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Help! Antique Cushions????

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Cushion_Fever

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 23, 2008
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I''m looking for an antique cushion for my girl as she''s fallen deeply, madly, truely in love with chunky cushions. Is it worth taking a look at or should I look a bit longer? Any reputable appraisers in the LA area????

I emailed a Vendor that was mentioned here.
K color, SI clarity (eyeclean per vendor)

8.78-8.21x 5.60

Table: 48%

Depth: 68.2%

Culet: None

Flr: Faint

Pol: Good

Sym: Fair to Good

$12,000 for a 2.73 carat K SI cushion

ACC08.jpg
 
I like it personally! Which vendor?
 
Very nice. Is that from Old World Diamonds?

I love antique cushions. (See my avitar.) (I'm sorry, I tend to show that off every chance I get. Oh, how I love that stone.)

Is she also picking the stone? As antique cushions vary so much, I'd want to have her help decide.

Anyway . . .

Also look at:

http://www.jewelsbyericagrace.com/antique_and_reproduction_rings
 
Yes it''s from Old world Diamonds.

I''ve been lurking here for quite some time, and wasn''t too sure. She loves chunky cushions so I asked the Gentleman there to find some beauties. Are the numbers ok as far as depth and table?
 
Nice looking diamond.

Picture not good at all, I''m sure the stone looks much nicer than the picture depicts.

It really is amazing how they used to cut em''

Best of luck!
 
It''s pretty! I wish OWD had more photos on their site so we could really see it.
 
Cool cushion. If you're wanting to see some in person, another place in the LA area that sells antique cushions is Singlestone. Their custom work is fantastic as well.
 
What a pretty stone!
 
Is the certification off? It says no Culet but I can definitely see one in the picture.

Also, for the carat weight are the dimensions off ? Can I trust an EGL USA certification? It doesn't seem like it is popular around here.

Sorry guys, I'm a total noob when it comes to sparkly things that aren't cars :P
 
Well, that is definitely a culet. I'd ask Adam if it's the right cert. I think some vendors do EGL certs as they are less expensive. The seller of this stone is quite credible. The numbers look fine but I'm not a numbers expert like many here. With old stones, I think you have to see them more than assess them on the numbers. The table is nice and small, which I love. It's quite pretty. If you've looked around some and still come back to this one, maybe you should send for it. Singlestone is great but Expensive. EricaGrace has more reasonable prices.

I love the kozibe effect in it, too.

Happy Holidays, Sonoma
 
It''s a great looking stone based on that photo. It''s true that EGL certs can be a bit softer on the grading than many others, but at the same time as long as you are aware of that and are paying a lower price than a similar GIA stone OR you make the sale contingent on an independent appraisal, then you shouldn''t worry much. With older stones it is much more common to see uncerted or EGL certs and still have the stone be a looker. Shop with your eyes, not with the numbers.

And I would ask Adam for more photos if you are buying sight unseen, preferably some near a window.
 
Good looking stone! Kinda reminds me of the Hope Diamond! LOL!
 
Looks nice in the (lousyish) pic, and the stats are good, nice small table, I like the shape. Adam, from my experience buying from him, is reliable in helping you eyeball stones and recommending/culling certain ones.

Many, many antique stones have EGL certs, or none at all... an independant appraisal can be your friend in this situation. The EGL USA certed Old European Cut I bought from OWD was properly graded; it was an SI1 and is perfectly eyeclean from all angles (and, as a nearsighted detail freak, that''s a hard thing to find!)

Happy stone shopping!
 
Cool thanks guys!

I emailed Adam today to get some clarification to see if the certificate is correct since the culet is clearly there and it is stated as none on the cert info.

Any particular appraiser that knows a lot about old stones that would be able to give a sufficient appraisal?
 
I''ve purchased the stone, and it will be overnighted tomorrow. Pictures are coming on Wednesday!
 
Pics! Yes please!

The pricescope appraiser search thingy is pretty useful if you live near a major city I think... what I did was to use that, then call the appraisers to see if they were familiar with antique stones; I used that approach and ended up going with Deborah Wieditz, but she''s local to me near Seattle. (She was very good, spent a lot of time with me and explained what she was doing at every step.)
 
Adam said that an appraisal comes with the stone as well as the EGL report and a SArin report. Would these be good enough to at least insure through jeweler's mutual for the setting of the stone and to be insured through chubb?

Or is Adam pretty spot on in his appraisals?

edit:
also, any advice on how to take good loose diamond photos so I don't get tomatoes thrown at me in here?
41.gif
 
That cut is beautiful, it reminds me of a white version of the Hope diamond.
 
The package arrived at my gf''s work. And she''s absolutely estatic about it!

However, she mentioned that the certificate stated that the girdle is very thin to thin.

Is this a bad thing? What type of setting do you gals recommend for protecting this beauty?
 
Glad to hear she loves (it does look pretty!).

I would suggest a bezel setting, or a halo of some type.
 
Date: 1/8/2009 12:41:06 PM
Author: Cushion_Fever
The package arrived at my gf''s work. And she''s absolutely estatic about it!


