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4ct cushion arrived. Need help deciding

M

mydora

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 13, 2015
Messages
9
We ordered this 4 carat cushion from blue nile as an upgrade. I have 30 days to decide if I want to keep it. Does this look like a good stone? Or should I return and keep searching? I like it a lot but I need a more expert opinion. F color vvs2 medium fluorescence.

B3071C12-AE84-4234-8845-7B2EEB3E349B.png 75D1E570-EE05-4F09-8795-5540AA4243F8.jpeg E68202FA-9A05-4C09-BA5C-6E0583131514.png
 
Do you have a Gia cert we can look at?
 
I personally have a preference for organized facets. This cushion, based off of the pictures above, looks unorganized to me. More splintery/crushed ice looking towards the center, chunkier towards the edges.
 
Since you have plenty of time, I'd recommend ordering an ASET and an Ideascope (I got mine from David Atlas' website; you'll get it pretty fast. Can also get from Ideal-scope's website), and take a look at your potential upgrade through those. If you do order those scopes, plenty of people here can tell you how to use them. It's not much more effort, then, to take pictures of those images and post them here to get even more informed opinions!

Also, if you can post the stone's measurements, too. I haven't learned much about this cut yet, but it would probably help those who do know about the cut to have the measurements.
 
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PintoBean said:
I personally have a preference for organized facets. This cushion, based off of the pictures above, looks unorganized to me. More splintery/crushed ice looking towards the center, chunkier towards the edges.
Click to expand...
That is how I feel as well. Not as big of a fan of these types of stones vs one with more organized facets
 
First, you said you like it a lot; that's pretty important.

My novice opinion, if I were going to nit-pick, from just the image, sort of along the lines of what @PintoBean said, if you visualize the diamond as two halves divided by the shank, the table on one side looks noticeably different than the other to me where I might expect more of a mirror image. I suspect there might be some light leakage going on near the edges, too. In your first image, a cursory glance gives the impression that a chip exists at the lower left side of the girdle. Looking closer, though, light just seems to be passing straight through that area.
 
One issue is that it has a thick girdle. That means it may not face up as large as some other cushions of that weight that have thin to medium girdles. Be sure you always compare the diameter measurements. Well cut cushions are somewhat hard to find, and I really can't tell about this one from the pictures.
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
One issue is that it has a thick girdle. That means it may not face up as large as some other cushions of that weight that have thin to medium girdles. Be sure you always compare the diameter measurements. Well cut cushions are somewhat hard to find, and I really can't tell about this one from the pictures.
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Agreed.

The Very Thick to Extremely Thick girdle is just wasted weight that the cutter retained to hit the 4.01 mark.
Not a cushion expert but I like the 3.74 more.
 
cflutist said:
Agreed.

The Very Thick to Extremely Thick girdle is just wasted weight that the cutter retained to hit the 4.01 mark.
Click to expand...
Yup, just to leave enough fat there to hit the magic weight. I have an extremely thick girdle too. ;( but I'm not trying to hit any magic weight #. :oops:
 
Dancing Fire said:
Yup, just to leave enough fat there to hit the magic weight. I have an extremely thick girdle too. ;( but I'm not trying to hit any magic weight #. :oops:
Click to expand...

I see what you did there! :lol-2:
 
I see prices for these take SPREAD (size) into account a great deal aside weight.

It is possible to find 3.5 carats and 4 carats with the same size and close prices; while a four carat one a quarter larger costs precsiely twice; this, about Blue Nile & D-F/VS2-IF

If there might be other reasons to have a less wide girdle must depend on the other feature sof the cut; I see the wide girdles matter & play interestingly with light on their own... - they seem to matter for colour, but in the D-F world, there isn't much to say about colour; I do not have a Y/N stance about them (then again I am not setting diamonds)

2p


Such a stone - standing on its own, I'd wish to be looking at Dream.

 
I think it’s lovely. D vvs2, there aren’t many of those floating around! It looks lively. See it in many lighting situations, and if you love it, keep it.
 
Is there any way to take an up-close video and post it? That would be helpful.
 
I love the outside facets, but it does look mushy-crushed ice in the middle.

You don’t have 30 or so days. It has to be back and accounted for at BN on day 30, so you have a total of about 25 days, I say this because I had to keep a .37 round because I decided in the evening on day 29 to return it and it wasn’t going to get there in time.

(But it made an amazing pendant for my daughter, so win/win)
 
I love the overall shape and the icy white color, but based on the BN video as well as your photos the center of the stone seems a bit mushy ... I prefer more crispness in the facets under the table as that pleases my eyes and tends to result in a livelier stone with a more dynamic performance.

You have the stone in hand however, as you move about and go in and out of different lighting conditions (fluorescent, LED, incandescent, spot, daylight/diffused), how does the diamond perform? Do you see edge-to-edge brilliance and scintillation (best case scenario)? Or, do only the outer facets perform? Does the center of the stone remain much the same regardless of movement and lighting conditions?
 
Mushy center makes me sad because the other parts are nice. Depends on what you want and like. Since I’ve seen cushions with nice crisp centers I could not live with that mushy center, especially on such a big stone. But if you are fine with it, it’s a pretty stone. However if you want something crisper with more defined faceting those stones are out there and for as much as you’re paying, I wouldn’t settle.
 
LLJsmom said:
Mushy center makes me sad because the other parts are nice. Depends on what you want and like. Since I’ve seen cushions with nice crisp centers I could not live with that mushy center, especially on such a big stone. But if you are fine with it, it’s a pretty stone. However if you want something crisper with more defined faceting those stones are out there and for as much as you’re paying, I wouldn’t settle.
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Yes, exactly, the outside parts are fabulous!!
 
Yep, definitely looks mushy with the "crushed ice" look. That will give you a lot of splintery scintillation but limit large fire events. IMO cushions with a more well-defined facet pattern are more attractive (see stone below) but again, that's IMO. Others like the crushed ice look.

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD10375574?

Do you like it?
 
 
@KKJohnson I had noticed the D/SI1 & waivered if to mention or not - did not because the spread is somewhat smaller than the chosen F. I am endorsing it now because I have just noticed how good the price is among all else at Blue Nile: there are only 14 radiants or cushions, D, any clarity, at most medium fluorescence, over 4 carats and less than 100K...
 
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KKJohnson said:
For the crushed ice look I like these
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...MONDS&track=viewDiamondDetails&action=sameTab

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...MONDS&track=viewDiamondDetails&action=sameTab


For slightly larger facets this one is appealing
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...MONDS&track=viewDiamondDetails&action=sameTab

on the fence about these, might be worth an inquire
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...MONDS&track=viewDiamondDetails&action=sameTab

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD11729933? refTab=DIAMONDS&track=viewDiamondDetails&action=sameTab
Click to expand...

I also saw this one and really like it:
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD11729933?

Would need to make sure the SBF isn't affecting transparency in sunlight, but if that checks out, it is a helluva good diamond, and exceptionally clean for a 5 carat SI1. Nice facet pattern too.
 
AV_ said:
@KKJohnson I had noticed the D/SI1 & waivered if to mention or not - did not because the spread is somewhat smaller than the chosen F. I am endorsing it now because I have just noticed how good the price is among all else at Blue Nile: there are only 14 radiants or cushions, D, any clarity, at most medium fluorescence, over 4 carats and less than 100K...
Click to expand...

Im loving the 4.04 E
 
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@KKJohnson I had left the SB out against my own judgement.

The F/VVS is a great choice to begin with.
 
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