2 Cushions with Specs from GIE, any thoughts?

[pauly1]

For those of you who follow cushions closely, I'm going to look at two stones. I originally wanted a certified "old mine" brilliant but I think I have a better chance of finding Jimmy Hoffa; and I've been looking for 2 months. Not for Jimmy, ...but for the stone.

That said, I'm going for a "Cushion Brilliant" with an 8 pavilion plot and some very specific specs. From all my research, these COULD look very similar to the Old Mine. These just popped up from someone I'm working with. Thoughts? Obviously I'm into SIs, and they need to be seen, from what I've been told though, they are eye clean.

Stone 1

Cushion Brilliant
Measurements: 7.68 x 6.42 x 4.46 mm
Carat weight: 1.58
Color: H
Clarity: SI1
Depth %: 69.3%
Table %: 57
Symmetry: Good
Polish: Very good
Girdle: Slightly Thick
Culet: Slightly Large
Fluorescence: None


Comments:

Additional clouds are not shown
Crown angles are greater than 40 degress ! (This is a good thing from all my research)

Stone 2

Cushion Brilliant
Carat weight: 1.55
Measurements: 6.56 x 6.02 x 4.09 mm
Color: H
Clarity: SI2
Depth %: 67.6%
Table %: 54%
Symmetry: Good
Polish: Very good
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: Slightly large
Fluorescence: None

Both stones have the same 8 pavilion plot. This picture below is the actual plot from the 1.58 stone. The plot from the 1.55 isn't worth posting, ti appears to be to clean, I'll need to see it in person.

 

[pauly1]

Plot

 

[surfgirl]

You haven''t called Mark and ERD, have you? I think he can source those pretty easily in fact. The question is whether you want a real antique cushion, or a new repro cut. If you haven''t spoken to him, you should put down your shovel and call him.

 

[diagem]

Both could be great looking Cushions..., or not...
Images..., images and again images.

BTW..., those could easily fall into Old-Mine Cut appearance..., the fact that GIA (I presume) is categorizing them as Cushion Brilliants..., doesnt mean they are not OMC''s...

, Too many mistakes with GIA identifying OMC''s lately.

 

[pauly1]

Thanks Surfgirl. Yes I do agree that Mark is widely regarded as the cushion expert and I haven''t ruled him out. However, while I''m sure his ability to locate these stones is the best, the person I''m working with happens to be a friend of the family and therefore his prices are really the driving force. If I can get pretty close to what I want from him, I woud like to go that route. My budget is pretty tight.

Any thoughts though on the stones I posted?

 

[pauly1]

Diagem thanks. I agree these lab reports are just all pver the map. I''ll see the stones on Monday and will post pictures. Well actually it''s "stone"at this point. The person I''m working with can only get one of them, the 1.55.

 

[diagem]

Date: 11/20/2007 4:17:42 PM
Author: pauly1
Diagem thanks. I agree these lab reports are just all pver the map. I''ll see the stones on Monday and will post pictures. Well actually it''s ''stone''at this point. The person I''m working with can only get one of them, the 1.55.

The "above 40 degrees" comment will only get you closer to an OMB....

After you post images..., it will be easier to help.

 

[pauly1]

Unfortunaltely that''s the stone he CAN''T get, figures.

That was the detail that I really liked about that stone, but the table was a little bigger than I wanted. On the other hand the table on the other is 54, but no notes about the crown angles being greater than 40 degrees. Until I see it, specualting won''t help. I''ll post pictures on Monday.

 

[pauly1]

Hi, so my jeweler called yesterday and told me that the stone came in. This is stone # 2, unfortunately he couldn''t get stone # 1, it had been sold. I''m going to look at it tomorrow morning, and I wanted to know if anybody has any advice? On paper the specs look good, at least to me. The only thins I was concerned about was whether or not the SI2 was an eye-clean stone. According to him when we spoke on the phone, it is.

Anything I should be looking for specifically? I hope this is "the one", I''ve looked at a bunch of stones over the last 2 months so I do have some frame of reference. The other thing that''s concerning me is the price being to low. I normally don''t like to discuss prices but I will in this case. The stone was sourced from Blue Nile and lists for $7,400. I have been looking at stones in the high 8''s low 9''s, Which were VS2s Does dropping to an SI2 really make that much of a difference? Or is there something wrong with this stone that I''m missing. I will post pictures for you guys tomorrow afternoon. Thank you for any comments or suggestions!

 

[neatfreak]

It is facing up considerably smaller than #1 was, which is something to consider. The weight isn't everything, it's really about the measurements and how it "looks".

With SI2's it is important to make sure it's eyeclean, and that a large cloud or something was not the reason for it's SI2 status because that could affect the light return. Otherwise you should be good to go.

And yes dropping from a VS2 to an SI2 does make a big difference price wise. Also, are they all graded by the same entity? That can make a big difference too.

 

[pauly1]

Neatfreak, thank you for bringing that to my attention! I screwed up and put in the measuremnets from another stone, everything else was correct. The stats are as follows.

Cushion Brilliant
Carat weight: 1.55
Measurements: 7.89 x 6.51 x 4.40 mm
Color: H
Clarity: SI2
Depth %: 67.6%
Table %: 54%
Symmetry: Good
Polish: Very good
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: Slightly large
Fluorescence: None

 

[pauly1]

Well, I went and looked at the stone this morning and I''ll be picking it up tomorrow!

It was eye clean and there was nothing that jumped out at me. Under the loupe I can now see why it''s graded an SI2, there is a feather that is clearly noticeable, but it doesn''t run anywhere near the girdle, it doesn''t appear to break the surface (I couldn''t feel anything with my fingernail). It does get a little closer to the culet than I would have liked, but I don''t think this is an issue. I will post pictures of the lab report tonight. As for pictures of the stone, my camera wasn''t getting the job done and I''m usually pretty good at taking close-ups. I had it on the macro setting, but I think it was the overhead lighting that was screwing things up. I will take a lot of pictures tomorrow and post them. The stone seems to throw around a lot of fire and faces up really well. It was a little more on the oval side than I would have liked, but not enough to make me walk away.

Cushion Brilliant, 8 Pavilion
Carat weight: 1.55
Measurements: 7.89 x 6.51 x 4.40 mm
Color: H
Clarity: SI2
Depth %: 67.6%
Table %: 54%
Symmetry: Good
Polish: Very good
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: Slightly large
Fluorescence: None

Now I just need to get this baby to Greenlake and get started! As for the setting: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/1st-round-of-custom-sketches-are-in-feedback-is-welcome.70704/

 

[pauly1]

I wanted to post a picture from the GIA certificate. I''m 99% sure I''m going to purchase the stone tomorrow, but I just want to cover all my bases. Does anybody think the feather is to close to the culet and could lead to problems? I looked at the stone today, but I''m far from an expert. The price is great and it appears to be the cleanest SI2 in history, I just want to make sure I''m not missing something. Yes, I''m paranoid. Thanks!