10 carat princess cut diamond ring

Ultimate guide to buying an 10 carat princess cut diamond


10 carat princess cut diamonds are a beautiful choice – they sparkle incredibly well, which means that your ring will catch eyes from across any room!

While it’s one of the most popular sizes for smaller carat weights, princess cuts are less commonly chosen to be the centre stone for 10 carat diamonds. However, there should still be a reasonable number of stones available for you to review and select from.

It also means that finding the best 10 carat princess cut diamond can mean reviewing and rejecting sub-par stones. That’s where this page will help.

10 carat princess cut diamonds header image

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Key takeaway:

There are many factors that affect price and value of a 10 carat princess cut diamond – some obvious, some less so. Two stones that appear similar on paper may look surprisingly different in reality and be valued very differently.

If you would like some guidance to choose your diamond

At this carat weight, it can be a good idea to get some expert help. Two diamonds that look similar on paper can appear very different in real life. My recommendation is The Diamond Oak if you:

  • Aren’t confident comparing diamonds yourself
  • Would appreciate some expert help in your corner
  • Would like to be sure that you have got the very best diamond for your budget

If you’re confident to make your own decision

Online retailers can be a great choice as you can review a large selection of diamonds in your own time. My recommendation is James Allen, which is the best option if you’re:

  • Happy to review diamonds on your own
  • Comfortable with comparing diamonds based on specs, images and video
  • Confident that you can make a decision yourself

How much do 10 carat princess cut diamonds cost?

10 carat princess cut diamonds are extremely rare, so the price of an individual stone will depend on the 4 C quality factors, as well as how well the stone has been shaped.

It’s likely that the price could range from $200,000 for a diamond with low color and clarity (e.g. SI2 clarity, K color) all the way to around $800,000 for a diamond with high colour and clarity (e.g. FL clarity, D color)

It’s important to recognise that at this carat weight, there can be considerable differences between individual stones with similar specs on paper, so each stone really does need to be assessed on its own basis.

10 carat princess cut diamond size


A typical 10 carat princess cut diamond may be around 11.87mm x 11.87mm x 8.55mm.

Here’s how it looks compared to a 9 carat and an 11 carat:

10 carat princess cut diamond size comparison

One important thing to understand when you are looking at 10 carat princess cut diamonds is that carat weight is a measure of weight rather than size.

Carat weight is therefore spread out throughout the volume of the stone ie. length, width and depth.

Princess cuts are cut to be deeper than many other diamond shapes, which means that there is less material available to spread out in the other directions.

A princess cut will look larger than most asscher cut diamonds at 10 carats, but will look smaller than a square-ish 10 carat radiant cut diamond ring or a square 10 carat cushion cut engagement ring.

10 carat princess cut diamond color

As you likely know, diamond color is graded on a GIA-developed scale from D to Z, although most diamonds used in jewelry fall into the D to M range:

10 Color scale

Higher carat weight diamonds tend to show up color more easily than smaller stones, especially in the corners where they sparkle less.

If you want to ensure your diamond doesn’t have a yellow tint, it’s important to try and keep the color as high up the scale as possible.

On the other side of the equation is the effect color has on price.

In most shapes, the price difference between an H color, I color and J color diamond can be significant,

With a 10 carat princess cut diamond, the color grade you choose can be dependant on the color of the ring setting you are going to pair the diamond with. If you are choosing a white colored setting (platinum or white gold), then I color delivers a good balance of white appearance and value.

However, if you are choosing a yellow gold setting, then you can reduce the color of your diamond to K without it looking yellow, as it will still look white compared to the warm tones of the setting.

10 carat princess cut diamond color recommendation

10 carat princess cut diamond clarity

Clarity is a measure of the presence of inclusions (or flaws) within a diamond.

The clarity scale runs:

10 GIA diamond Clarity scale

Princess cut are a brilliant cut, which means that they are optimised to reflect light back from the bottom of the stone in the form of brilliant sparkle. This can mean that inclusions can be difficult to see under the facets, which is a good thing!

A good starting point for 10 carat princess cut diamond clarity is SI1:

10 carat princess cut diamond clarity

However, depending on the diamonds that are available at the time you are looking, you may need to increase this to VS2, or even higher, to ensure that the diamond is ‘eye clean’ and no flaws can be seen.

Best Place To Buy a 10 Carat Princess Cut Diamond Ring

For smaller carat weights, my recommended retailers is frequently James Allen, which offers a huge selection of stones and can be a good option if you are confident in making a decision yourself.

However, they don’t offer diamonds at this carat weight, so my strong recommendation is to find a reputable diamond dealer who can assist you with sourcing your diamond. My recommendation is Alon Mor at The Diamond Oak.

I like this review of his service – it’s worth a read to understand just how special buying a diamond can be.

If you’d like to feel as special as the person in this review, I’d recommend getting in touch with Alon. Let him know you heard of him through Ringspo and he will go above and beyond to make the experience even more special.

Get bespoke help to find your perfect stone

At this size and carat weight, it can be a good idea to get some expert help. Two diamonds that look similar on paper can appear very different in real life. My recommendation is The Diamond Oak if you:

  • Aren’t confident comparing diamonds yourself
  • Would appreciate some expert help in your corner
  • Would like to be sure that you have got the very best diamond for your budget

If you’d like to go it alone when choosing your diamond

Online retailers can be a great choice as you can review a large selection of diamonds in your own time. My recommendation is James Allen, which is the best option if you’re:

  • Happy to review diamonds on your own
  • Comfortable with comparing diamonds based on specs, images and video
  • Confident that you can make a decision yourself