Looking for the perfect place to buy princess diamonds online?
You're in the right place!
In this Learning Jewelry guide I'll answer common questions like:
- What should you look for when buying princess diamonds online?
- Are princess diamonds good for an engagement ring?
- How do you know you’re getting a good deal?
- What are the red flags to watch out for when buying?
Top 5 Best Places to Buy Princess Diamonds Online
If you need the list quick, here are my top picks for finding princess diamonds from reputable online dealers. Keep reading for more information about each of these shops.
1. James Allen
James Allen is our number one pick for best place to buy princess cut diamonds from because of their affordable wide selection, affordable price ranges, and awesome warranty.
So let's break it down.
First, let's talk about James Allen's wide selection of loose diamonds. They offer customers choices between natural diamonds, lab grown diamonds, and even fancy color diamonds, all with options for princess cut diamonds.
The best princess diamonds at James Allen are going to be under the "Ideal" or True Hearts cut grades. While there are no true ideal cut princess diamonds, these diamonds will have the best sparkle and brilliance James Allen has to offer.
You can read more about ideal cut princess diamonds in the FAQ. They carry over 1400 one carat diamonds with minimum clarity grades of SI1 and H color grades. They carry more below these grades as well.
On average, the princess cut diamonds at James Allen will be around $500 cheaper than picking your own loose diamond from popular jewelry retailer, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry. Not only are they slightly cheaper, you have the option of choosing a GIA certified diamond from James Allen.
If you've read any of our other guides, you might know that we only recommend buying loose diamonds that are either GIA or AGS certified. Certified diamonds by these labs ensure you have received the diamond grades you have paid for and have the highest value.
In June of 2021, they launched a new addition to their engagement ring designing process: The Ring Studio. Now, customers can actually get more specific with their ring settings rather than just selecting one of the options James Allen offers.
If you want a platinum ring head to ensure the strength of your prongs and don't want the whole thing to be heavy platinum, you can still keep the shank at 14K gold. You can even mixed yellow gold with rose gold, or another combo. Check it out below.
People opt for buying diamonds online with James Allen for no pressure customer service, excellent 360 video, and complete control over the engagement ring and wedding band picking process. They also offer all customers a lifetime warranty plan with their jewelry to cover all routine maintenance your ring might need.
Pros
Cons
- Not many choices in diamond fine jewelry
- Does not cover loss of stones in settings
2. Clean Origin
Clean Origin is a close second in princess cut diamonds because they offer something very important to upcoming diamond buyers: lab grown diamonds. Despite their stigma of being called "synthetic", lab diamonds are real diamonds, just created by scientists instead of nature.
Clean Origin only sells lab diamond jewelry, from engagement rings to diamond bracelets. Even though we recommend only conflict-free diamond retailers, many opt for lab diamonds for the added security of knowing where the diamond comes from.
There are other reasons why one might choose Clean Origin over another online retailer, like their diamond prices. Lab diamonds can be anywhere from 20% to over 70% cheaper than mined diamonds of the same grade.
Clean Origin GIA Lab Diamond
James Allen Natural Diamond
Picking out the best cut princess diamond from Clean Origin might be a little difficult because there's no way of narrowing them by cut grade.
Since diamonds other than round don't officially have a cut grade, it's up to you to select a diamond with the best proportions for princess cut shapes. You can find out more about this in the FAQ.
Thankfully, you can easily browse and see all the deets on the diamond like polish and fluorescence without having to click into it. Their selection is on the small side, with 1004 princess cut diamonds altogether and only around 30 that are GIA certified.
Fortunately, lab diamonds don't have a huge distinction with grading labs, so we also recommend IGI or GCAL for lab diamonds.
If you buy with Clean Origin, you get a wild 100 day return policy. Most online jewelry stores will only do 30 day returns Why so long? My speculation is that they are so confident you'll love their rings, they'll give you that long to see if you can stare at it until you hate it.
But, I think it also has to do with the fact that most manufacturing defects reveal themselves within the first few months. They don't have a lifetime warranty to cover routine maintenance, but that return policy is definitely a nice one.
Read also: Clean Origin vs Brilliant Earth
Pros
- All lab diamond jewelry
- Free sizing for a year
- 13,000 loose diamonds
- 100 day return policy
Cons
- Not all 360˚ viewers are great
- No warranty for repairs
3. Blue Nile
One of the big reasons why Blue Nile is a major contender for top places to buy princess cut diamonds is because of their glowing reputation. They were the first online diamond retailer, and highly recommended among their customer base.
