Greetings, 1st Post, some diamond (cushion) advice would be appreciated!

[JSC]

Looking at a Cushion Cut for an engagement ring. Here are the specs:

Cushion Brilliant
1.73 CT
DEPTH - 47%
TABLE - 63%
Polish and Sym - GOOD
VS1
Color - G
Fluor - None

The depth is what worries me. It looks good to my eye, but the facets are on the large side. However the rock looks like a 2CT. because of its shallowness. Light return is tough to quantify on a cushion. Looking at around 11G''s. Good deal?

 

[diagem]

a cushion this depth could be gorgeous!!!

If you like it get it..., it defenetly has the look of a 2 ct. +

 

[Hest88]

Oh, I have a feeling that stone will leak badly...

 

[JSC]

Antique Gem - Thanks for the encouragement, always appreciated!

Hest88 - Is there any way to tell about the leakage? Cushions are difficult to measure. It's definitely more glittery than sparlky.

 

[cushioncut]

Hi --

There are several different kinds of cushions. Some have a more antique look, with large facets, others have a more modern look -- with more brilliance.

What kind do you want? Myself, I prefer the antique look...

Your stone is very shallow, but the advantage there is that it will face up huge for it's size. It probably won't have as much life though, as a stone with greater depth -- what is more important to you?

While there are no set numbers for a cushion, you can use the charts at www.gemappraisers.com as a guideline to see where your numbers "should" be - for a rectangular stone, compare to oval - for a square stone compare to round.

I think the price of your stone is fair. Cushions are all so different from eachother, have you seen many? If you have, and you have something to compare this one to, and you still love the look of it, I say go for it in spite of the numbers. It's VERY hard to find a cushion that you'll love the look of. If this is the first one you've seen, I would suggest you keep it in mind, and look around, to make sure you don't find a stone with more depth more appealing.

Good luck!

 

[JSC]

Rough Rock

Thanks for the advice! Its not so much what I like as much as what's been requested of me. I'm just trying to find the best cushion within my price range. It does have large facets and did not have the sparkle compared to a 1.5CT Cushion modified Brilliant that was right next to it (that had better depth/table numbers). It looks really big, that's the main attraction to me, I feel like I'm getting a good bang for the buck. The other caveat is that the Cushion I'm looking at is on the squarish side which is also what my GF prefers. She wants trillions as well, but that's just too much $$ for me right now.

 

[cushioncut]

Is the stone GIA certified? Do you have the measurments? I am curious how tall it is... Is this going to be a surprise, or can you take your girlfriend to see it and find out if she likes it or not? I'd think cushions would be a hard thing to pick out on your own, since they are all so different... She may even prefer the brilliance, I think most women do.

If these are the only two you've seen, I would definitely see some more so that you can really make an informed decision and have something to compare it to. There are lots of cushions out there!

 

[JSC]

Rough Rock,

No she has not seen it. I am allowed to exchange the rock if she doesn't like it. The element of surprise is very important to her so I can't go with her to view the diamond. Here are the specs:
7.86x7.86x3.72mm
Girdle - Thin to slightly thick faceted.
Culet - Medium
The rest of the specs are above.

 

[JSC]

Sorry, certification is GIA.

 

[JSC]

Cushioncut, my apologies I kept calling you Rough Rock, I wasn't aware that it was a generic term.

 

[moremoremore]

Oh boy. I'm really sorry....but I just can't imagine this even being remotely decent.

 

[Nicrez]

I hate to say this, but I also worry that it is too deep. Many men want bang for the buck, considering so many bucks they shell out are little bang for them. They like nice big stones, but paying the price hurts...Hell, my fiance and I sacrificed a larger stone for the price we were willing to pay.

Even then, we got a stone that looks much larger for it's carat weight and price...Frankly, the stone is not as lively as a smaller stone we saw at the same carat weight, but a greater depth. Yes it's a great "bang for the buck" size wise, but it may be worth the cheaper price, when it doesn't sparkle and fire off the rainbows like other rings.

To me a cushion cut should have the fire, as the old cuts do. I personally would rather a smaller stone with more fire than just a big rock. Case in point, my trainer had an antique ring with a .35ct stone that is possibly cut in an antique cushion. My stone is sized almost to 2cts, but HER ring actually catches the eye in sparkle a lot more... It's like that thing has an internal LIGHT!

In the end it's your call, but never underestimate the eye catching quality of a beautiful fiery stone!!!

