Help Choosing: Large Cushion v. Round

[Mec3724]

Hello,

I'm generally unsophisticated about diamonds, but getting up to speed quickly as I plan to propose in the coming weeks.

At the beginning, I was dead set on going to a name retailer (Tiffany and Bvlgari were my favorites) for a round solitaire, however, to be fulsome in my research, I went to a respected local jeweler and am intrigued by the following two diamonds. Either of them would be set on a platinum solitaire band, both GIA certified:

1.66 round cut, G color, VVS2 clarity with a triple excellent cut (57% table, 62.2% depth).

2.3 cushion cut, G color, VS1 clarity with a 62% table and 67.3% depth.

The cushion cut is approximately 15% more expensive, but both are within budget. While I don't love the idea of paying a huge markup for a retail store, I am comfortable that the cut and setting of their rings would be high quality. If I go for the loose diamonds above, (i) are they well cut and (ii) how do I ensure that the finished product is high quality and looks great?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[MarionC]

I would not go with a name brand as you will be paying a large premium for the name, not the quality.edit: sorry - you already said you were buying locally.
You can be assured that you can find very high quality on line - and better prices and often there are very attractive policies, like lifetime upgrades, sell back, etc.
If you are going with a round I would suggest an AGS super-ideal. Amazing light performance.

I am sure other more experienced PSers will chime in. I've been researching diamonds for about 5 months and the above was the conclusion I came to. I ended up buying an "A Cut Above" from Whiteflash and it's spectacular. Very reputable company & there are others as well that you can't go wrong with.