Need some help with Cushion and Princess cut

[Happyguy]

Hi guys,

I've done a lot of research about round diamond cut and so on, but after some time of looking around my girlfriend has narrowed down her preference to Princess and Cushion cut settings. I had a couple questions about this.

1) I read that there are no real cut proportion guidelines for princess cut the way there are for round brilliant. Is this true for cushion cuts as well and is it safe to buy either of these types of stones online?

2) if GIA doesn't really do cut grades for princess cuts, do they do them for cushion? And should I trust the usual online vendors when they label certain diamonds as "ideal" and "super ideal" with these shapes? For instance, I noticed whiteflash seems to have many more "A Cut Above" diamonds in my pricerange for princess than they did for Round Brilliant. Is this just by chance, or are the standards lower to get this type of designation for a princess cut?

3) Does anyone know of any settings similar to the Tiffany Lucida split shank? This is the only one I've been able to find thus far:
http://www.brilliantearth.com/Astoria-Diamond-Ring-(1/3-ct.tw.)-White-Gold-BE194-182018/

Thanks in advance for your help everybody! You guys rock with the way you help so many people out.

 

[JulieN]

AGS grades cushion and princess for light performance, GIA doesn't.

Any vendor that labels cut for fancies should back it up with pictures. I assume it doesn't mean anything if there are no pictures.

Fancies are usually cheaper than rounds, but for some precision cut fancies the pricing approaches that of rounds.

 

[UrsTx]

In relation to the setting, white flash has " Allegro in D". I think they sell their rings with or without center stones, in case you find your center elsewhere.

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/allegro-in-d-diamond-engagement-ring-159.htm

EDIT: found this Brian Gavin design too. http://m.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/split-shank-truth-18k-white-gold-5665w18

 

[Gypsy]

There are many settings like that. Focus on the stone first.

No, do not trust vendor ratings for fancies. If it is a graded princess or cushion by AGS with a light return of 0, then you can trust that. Anything short of that is vendor opinion. Make sure you have an ASET image of the actual stone (or that the vendor provides one) and preferably a video of the stone (images are ok too) of anything you are buying.

Just tell us what you want, at what budget and I'll find you some contenders. It's what we do.