James Allen Cushion Cut Help

[itellyouwhat]

First time poster here!

I have been plowing through the world of cushion cut diamonds for a while now and I swear it only gets more confusing the more I learn. I am currently wanting a cushion halo setting and looking for a nice cushion cut for it. I would like it to be around the 1 carat mark, eye clean, and I prefer chunky facets. I would like to keep the cost of the stone around $4,500.00.

I have been looking at James Allen and these two have caught my attention:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.05-carat-i-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-30227 at $4,440.00.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.01-carat-i-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-30239 at $4,280.00.

I am concerned about the i color as I have learned that cushions show their color more than other cuts. Any advice on either of these two or any other suggestions on stones from James Allen that I may have missed would be very much helpful!

Thanks!

 

[Christina...]

First, I am not a cushion expert! There are many here much better at locating beautiful cushions than I am. That said though, I'm not crazy about your first choice, it looks very dark in the middle. I like the your second choice better, but I think there are better choices out there for you. Have you considered any other vendors?

I found these for you to take a look at..

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/10788/
http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/10571/

 

[pandabee]

Any reason you are so strict on clarity? There are many VS1 and VS2 stones that are eye clean. No need for VVS clarity when it's something that can't be appreciated unless you are looking under a microscope.

Agreed with Christina on the dark spot of that first one. If you choose any of these JA ones, make sure to reserve them so you can decide between them without them being snatched up by lurkers. GOG will also be a good resource to see cushions as they do run a lot of light performance testing to show you which ones should shine the best.

How about:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/0.91-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-246441
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.01-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-185248 this one might be a possibility but the girdle is pretty thick on it so it might face up smaller than it should for its weight (I didn't check yet).

Pretty much any shape other than a round tends to show color a little more easily, but I is still in the "near-colorless" range so unless you are putting it right next to another higher colored diamond or she is very color sensitive, it may be okay. That's for you to decide though. What kind of setting are you wanting to set this cushion in?