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Need Help Selecting Center Stone for Soleste Style Cushion Cut eRing

D

Dynaholic

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
7
Hi everyone,

I’ve been doing some research on finding a good cushion cut diamond that fits my budget (12k CDN - have room to work with, 1.1+ ct, G, VS1, L/W ~1.10). First, I started looking at BN because I like how the prices are all calculated out for me and I don’t have to worry about any additional cost as I live in Canada. Then I got more picky about the cut as I want the diamond to sparkle. This lead me to look at BG’s H&A cushion but I didn’t like how I had to sacrifice face up size for the sparkle. Can someone recommend me a cushion cut that appears to be large and also has optimal performance?

TIA
 
Dynaholic said:
Thanks for your reply. My budget is only for the diamond alone and the wiggle room is for a bigger carat, better color, etc.

I’m currently looking at this one:

https://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-search/1.40-Platinum Select Modern Cushion-N-GIA-E-VS2-diamond-stock-16117A-cert-

I’ve noticed it’s difficult to find a rectangular cushion with an ideal cut.
Click to expand...
It is hard to find branded ideals in cushion, because its much harder to get a rectangle to have perfect light return as the light-path lengths are different. But, they are out there if you have patience to find the right one. Is the high color and clarity necessary? We typically look for cushions down to G (sometimes H) and with "eyeclean" to open up the options. Is elongate necessary or preferred?

Make sure to compare cushions by spread in mm not by weight. Something the less weighty one will have better spread.

Here are a few.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.52-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-sku-5172142 {6.65*6.63*4.55}

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/index.php/jewelry/103ct-j-si1-cushion-brilliant-diamond-gia-r7330
 
What do you think of this 1.70 ct one from James Allen; I know the color (I) is below what you said you wanted and it's square (1.01 L/W ratio), but take a look at the video and the (computer-generated) ASET on the July 23 AGS report & I think you'll appreciate why AGS gave it an Ideal cut grade:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.70-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-5429229

@rockysalamander - is there a reason to be concerned about the particular inclusions in this stone (I'm suffering from severe hay fever, so my eyeballs are having a tough time clearly seeing the inclusion plot) and/or the girdle variation (thin-extremely thick seems extreme to me, but maybe that's not unusual for cushions?)
 
MollyMalone said:
What do you think of this 1.70 ct one from James Allen; I know the color (I) is below what you said you wanted and it's square (1.01 L/W ratio), but take a look at the video and the (computer-generated) ASET on the July 23 AGS report & I think you'll appreciate why AGS gave it an Ideal cut grade:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.70-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-5429229

@rockysalamander - is there a reason to be concerned about the particular inclusions in this stone (I'm suffering from severe hay fever, so my eyeballs are having a tough time clearly seeing the inclusion plot) and/or the girdle variation (thin-extremely thick seems extreme to me, but maybe that's not unusual for cushions?)
Click to expand...

I think this is a good find. It really has a nice sparkle and high crown. The cross is a bit less crisp than the one I linked, you can see that the tips kinds fade, but I still think it has merit (please put on hold!). Lower colors are less problemmatic when the stone is square, you have less worry about color concentration in the tips. More thoughts? @tyty333 @Niel @farrahlyn @ac117
 
rockysalamander said:
I think this is a good find. It really has a nice sparkle and high crown. The cross is a bit less crisp than the one I linked, you can see that the tips kinds fade, but I still think it has merit (please put on hold!). Lower colors are less problemmatic when the stone is square, you have less worry about color concentration in the tips. More thoughts? @tyty333 @Niel @farrahlyn @ac117
Click to expand...

oh i really like it. it does have less contrast than the 1.52 you linked to rocky but i like the romantic feel of the 1.7. it's got really rounded corners, making it look very pillowy and soft and uber romantic. don't know enough about cushions to comment on the girdle variation, i have the same question as Molly.
 
rockysalamander said:
It is hard to find branded ideals in cushion, because its much harder to get a rectangle to have perfect light return as the light-path lengths are different. But, they are out there if you have patience to find the right one. Is the high color and clarity necessary? We typically look for cushions down to G (sometimes H) and with "eyeclean" to open up the options. Is elongate necessary or preferred?

Make sure to compare cushions by spread in mm not by weight. Something the less weighty one will have better spread.

Here are a few.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.52-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-sku-5172142 {6.65*6.63*4.55}

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/index.php/jewelry/103ct-j-si1-cushion-brilliant-diamond-gia-r7330
Click to expand...

