Cushion and Radiant Cut...Is it a good one?

[sierpinski]

Hello All. I''m new to this forum as I''m shopping for an engagement ring for the first (and hopefully last) time. I''ve been working with a friend of a friend who works as a diamond wholesaler (I know, everyone has one of those!) and I''ve narrowed it down to two stones that I like very much, but am unsure about the cut quality (one is a radiant and one a cushion). I am well aware that there is no official cut grading for cushion and everyone has their own preference. According to Gemappraisers.com, the radiant cut is only 4A, but my "friend" assures me that it is great and it looks fine to my untrained eye. Anyway, here''s the stats on both (sorry, no pictures):

Cushion Brilliant

Measurements 6.28x5.78x4.04

Table: 67%

Depth: 69.9%

Culet: none

Girdle: thin - very thick (faceted)

Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: good

There is also a comment that says:

Crown angles are greater than 40 degrees

As for the other one:

Cut-Cornered Rectangular Modified Brilliant

Measurements: 7.44x5.88x4.05

Table: 69%

Depth: 68.9%

Culet: none

girdle: slightly thick - thick

Comments: Additional clouds not shown. Surface graining is not shown.

polish: good

symmetry: very good

Any help, advice, and opinions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/23/2009 8:18:31 PM
Author:sierpinski
Hello All. I'm new to this forum as I'm shopping for an engagement ring for the first (and hopefully last) time. I've been working with a friend of a friend who works as a diamond wholesaler (I know, everyone has one of those!) and I've narrowed it down to two stones that I like very much, but am unsure about the cut quality (one is a radiant and one a cushion). I am well aware that there is no official cut grading for cushion and everyone has their own preference. According to Gemappraisers.com, the radiant cut is only 4A, but my 'friend' assures me that it is great and it looks fine to my untrained eye. Anyway, here's the stats on both (sorry, no pictures):

Cushion Brilliant

Measurements 6.28x5.78x4.04

Table: 67%

Depth: 69.9%

Culet: none

Girdle: thin - very thick (faceted)

Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: good

There is also a comment that says:

Crown angles are greater than 40 degrees

As for the other one:

Cut-Cornered Rectangular Modified Brilliant

Measurements: 7.44x5.88x4.05

Table: 69%

Depth: 68.9%

Culet: none

girdle: slightly thick - thick

Comments: Additional clouds not shown. Surface graining is not shown.

polish: good

symmetry: very good

Any help, advice, and opinions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!

Hi Sier and welcome!

It is difficult without images with both shapes, but what I would suggest you do is to compare as many different cushions and radiants as you can to see which you like best. Both can vary tremendously in appearance, shape and performance so try to view as many as you can to see which you like best.

The cushion - crown angles greater than 40 degrees is a common remark in the comments section, not normally an issue. Check the thin to very thick variance of the girdle that the very thick part doesn't encompass a huge amount of the girdle itself, a trusted pro can check this for you.

The radiant - the table is a little larger than the depth, usually the reverse is preferred. Additonal clouds not shown and surface graining not shown isn't normally an issue, the time to watch out for clouds is if they are noted on the plotting diagram as grade setters or the comment says " clarity grade is based on additional clouds or clouds not shown."

I would also suggest ordering an ASET scope, this will give you a very useful tool in deciding how well each are cut as a supplement to your own tastes and preferences.

http://www.ideal-scope.com/cart_zoom_item.asp?Id=23&ShowAdd=Y

This page explains how ASET works and how to interpret the images

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=education-performance

 

[ChunkyCushionLover]

Date: 7/23/2009 8:18:31 PM
Author:sierpinski
Hello All. I''m new to this forum as I''m shopping for an engagement ring for the first (and hopefully last) time. I''ve been working with a friend of a friend who works as a diamond wholesaler (I know, everyone has one of those!) and I''ve narrowed it down to two stones that I like very much, but am unsure about the cut quality (one is a radiant and one a cushion). I am well aware that there is no official cut grading for cushion and everyone has their own preference. According to Gemappraisers.com, the radiant cut is only 4A, but my ''friend'' assures me that it is great and it looks fine to my untrained eye. Anyway, here''s the stats on both (sorry, no pictures):

Cushion Brilliant

Measurements 6.28x5.78x4.04

Table: 67%

Depth: 69.9%

Culet: none

Girdle: thin - very thick (faceted)

Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: good

There is also a comment that says:

Crown angles are greater than 40 degrees

As for the other one:

Cut-Cornered Rectangular Modified Brilliant

Measurements: 7.44x5.88x4.05

Table: 69%

Depth: 68.9%

Culet: none

girdle: slightly thick - thick

Comments: Additional clouds not shown. Surface graining is not shown.

polish: good

symmetry: very good

Any help, advice, and opinions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!