Good luck and let us know what you decide, and make sure you get a good exchange policy in WRITING...

 

[cushioncut]

----------------
On 10/26/2004 2:47:22 PM JSC wrote:

Cushioncut, my apologies I kept calling you Rough Rock, I wasn't aware that it was a generic term.----------------

That's okay. Believe it or not, my real name is not cushioncut either, so it's not really a big deal either way

 

[cushioncut]

----------------
On 10/26/2004 2:40:32 PM JSC wrote:

Rough Rock,


No she has not seen it. I am allowed to exchange the rock if she doesn't like it. The element of surprise is very important to her so I can't go with her to view the diamond. Here are the specs:

7.86x7.86x3.72mm

Girdle - Thin to slightly thick faceted.

Culet - Medium

The rest of the specs are above.----------------

That is a HUGE spread for a 1.73. I do not think the odds are in your favor that a stone with those numbers will give you the best bang for your buck... Most well cut 2 ct stones do not even have a spread like that. Keep it in mind if you like it, but I would suggest shopping around some more before you move on that one. I think you will be surprised at how much more life you will see in a stone with a higher depth -- maybe 58 to 65. Also, in general, they say the table should be smaller than the depth (by 3 percentage points or more).

Good luck.

 

[JSC]

Thanks for the input people, very helpful. Her mom will be the deciding factor on whether we keep it or not, I'm sure. The vendor is extremely reputable and I'm sure I'll have no problems if I wish to exchange it. If we keep it, I'll post some pics so you guys can comment. Thanks all.

 

[headlight]

Cushions are not always known to be the best "performers" but possess a beauty of their own by mere virtue of their unique shape.


Sounds to me like your lady wants the largest diamond you can get for your budget, along with nice clarity and color. Based on that, it seems like you found your stone.

 

[diane5006]

If you want squarish cushiony shape with brilliance...look at Regents...or new modern cushions

diane

My avatar is a Regnet not the best pic though

 

[reena]

woah . . . i have to agree with the others. never say never with a cushion, but that baby is SHALLOW. cushioncut is right--it has a larger spread than well-cut stones of 2 carats. (including my cushion, which is 2.07 carats.) i know that that might sound great right now from a "bigger is better" perspective . . . but i really think you'll end up regretting it if you sacrifice cut for size and end up with a big stone that looks like a lifeless chunk of rock and never catches anyone's eye anyway. i'm no expert, but IMO it'd be one thing if it was just SORT of shallow (say, mid 50s?). but 47%?

now, before someone yells at me (david?

), i know you said that you've seen this stone next to another cushion and that it looked pretty to you. if that's truly the case, then hey, ignore us all. but even still, before buying i'd be SURE that i'd seen and compared it with enough well-cut cushions to know the difference.

good luck!

 

[reena]

i don't know how firm your budget is, but just ran a quick search on pricescope and there are at least a couple 2 carat cushions with more promising-looking specs for about $2-3k more than you were planning to pay for the stone you posted. that way you could get the spread you were hoping for AND have a much better chance of getting a good-looking stone IMO. (of course, these stones would have to be seen to know how nice they are . . . and you'd want to check that the SI1s are eyeclean.)


2.0 G SI1 for $12,848 with pricescope discount

2.0 G SI1 for $13,919 with pricescope discount.

then there's this 2.0 G VS2 for $11,500 with pricescope discount . . . i don't love the EXTK girdle or that symmetry is only "fair", but if you're determined to get something with the look of a 2 carat in this price range, it might be worth a look (and it could well be nicer than the original stone, IMO.)

other than that, if you want to stay closer to $11k, then in terms of stones available on pricescope you're looking more at 1.6-1.8 carat stones, BUT there are plenty of those with decent specs. for example:

1.79 G VS1 for $11,705 with discount--very square and very promising specs (but could look more like--or be--an antique cushion with the medium culet . . . if that's not what you're looking for, you'd have to see it to know whether the culet is visible.)

1.66 G VS2 for $10,340 with discount

all of this sort of suggests to me that the original cushion you posted could be priced somewhat high considering its excessively low depth % (but what the hell do i know). either that or the higher price is attributable to the VS1 clarity grade--but an eyeclean VS2 or SI1 is just as good IMO (and will give you more $$$ to apply toward increased carat weight). all of this is really a roundabout way of saying: i think if you look around a bit you'll find something nicer for a similar amount of money.