Help please! Confused on Cushion Cuts....

[onefourthreexo]

Hi everyone! My husband is purchasing a cushion cut diamond for me. Between a 1.3 and 1.5 carat. I am confused on the type of cushion cuts. I do not want the "crushed ice" look. I am having a hard time describing what I want. I also like the more rectangular cuts over the squared cushions. Hmmm

 

[04diamond<3]

What's your budget?

 

[pandabee]

Direct him here...[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cushion-101-my-experience-in-making-a-harry-winston-halo.183473/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cushion-101-my-experience-in-making-a-harry-winston-halo.183473/[/URL] and tell him you want a length to width ratio of at least 1.04. Do you want a modern looking cushion, just not crushed ice? Or an old cut cushion, with larger facets and sparkles?

 

[04diamond<3]

Here are some options/examples:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.33-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-135307

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.38-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-164185

 

[onefourthreexo]

I think I like the "chunky" look. I do not know how to describe it other than that lol. Sorry I sound a little ridiculous. I want to make sure we do this right! Our budget is $7,000 to $8,000.

 

[pandabee]

Tell him you are looking for an antique or old style cushion with large facets. I did a quick search and this was the only one I found so far, this probably isn't as rectangular as you would like, but is the size/budget you are looking for if you want to show this to him as an example http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/1.51-carat-j-si1-a-cut-beyond-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-118112.html

 

[04diamond<3]

Here are some "chuncky" also known as AVC's (august vintage cuts):

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10779/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10780/

 

[pandabee]

Here are some "chuncky" also known as AVC's (august vintage cuts):

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10779/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10780/

Ooh good call! Love both of those. Not sure why they didn't show up earlier, I think probably because I sort my searches differently than the default for GOG and I didn't scroll down far enough. Very nice and fit in the budget nicely!

 

[HoratioNelson]

I have just spent months with my finacee trying to find a cushion cut which did not have a crushed ice appearance. (We found one the other week after looking at at least 30 stones in person and certainly 100+ online!)

There is this myth that "cushion modified brilliant" cuts (CMB) all have a crushed ice appearance, whereas those termed "cushion brilliant" (CB) will have chunkier facts and no crushed ice. Apparently, CMBs account for the vast vast majority (98%) of cushion cuts on the market today. I say it is a myth, however, because not all CMBs exhibit the crushed ice look.

I'm no gemologist, but having seen and studied so many stones/certificates over the last few months, I feel I have a relatively good idea of what to look for if you want to avoid crushed ice.

1) The most important thing is to realise that there isn't often a substitute for looking at a stone in person. You can't always tell much from a certificate, or even a photo of a stone. Viewing it before your very own eyes is the best way to go about it. That said, certain vendors like Good Old Gold have a pet hate of the crushed ice look, so if you want to find a stone which doesn't have that look (whether a CMB, CB or antique vintage cut), I think they would be a great source to go through. If you can't visit the store in person, I know they can make videos to show customers how the stones look in various lighting conditions. Unfortunately, I'm based in the UK and didn't buy my stone with them in the end - I hoped to make it out to NY, but that trip never happened.

2) If you're not dealing with a seller like Good Old Gold and instead end up dealing with retailers/wholesalers who probably don't even know what "crushed ice" is, there are ways you can look for stones which are less likely to have a crushed ice look. I found - and this is just from my experience - that there was a certain plot design in CMBs which was much less likely to have a crushed ice look. This is the first attachment below which I have called "x plot". You will see that it has a X shape on the plot where each top of the "X" touches the side of the stone. This seemed to be one of the rarer CMB cuts out there, but in my experience they did not often have a crushed ice appearance. Ultimately, this is the plot shape I went for.

3) I have also attached pictures two more plots below which, in my experience, were much more likely to give a crushed ice look (though this was not always the case - so definitely do not judge on plot alone). The one entitled "common plot" is probably seen on the vast majority 75%+ of CMBs. The one I've termed "small x" often seemed to have a crushed ice look.

I'll attach some photos of stones below with the various plots...

 

[HoratioNelson]

Now for photos of actual stones, with reference to each type of plot I've described above.

The most important thing I hope you take from these pics is - ironically - that you can't really judge a stone that well (especially for crushed ice) from photos! You can get an idea of how the stone looks, but nothing beats seeing it and moving it around in the light in person.

The first pic is one with that first larger X plot, which I came quite close to buying. You can see under the table that it has what I guess are small to medium firey facets. Ultiamtely we didn't go for this one becase it had a slightly strange illusion of a rounded/circular table, and the symmetry wasn't quite what we wanted. This was a G 1.64ct with dimensions of 7.45mm x 6.47mm, so a ratio of 1.15, making it relatively rectangular. No crushed ice in this stone.

The second attachment contains a collection of stones with what I've called the "common plot". I just couldn't bring myself to buy these stones based on the pictures - I'm sure they looked nice in person, but I didn't even feel compelled to bring them in to have a look at.

I've also attached some photos of stones with the "smal x plot". I think I can make out a bit of crushed ice in these, and you can also see the X quite visibly under the table.

One thing I've neglected to mention in these posts is the "Heart and Arrows" cut. See something like this on Good Old Gold - http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10047/ - there won't be any crushed ice at all all, but at the same time these will typically be very square in ratio, as opposed to recangular. Worth considering though.

Hope the above helps!

 

[lknvrb4]

I would also check out oldworlddiamonds.com. There are some rectangular cushions on there as well under the antique cushions and also the old mine cuts.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Horatio ... you should add your posts and comparisons to my cushion thread linked above. It will be helpful for others.

 

[HoratioNelson]

Sure, will do!

Here are some options/examples:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.33-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-135307

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.38-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-164185

The top one of those has a relatively big depth ratio (77.2%!) No idea how that would impact optical performance, but generally avoided stones with depth ratios of more than 70%.

They are both very nice, however, and I can see that they have that large X plot, which I think is good for avoiding the crushed ice look!

 

[HoratioNelson]

Just realised/rememebered that the first photo I posted does NOT actually correspond with the first plot diagram.

Instead, it actually has the plot pattern shown below.

It's very similar as you can see, with a large X which has its points running from edge to edge. But it doesn't have those small facets in the centre. You can probably also see that this plot has some extra facets to the point of being unsymmetrical! (Look at the bottom left and right corners). Funnily enough, I don't think you can really tell from the photo of the stone I posted, but this was still enough to stop me buying it.

 

[04diamond<3]

Sure, will do!

Here are some options/examples:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.33-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-135307

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.38-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-164185

The top one of those has a relatively big depth ratio (77.2%!) No idea how that would impact optical performance, but generally avoided stones with depth ratios of more than 70%.

They are both very nice, however, and I can see that they have that large X plot, which I think is good for avoiding the crushed ice look!

Well, if the OP likes it they can request to see an aset image which will show how that impacts the performance.

 

[onefourthreexo]

HoratioNelson Thank you SO much for your information and detail! I have a better understanding now! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

 

[jj970]

Hey,

Well, if you want to see the differences in how modern and antiques perform, check out this video (or any of his other videos) that Jonathan just made for me.

I'm in the market and he called in the modern cut, but he compares it side by side with an antique cut.

You get a VERY good idea of how they look and perform.

http://youtu.be/fh7K7iaZRQU

Jason

 

[CharmyPoo]

I should add that out of all the diamonds HoratioNelson posted .. I probably wouldn't buy any of them except maybe the one in the second row on the right hand side. That plot usually is associated with "Canadian" diamonds and is priced much higher than the rest. The other diamonds are exhibiting either too much leakage or other undesirable features such as too large of a table or wonky facet patterns.