I like the 1.52 carat and don't mind the SI as long as it's eye clean. My only concern is the G color having a yellow appearance when it's mounted onto the setting. The setting will be platinum with F/G melee stones. Is this something to be worried about?

MollyMalone said:
What do you think of this 1.70 ct one from James Allen; I know the color (I) is below what you said you wanted and it's square (1.01 L/W ratio), but take a look at the video and the (computer-generated) ASET on the July 23 AGS report & I think you'll appreciate why AGS gave it an Ideal cut grade:

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.70-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-5429229

@rockysalamander - is there a reason to be concerned about the particular inclusions in this stone (I'm suffering from severe hay fever, so my eyeballs are having a tough time clearly seeing the inclusion plot) and/or the girdle variation (thin-extremely thick seems extreme to me, but maybe that's not unusual for cushions?)
Click to expand...

Thank you for your suggestion. That's a beautiful diamond but it's more yellow than what I am looking for. I'm going after the icy look.
 
Dynaholic said:
I like the 1.52 carat and don't mind the SI as long as it's eye clean. My only concern is the G color having a yellow appearance when it's mounted onto the setting. The setting will be platinum with F/G melee stones. Is this something to be worried about?
Thank you for your suggestion. That's a beautiful diamond but it's more yellow than what I am looking for. I'm going after the icy look.
Click to expand...

If you want an icy look, then the J will have too much color. Most people start to see diamond body color at I color and generally only from the sides. So, J will be too colored, but G will be 100% fine. H or I, it comes down to how color observant you are as a viewer. But, i would not be dissuaded by the 1.7 I you posted. Its lovely. You can always have them mail it to you and make a decision in person.

Can you post the setting you have in mind?

I really like the 1.7 as well and I would have zero worry about that little tiny dot (inlcusion). Really. You would have to be eagle-eyed and just the right. The images on JA are highly magnified. I'm looking at the image on my computer and it covers 154 mm of my screen, in reality it is 6 mm!
 
I just got these pictures off of the website.


t1.jpg t2.jpg t3.jpg
 
Dynaholic said:
I just got these pictures off of the website.
Click to expand...
From Tiffany's website, I think? fyi: Tiffany itself is quite comfortable selling Soleste rings with H (graded by their in-house lab) -- and maybe I (there have been differing reports about that) -- diamonds as the center stone.
 
So, that the official Solete halo. Tiffany won't set an outside stone in their settings. So, you will need to either find a stock setting or get it custom made.

Option 1 - Custom. I know that David Klass in LA has made a halo that was a very very close copy. The great thing about a halo like that is that you won't see the stone from the side well. So, I'd personally be fine with an I. A custom jeweler can also adjust the melee color if there is a contrast and you don't like it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiQKRARFVBz/?hl=en&taken-by=davidklassjewelry
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhMXt-_F8ts/?hl=en&taken-by=davidklassjewelry

Other vendors that do good pave (how the diamonds are actually set) would be Diamonds by Lauren and HighPerformanceDiamonds.

Option 2 - Stock setting. This ring is actually very very pretty in person and would avoid the time and difficulty of going fully custom. I think BN will sell just a setting and then you'd need to get a local jeweler to join the two (unless we can find a cushion as BN). Lets see if we can find a diamond from BN so you can buy this all in one place if you like this.

Setting: https://www.bluenile.com/build-your...old_33606?elem=img&track=product&vtype=sample

Diamond:

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...DiamondDetails&action=newTab&catalogView=true {really liking this one}

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...DiamondDetails&action=newTab&catalogView=true {inclusion tiny bit more visible than the JA option; put on hold and ask for ASET if you want to pursue}

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...DiamondDetails&action=newTab&catalogView=true {hold and ASET needed}

i would explore option 2 before you head down the custom route.
 
The Sales Associate from Tiffany’s told me their center stones are a minimum of G color.

BN does not offer ASET reports on their diamonds.
How is quality of their rings compared to other vendors? I asked them about customizing the setting and to get it to my liking, I can expect to pay up to 40% more, which will come close to what my local goldsmith quoted me.
 
Last edited:
Trying to get up to speed.

Have you considered dropping a round stone in a cushion shaped double halo?

Have you looked at August Vintage?
 
I don't think anyone here would recommend doing a custom order with Blue Nile.

Brilliantly Engaged in NYC has fabricated a number of delightful, Soleste-like rings for pleased PSers. In my quick look just now, I'm not seeing any cushions in their in-house inventory meeting your specs that wow me, but other PSers have previously commented that their photograph-ASETS are "off", and so, you should ask for them for videos. And I'm sure BE would be happy to source other cushions.
 
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