Cushion Cut Question

[sortonb]

I just purchased a cushion cut blue topaz ring from an on-line vendor. Overall, I''m really pleased with the ring as it''s very pretty. The stone is quoted as being cushion cut, and in the picture looked like it may have a checkerboard cut on the top, or at least enough facets underneath to give it the appearance of a checkerboard when viewed from a slight angle. However, the stone actually has a sort of X shape in the middle, and when viewed in the air and not against my finger the color appears lighter than the rest of the stone. Is this a sign of a cheaply cut stone? Also, the table of the stone is totally flat, not at all a checkerboard. Is that normal for a cushion?

I really like the ring overall and want to keep it, and the slight color difference really doesn''t bother me, but knowing that I purchased a cheaply cut stone might.

Any input would really be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

It seems you have a few questions here, so I will try to pick them apart. If I am not answering your question, just let me know:

1) Cushion cut is an generic term that describes any stone that has a square/rectangle shape with rounded edges. The faceting can vary widely between different stones, as with the different angles of the table, crown ect.

2) It is hard to say without seeing the stone, but it sounds like the light spot in the middle may be a window. This occurs when a stone is cut shallow to make it look bigger. The sacrifice for the "bigger look" is light leakage in the middle. Many people here avoid stones with windows.

Hope this helps.

 

[sortonb]

So I read about windows a bit, and it''s not a completely clear area. I cannot read text underneath the center of the stone. It''s more like a perfectly symmetrical set of 8 tiny triangles, kind of like if you took a square and pulled in the middle parts on each side just a little bit. I know that''s hard to picture, but I don''t have a camera that would take a decent picture. Is that helpful?