However, she mentioned that the certificate stated that the girdle is very thin to thin.


Is this a bad thing? What type of setting do you gals recommend for protecting this beauty?
Click to expand...

It''s not great, but is very very common on old stones. I''d recommend a bezel or halo, basically you want something that will cover as much of the girdle as possible, so the more prongs or metal the better.
 
I can''t wait to see more pics, that pic looks great!
 
Date: 1/8/2009 2:45:41 PM
Author: neatfreak
Date: 1/8/2009 12:41:06 PM

Author: Cushion_Fever

The package arrived at my gf''s work. And she''s absolutely estatic about it!



However, she mentioned that the certificate stated that the girdle is very thin to thin.



Is this a bad thing? What type of setting do you gals recommend for protecting this beauty?
Click to expand...


It''s not great, but is very very common on old stones. I''d recommend a bezel or halo, basically you want something that will cover as much of the girdle as possible, so the more prongs or metal the better.
Click to expand...

Ditto NF.
 
How exciting! Please post more pictures!

Don''t know what your budget is, but this is one of my favourite old mine cushion halos. It belongs to familystone and was made by Leon Mege. There is an airline around the girdle, which I''m not sure provides as much protection as a bezel or halo without the airline, but with a 2.73 carat center stone, you could get away with removing the airline.
 
attaching a photo for those who choose not to click on the link to familystone's wife's ring in my previous post...

familystonesring.jpg
 
Thanks Gals for your help!

Pixely: That has too much bling ! I''m a understated sort of guy. :P Unfortunately for her. I don''t mind a halo, but that''s almost like the whole thing is diamonds!

I originally wanted a classic solitaire for her, since her fingers are about a 3.75 give or take a smidge. But with the girdle being thing and all, I don''t want to take the risk. She is sort of clumsy.... (S, if you see this, don''t hit me!)and from what I gather, pave on the shank wouldn''t be a good idea because of this?

Ideally I want to say in the $2500-3000 range for the setting.. and I know she''s rooting for platinum.
 
Date: 1/8/2009 6:07:57 PM
Author: Cushion_Fever
Thanks Gals for your help!

Pixely: That has too much bling ! I'm a understated sort of guy. :P Unfortunately for her. I don't mind a halo, but that's almost like the whole thing is diamonds!

I originally wanted a classic solitaire for her, since her fingers are about a 3.75 give or take a smidge. But with the girdle being thing and all, I don't want to take the risk. She is sort of clumsy.... (S, if you see this, don't hit me!)and from what I gather, pave on the shank wouldn't be a good idea because of this?

Ideally I want to say in the $2500-3000 range for the setting.. and I know she's rooting for platinum.
Click to expand...
Gotcha. It's more bling than I could handle as well.
3.gif
. I like classic solitaires myself and talk with my hands a lot - whack them when I go through doorways, etc., so a classic solitaire is perfect and allows lots of options for wedding bands.

Here are some of my all time faves. Whoever sets it could advise regarding the girdle safety...
Snooper’s (Leon Mege setting)
Boston_Jeff's Leon Mege setting
Kroshka’s cushion (from Singlestone setting, I think - scroll down 'til you see the photo of the side view - it's magnificent. Not sure if the setting is vintage, but the stone is):
And here are some other options from Singletone, which is based in L.A. The solitaire in the top right corner looks lovely. The bezeled setting on the bottom photo is also pretty and could be done with a different shank.

singlstonecollage.JPG
 
Oh yes, the Kroshka setting is what she really was hankering for... but at $4000 for no pave work? It''s too rich for my blood!

I corresponded with Ari just now and he said that they have many ways of protecting the girdle so the issue really is what style setting do I want to plop this baby into.
 
Date: 1/8/2009 7:38:56 PM
Author: Cushion_Fever
Oh yes, the Kroshka setting is what she really was hankering for... but at $4000 for no pave work? It''s too rich for my blood!

I corresponded with Ari just now and he said that they have many ways of protecting the girdle so the issue really is what style setting do I want to plop this baby into.
Click to expand...
$4,000?!?!
23.gif
Holy schnikey! I had no idea that was such a pricey setting. Perhaps you can schedule a little visit to Singlestone so she can try on a bunch of their settings and see what suits her hand. They also have beautiful wedding bands (ok, I''m biased because they made my emerald cut WB), but it''s nice to try on e-rings with WBs to see how things sit next to one another.
 
style="WIDTH: 110.97%; HEIGHT: 68px">Date: 12/24/2008 8:42:47 PM
Author: sonomacounty

I love the kozibe effect in it, too.
Click to expand...
What a lovely stone! Congratulations! I just found out about OWD the other day (thank you Pricescope!) and think that may be the route we take as well - (been searching for a warmer cushion cut and had no IDEA that anyone sold antique stones like these) Plus my B/F is very environmental so a "recycled" diamond will make him happy I''m sure.

Sonoma - can you explain what the kozibe effect is please? Is it the mirroring you can see of the culet inside the stone? That''s what I love most about these old cuts - you can actually SEE the stone rather than just a lot of flashing slices of light (just my personal preference).

- Jodie -
 
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