Sierpinski,

The cushion would look smaller faceup than most cushions due to its deeper cut. For the same carat weight you could be getting a bigger looking stone that didn''t have such a large depth.
The table on this one also is very large which is a look you need to make sure you like. A large table will make for a flatter looking stone and may also effect optics. I would suggest looking at other cushion brilliants with smaller percentage tables 52 - 60% and comparing them if you can.

If you want us to really give you a meaningful critique we would want to see a picture and an ASET image of the stones to confirm.

I would also suggest you go to vimeo.com and type in the search bar rhino cushion and take a look at a few videos of cushion brilliants rhino has done to get an idea of the different optics these stones can have.

Also I suggest you check out the pricescope search and look at the prices for similar cushion cut diamonds (try to match Carat Weight, Colour, Clarity and stone dimensions) to see if the "Wholesaler" is truly giving you the deal you want.

 

[sierpinski]

Hi Stephanie,

Thanks for the informative reply! I''ve never heard of the ASET scope before, but I looked at the link you sent and it seems like a great tool to for a regular ol'' joe to analyze the stone''s light properties. Assuming my friendly wholesaler is being truthful, I had hoped that his opinion would be far better than even my educated one. He and his family have being doing this for generations, no matter how much I learn in the next few weeks, how can my knowledge compare. I''m trying to draw the line between not stepping on his toes, and the fact that it is my stone and my money. Of course, if he''s trying to "unload" stones, on poor unsuspecting ol'' me, then I''m in trouble!

 

[stone-cold11]

There is always the option of not finalizing the deal until it is check out ok by an independent appraiser of your choosing.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/24/2009 1:24:21 PM
Author: sierpinski
Hi Stephanie,

Thanks for the informative reply! I've never heard of the ASET scope before, but I looked at the link you sent and it seems like a great tool to for a regular ol' joe to analyze the stone's light properties. Assuming my friendly wholesaler is being truthful, I had hoped that his opinion would be far better than even my educated one. He and his family have being doing this for generations, no matter how much I learn in the next few weeks, how can my knowledge compare. I'm trying to draw the line between not stepping on his toes, and the fact that it is my stone and my money. Of course, if he's trying to 'unload' stones, on poor unsuspecting ol' me, then I'm in trouble!

ASET are extremely useful for evaluating fancy shapes, well worth obtaining one. What I would suggest is if you feel you have to approach this transaction more ' delicately' shall we say because you have a friendly connection to this jeweller, take a look at some other places so you feel more comfortable and check out their pricing. It isn't always a good thing to buy from someone you are connected too, regrettably in my years here I have seen this go awry on several occasions. Not saying it will in your case but as you are the buyer, make sure you are as happy and confident as you can be. Shop around and take your time, see what else is out there, view as many different stones as you can so you know exactly what you like and how you are most comfortable spending your hard earned money. I would much rather keep it impersonal and business like if it were me spending that sort of money as I don't want to feel obliged by any ' deals' given, I find it far easier to make the best decision for me if I don't have to worry about the seller's feelings, especially if you do want to have an appraisal done on a diamond and you could get the insulted " oh no need for that, or don't you trust me?" lines....!

Sometimes any small saving in cash or convenience isn't worth the potential headache. But go with what you are most comfortable with.

 

[ChunkyCushionLover]

Date: 7/24/2009 1:24:21 PM
Author: sierpinski
Hi Stephanie,

Thanks for the informative reply! I''ve never heard of the ASET scope before, but I looked at the link you sent and it seems like a great tool to for a regular ol'' joe to analyze the stone''s light properties. Assuming my friendly wholesaler is being truthful, I had hoped that his opinion would be far better than even my educated one. He and his family have being doing this for generations, no matter how much I learn in the next few weeks, how can my knowledge compare. I''m trying to draw the line between not stepping on his toes, and the fact that it is my stone and my money. Of course, if he''s trying to ''unload'' stones, on poor unsuspecting ol'' me, then I''m in trouble!

You can buy a hand held AGS-ASET for $24.95 from AGS. http://www.americangemsociety.org/newhandheldaset.htm and then you can be compare the stones he is showing you ASET to ASETs to the stones posted on the GOG website or the ones on Whiteflash. Once you pull out the ASET he may take you a lot more seriously as well.

Unfortunately both of those stones suggested to you were not what I would call in the "safe" ranges for fancy shapes. I would say one stone individually could be okay or even great outside the ranges but since both of them were pretty far off I have to question whether they were showing you their nicest stones. You can still tread delicately but you might ask them to educate you a little more about why they chose these particular stones and go from there.

Regards,
CCl