Like James Allen, Blue Nile offers 24/7 pressure-free customer service, but people really enjoy working with Blue Nile.
When you pick out a loose diamond at Blue Nile, they will show you in real time how many of that diamond shape they have in inventory. Today, they have 9,667 loose princess diamonds. Their princess diamonds are separated into cut grades labeled Good, Very Good, and Astor Ideal.
The Astor Ideal diamonds are going to be only for round diamonds, but it still shows up as an option. The Very Good princess diamonds are going to be the best diamond for light performance they have to offer.
Blue Nile's 1 carat princess diamonds (min VS2 clarity, H color) are going just a bit more expensive than James Allen, like $600 maximum. I really like that they only carry GIA certified diamonds, so you don't have other grading labs to sort through. Blue Nile knows that GIA grades high quality diamonds and they only want the best.
They have over 250 ring setting options for your princess diamonds, though a lot of them are slight variations of certain styles.
One of the things I don't like about Blue Nile is how they don't have 360˚ view on all of their diamonds. You can check a box when searching for your diamond that filters only diamonds that you can see up close and personal, especially if you're choosing a clarity grade not considered eye-clean, like an SI diamond.
The other thing I don't care for is yet again, another diamond dealer that doesn't believe in lifetime warranties. They'll cover any design flaws with their lifetime manufacturing warranty, but not anything to do with routine maintenance.
Pros
- Clear, controllable 360˚ view
- Extra services for customers
- GIA graded diamonds
- Excellent customer reputation
Cons
- 360˚ on some diamonds
- No repair warranty
4. Brilliant Earth
Brilliant Earth is known for their commitment to providing ethical diamonds to customers. They carry ethical natural diamonds called blockchain diamonds. A blockchain diamond comes with a detailed list of everywhere your diamond has been, including both origin and manufacturing. They also carry lab and natural colored diamonds, and lab grown diamonds.
Blockchain technology is used in the tech world, but Brilliant Earth is the first diamond retailer to bring into the diamond industry. They want customers to know the whole story behind the diamond, not just the placed it was mined from.
They have around 4100 natural princess cut diamonds with 360˚ view. They don't have 360˚ view on all their diamonds, like Blue Nile. But 4100 is enough to find a high quality diamond.
All of their princess diamonds will have GIA, IGI, or HRD certification. They give GIA Diamond Origin Reports instead of the standard GIA Diamond Report. A GIA Origin Report will confirm where your diamond was mined from.
Brilliant Earth really focuses on giving back. They have different collections whose proceeds go towards causes like the NAACP and female miners in Tanzania.
A common complaint made by potential customers about Brilliant Earth is their high prices. I don't think many people know about their blockchain diamonds because they don't tell you their purpose or importance.
It bothers me that you can't add the Extended Service Plan without talking to them. They will in-person or during a virtual appointment, but you can't do it yourself. You have to call them about it, assuming you know it exists. Information is only found in the footer.
I like that you get an option for a warranty, but it's only three years. I think if you have to pay for a warranty, it should be for life.
Pros
- Exclusive blockchain retailer
- Purchases give back to community
- GIA Origin Reports
- 14 showrooms in the US
Cons
- Lack of information about wanrranty and blockchain diamonds on website
- Option to pay for temporary service warranty
5. Ritani
Most people are familiar with the name Ritani, but not necessarily as a loose diamond and gemstone dealer. Ritani has been notably famous for their patented brand name ring settings. And with this prestigious designer name, comes designer premiums.
Their loose diamond collection doesn't come with any extra cost. Ritani actually shows customers a breakdown in how they price your diamond via their market analysis. Because online retailers get their diamonds directly from the source, they cut out the middleman that other physical retailers have. This is what gives you cheaper prices.
But the ring settings are definitely more expensive on average. The standard solitaires aren't badly priced, usually under $500. But once you get into the fancier settings with melee diamonds, prices skyrocket. Still, Ritani's pricing is going to be more affordable than going to big famous designer brands like Neil Lane and Vera Wang.
And, you get to choose your own diamond instead of a yellow looking center stone already preset.
Their princess diamond inventory is not the largest. They have 4352 princess cut diamonds available. They have 1232 minimum 1 carat weight. Add further specifications and the options condense more.
