gripping the sides. A halo adds protection plus visual size; a bezel or half-bezel offers the most protection and the lowest profile, which suits hands-on lifestyles.

8. What length-to-width ratio should a princess cut have? 

Between 1.00 and 1.05 for a true square look. Up to about 1.10 still reads square. Above that, you have a rectangular princess, a valid style, but it should be priced lower than a square stone of the same carat.

9. What colour grade should I choose for a princess cut? 

G or better is the usual trade advice, because princess cuts show body colour slightly more at the corners than rounds do. Reia's house standard is E–F, which reads bright white in white, yellow and rose gold alike.

10. What clarity should I choose for a princess cut? 

Brilliant faceting hides inclusions well, so most princess cuts are eye-clean into the SI range. The one thing to avoid is an inclusion at or near a corner, since that's a structural weak point. Reia's VVS house standard removes the question.

11. Why doesn't my princess-cut certificate show a cut grade? 

Because IGI and GIA only issue overall cut grades for round brilliants. For fancy shapes, including princess, the report shows polish, symmetry, measurements, depth % and table % instead. Look for Excellent or Very Good polish and symmetry, and check the proportions yourself.

12. Is a princess cut cheaper than a round diamond? 

Generally yes. A princess cut retains more of the original rough crystal during cutting than a round brilliant does, so it has historically carried a lower price per carat. That convention carries into lab-grown pricing, meaning the same budget buys a larger princess than a round.

13. How much does a princess-cut lab-grown diamond engagement ring cost at Reia? 

Rings in this collection are available across a range of price points, depending on the centre-stone carat, side-stone detailing, and whether the ring is crafted in 14KT or 18KT gold. 

14. What carat size looks best in a princess cut? 

Between 0.70ct and 1.20ct suits most hands. Because prices step up sharply at round numbers, a 0.92ct stone looks essentially identical to a 1.00ct and costs noticeably less, one of the easiest savings available on this shape.

15. Princess cut vs radiant cut: what is the difference? 

Both are brilliant-faceted, but a radiant has bevelled (cut) corners while a princess has sharp ones. That makes radiants more durable and slightly more fiery; princess cuts read crisper and more geometric.

16. Princess cut vs Asscher: which should I choose? 

A princess is a brilliant cut: lots of scintillation and sparkle. An Asscher is a step cut: a mirrored, restrained, Art Deco look with far less fire. Asschers also demand higher clarity, because step facets hide nothing.

17. Does a princess-cut ring sit flush with a wedding band? 

Yes, one of the shapes' real practical advantages. Its flat bottom edge lets a straight wedding or eternity band sit cleanly against it, with no gap and no custom contouring, unlike pear, marquise or many oval settings.

18. Which gold colour suits a princess cut best? 

White gold gives the sharpest, most modern reading of the square outline and makes an EF stone look whitest. Yellow gold creates a striking modern-meets-traditional contrast. Rose gold softens the geometry. All three work; it's about skin tone and taste.

19. Should I choose 14KT or 18KT gold? 

18KT is purer with a richer colour; 14KT is slightly harder and more affordable. Both are BIS-hallmarked, and both are excellent for daily wear. For a princess cut with delicate V-prongs, 14KT's extra hardness is a small practical plus.

20. Can I customise a princess-cut engagement ring? 

Yes, fully. Choose the centre stone's carat and length-to-width ratio, the setting and corner protection, gold colour and purity, side stones and engraving, or design something entirely new with our in-house team.

21. How long does a custom princess-cut ring take to make? 

Customisation of an existing design typically takes 7 days. We confirm the exact timeline, along with sizing and other details, during your design consultation before crafting begins.

22. How do I get the ring size right for a surprise proposal? 

Borrow a ring she already wears on that finger and bring it to a store, or speak to our team. Every Reia ring includes free resizing for life. If you're between sizes on a princess cut, size up; a snug square stone catches more than a round one.

23. How do I clean a princess-cut diamond ring at home? 

Soak for 20–30 minutes in warm water with a drop of mild dish soap, brush gently behind the stone with a soft toothbrush, rinse and pat dry. Princess cuts have deep pavilions, so buildup underneath dulls them faster than shallower shapes.

24. Is delivery insured, and is Cash on Delivery available? 

Yes to both. Every order ships fully insured in tamper-evident packaging, and Cash on Delivery is available across India.

25. Can I upgrade my princess-cut diamond later?

Yes. Through the Carat Club lifetime exchange and buyback, you can trade up to a larger or different stone and recover up to 70% of your diamond's value toward the upgrade.