Cushion Cuts for Dummies?

[300GCP]

A friend of mine here at work is looking to get engaged soon and wants a cushion cut stone for his girlfriend. From reading around here, there seem to be different kinds of cushions. He is clueless and I am the closest girl in his life so he is asking me for advice but I know nothing about cushion cut stones! HELP!

 

[slg47]

I would send him this video that goes through the different types of cushions
http://vimeo.com/7579666

 

[Hospatogi]

I would send him this video that goes through the different types of cushions
http://vimeo.com/7579666

I would def ask him to go to the good old gold website to start researching the different types of cushions he may like . http://www.goodoldgold.com/ They have quite a few informative videos on cut and color too. And he will want to become familar with how to read an ASET image which will help him determine a diamonds light performance. Good Old Gold has two specific branded cuts that I think are very pretty. One is called August Vintage Cushions which is an antique cushion cut stone that has been specifically cut for optimal light performance. There are other vendors that carry generic antique cushions that can be really pretty but might not have the same kind of fire and brilliance that AVCs have. The two I would consider are ERD and Perry from artofplatinum. Perry does not do ASET images however quite a few pricescopers have trusted his eye and been very happy with their rings.
If his gf is looking for something more modern than Good Old Gold has the square hearts & arrows which to my eyes most closely resembles the branded cut of Tiffanys which is the Novo.
Hope that helps.

 

[300GCP]

I would send him this video that goes through the different types of cushions
http://vimeo.com/7579666

I would def ask him to go to the good old gold website to start researching the different types of cushions he may like . http://www.goodoldgold.com/ They have quite a few informative videos on cut and color too. And he will want to become familar with how to read an ASET image which will help him determine a diamonds light performance. Good Old Gold has two specific branded cuts that I think are very pretty. One is called August Vintage Cushions which is an antique cushion cut stone that has been specifically cut for optimal light performance. There are other vendors that carry generic antique cushions that can be really pretty but might not have the same kind of fire and brilliance that AVCs have. The two I would consider are ERD and Perry from artofplatinum. Perry does not do ASET images however quite a few pricescopers have trusted his eye and been very happy with their rings.
If his gf is looking for something more modern than Good Old Gold has the square hearts & arrows which to my eyes most closely resembles the branded cut of Tiffanys which is the Novo.
Hope that helps.

Thanks much. Perhaps luckily for him, his girlfriend doesn't know very much at all about diamonds. The one thing we do know - she wants it to be more rounded than square, if that makes sense.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

One thing they both need to know is that cushions often fact up smaller than the same weight round stone because they tend to be cut deeper. So make sure they realize that a 1 ct. cushion is going to usually face up smaller than a 1 ct. round. If they don't know much about cushions, they do need to know that!

 

[Haven]

When you say she wants it more rounded than square, do you mean more elongated? Or, does she prefer a cushion with softer bowed-out edges rather than straight edges?

If I were helping someone find a cushion I'd want to know:
- Modern or antique cut?
- Elongated or square?
---If elongated, what ratio does she prefer?
- Total budget for the stone
- Which is top priority--size, color, or clarity? (Of course, we all know CUT is top priority.)

Once you know those things, I think you can contact Jonathan at GOG or Mark at ERD and get the search started!

 

[300GCP]

When you say she wants it more rounded than square, do you mean more elongated? Or, does she prefer a cushion with softer bowed-out edges rather than straight edges?

If I were helping someone find a cushion I'd want to know:
- Modern or antique cut?
- Elongated or square?
---If elongated, what ratio does she prefer?
- Total budget for the stone
- Which is top priority--size, color, or clarity? (Of course, we all know CUT is top priority.)

Once you know those things, I think you can contact Jonathan at GOG or Mark at ERD and get the search started!

She wants softer bowed out edges rather than straight, definitely. She does not like princess cut and would not something that looks squareish at the edges in a setting.

She definitely doesn't have enough knowledge to specify modern or antique (I don't even know the difference!). I know the total budget is about $6k and it will be set in a plain white gold band so most of the budget is going towards the stone.

Size is not top priority - they are looking for roughly a carat. As far as the other specs...as colorless as possible without any visible inclusions in that budget!!

I'm guessing maybe G/H VS2?

 

[bigdiamondtinygal]

I tend to think that antique cushions have a softer more rounded look than modern cushions (though some here may disagree).

This stone from old world diamonds looks like a nice one: http://www.oldworlddiamonds.com/inv_details.php?ID=1317&SHAPE=C&PAGE=2

 

[Hospatogi]

This video will give you an idea of different kinds of cushions.
http://www.vimeo.com/album/44206/video/2380161
And this was really helpful when my boyfriend and I were searching for cushions..
http://www.vimeo.com/7579666
I would also suggest watching this video on color. Each person sees color different and what may have too much warmth to one person may not be the same to another.
http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/Color/
And yes cushion cut stones do face up a bit smaller than rounds so that is important to keep in mind.

 

[Haven]

I'm thinking she would prefer an antique cut as well, as I do think they tend to be more bowed out than moderns and have a softer look overall.

If I were you, I'd have my coworker contact Jonathan at GOG and Mark Turnowski at ERD to see what they can find. I think he knows everything he needs to know to get started. Once they have some contenders you can come back and post them for us to scrutinize!