Using my H color and VS2 clarity specs, I find there are only 34 options to choose from. Of course, if you're a little bit looser on your grades you'll have more options.
My favorite thing about Ritani is their lifetime warranty. This warranty covers routine maintenance like rhodium plating white gold and tightening gemstones. You do have to sign up online to initiate it but then you're covered for life.
This is important for Ritani as James Allen is the only other online retailer on our list that has a free lifetime warranty for routine maintenance.
Pros
- Natural and lab grown diamonds
- Free lifetime service warranty
- Market analysis report
- All GIA or AGS certified
Cons
- Not all diamonds have 360˚ viewing
- Designer ring settings are more expensive
Princess Cut Diamonds FAQs
Here's a list of some of the most popular questions asked about princess cut diamonds. For a more in-depth guide, you can check out our Princess Diamond Buying Guide.
What are ideal cut princess diamonds?
Fancy shapes are any other diamond shape except for a round brilliant. Round cut diamonds are the only diamond shape that are officially declared ideal cut diamonds.
The cut quality on an ideal cut diamond is exact symmetry and the best for brilliance. Super ideal cut diamonds have more facets cut in them, but they don't make any real difference in overall brilliance and they come with a premium price.
Some jewelers have ideal cut princess diamonds listed in their diamond inventory, but you will find the cut grade blank on the grading report. Ideal cut fancy shapes like princess and cushion cut diamonds can't be perfectly symmetrical.
But what it does mean is that for each ideal cut princess diamond, it has been cut with the best quality for that particular shape. Since square shapes can't be perfect, they have a small range of guidelines that are the best way you could possibly cut that shape for ultimate brilliance.
These specifications include specific details like length to width ratios, depth percentages, and table sizes. Knowing these things about the diamond can also help you save money on paying for unnecessary carat weight that doesn't improve visible size.
Are Princess Cut Diamonds Expensive?
Round diamond engagement rings are going to be the most expensive shape on the diamond market. Most people would assume that's because it's also the most popular shape. But the real reason round diamonds are the most expensive is because they waste a lot of diamond rough.
Read also: Princess Cut vs Round Cut
To create diamond shapes, a diamond cutter has to discard the extra diamond rough that doesn't contribute to that shape. Like the scraps from a piece of construction paper. Just consider this very expensive construction paper.
And it's not like they can just cut more shapes out of the rough. The diamond cutter observes the rough through a jewelers loupe and the way the cleavage planes. The crystal structure determines what shape that rough diamond will be cut into. So it's a lot harder to save the rough than you'd think.
A princess cut diamond is the second most popular shape, and it retains more diamond rough than a round diamond. When princess cuts are made, they retain between 60-90% of the rough. For a round cut diamond, it's only 40%. Diamond pricing is affected by this.
What's the Best Setting for a Princess Cut Diamond?
You might've heard that diamonds are the hardest mineral on the planet, according the Mineral Scale of Hardness (MOH scale). But a lot of people are confused by the word hardness. Hardness doesn't mean unbreakable. It basically means unscratchable. Not just by hard surfaces, but dirt scratches softer stones. That's one of the reasons why some gemstones are great for daily wear and others are not.
Any gemstone can crack, chip, or break if struck hard enough, including a real diamond. Most diamonds that do chip are either on the girdle, culet, or the corners of pointed diamond shapes.
The most important factor in a setting for a princess cut is one that protects the corners. And because of its linear shape, you'll find many modern ring settings the most popular for princess shapes. Here's a few of the most popular settings for princess cut diamonds.
Solitaires: The sleek metallic look of a solitaire ring setting will look great for the geometric shape of a princess cut diamond. Just make sure your prongs cover your corners, like this stylized solitaire ring setting (only) from Clean Origin:
Infinity Settings: Infinity settings have been gaining popularity over the last ten years and are still a favorite. Some may call them twist settings, but there's different variations. I find the loops of the band make a princess cut diamond stand out more.
Often times a center stone can get lost in the mix with there are a lots of little diamonds. The empty space in the infinity loops creates a better visual than if they were all side by side. This ring setting below costs $1490, not the full price you see in the image. Check it out below:
Cathedral Settings: Many princess diamonds that don't have a halo find themselves in cathedral settings. A cathedral setting is a ring style that can either be plain as a solitaire or have small diamonds. The cathedral setting has a bar that goes across underneath the diamond head like the image below:
