Odd number of diamonds in a cushion halo?!?

[Whithoov]

I was working with the jewelry store today and he was doing some basic mock ups of my ring to send to his custom guy, because the first cads weren’t right..he said that 15 diamonds are possible for a cushion cut halo with a RB center stone. I can’t figure out how that works. Does it not have to be an even amount of stones? Maybe it’s above my brain power to understand.

 

[kenny]

It depends on the length of the perimeter of your cushion and the diameter of the stones in your halo.

If the halo diamonds were small enough it could take 50 diamonds to surround your cushion.
If large enough it could only take 5 or so.
So the number needed is arbitrary, at least mathematically.

I'd guess he chose halo stones with the diameter he feels is either the best look or the best value (for him or you), or both.

 

[Whithoov]

It depends on the length of the perimeter of your cushion and the diameter of the stones in your halo.

If the halo diamonds were small enough it could take 50 diamonds to surround your cushion.
If large enough it could only take 5 or so.
So the number needed is arbitrary, at least mathematically.

I'd guess he chose halo stones with the diameter he feels is either the best look or the best value (for him or you), or both.

Ok. Thank you. Yes...we worked and worked on mm of stones. Just couldn’t figure out how it didn’t have to be 12, 14, 16. It’s 15 diamonds. I appreciate it, as I said...my brain apparently can’t wrap it’s head around it.

 

[kenny]

There is nothing magic about the number being even or odd.

If you have some preference mention it to your jeweler and see what he says.

 

[lissyflo]

It’s not just your brain - mine too! I can see a round halo having any number, even or odd, of stones in the halo, but I can’t envisage a square or rectangular cushion halo with an odd number - it would be actively asymmetrical I would have thought. How are you working with your jeweller - cad or drawings? Ask to see at least a drawn visual to confirm you’re happy with the planned halo stone placement - if the stones are very small melee may be asymmetry wouldn’t be apparent.

 

[kenny]

... but I can’t envisage a square or rectangular cushion halo with an odd number - it would be actively asymmetrical I would have thought. ...

FWIW the OP's post said the center stone was a RB, which I assume is a round.

 

[lissyflo]

But then specifically said a cushion halo, which I assume is square or rectangular halo around that RB... (Edit to add - I assumed OP meant a cushion-shaped halo, not cushion cut halo melee, which would be unusual, no? But reading back, it’s not clear.)

Anyway, a quick google of cushion halos showed this one, which is an odd number of stones (25 to my count) but doesn’t look odd/asymmetrical at all to me. The others that showed in my brief check were all even numbers. I don’t know what carat size this centre stone is - if yours is very different, the halo stone size may be different so the overall effect could change. There’s also 25 to your planned 15. I see your jeweller is using cads, so you’ll approve those to confirm you’re happy with the visual effect, before production starts.

And before any snarky comments, Kenny: yes I know this is not a RB centre stone, but if a cushion halo around a non-round centre can look fine with an odd number of stones, I’m sure it can look fine around a RB too. But maybe try google for the equivalent around an RB, OP.

 

[Whithoov]

Yes. It is a 1.7 (7.5x7.6) ROund. We were changing diamond size back and forth on the melee, but it is a cushion halo. It was a basic cad, nothing like the custom person sent. But it did give a feel and measurements. I should’ve snapped a picture because I’m not sure exactly how it laid out. It didn’t look asymmetrical but I’m not sure how. The real CADs are expected tomorrow...so, I will see then and see if the custom designer agrees with the jeweler. Haha. I’ve searched for examples of a cushion halo without an even number and can’t find any. So, the custom guy may say the jeweler was incorrect.

 

[Whithoov]

But then specifically said a cushion halo, which I assume is square or rectangular halo around that RB... (Edit to add - I assumed OP meant a cushion-shaped halo, not cushion cut halo melee, which would be unusual, no? But reading back, it’s not clear.)

A quick google of cushion halos showed this one, which is an odd number of stones (25 to my count) but doesn’t look odd/asymmetrical at all to me. The others that showed in my brief check were all even numbers. I don’t know what carat size this centre stone is - if yours is very different, the halo stone size may be different so the overall effect could change. I’d definitely still ask for at least a drawing, if not cads,

Thank you for finding one! I couldn’t!

 

[Whithoov]

But then specifically said a cushion halo, which I assume is square or rectangular halo around that RB... (Edit to add - I assumed OP meant a cushion-shaped halo, not cushion cut halo melee, which would be unusual, no? But reading back, it’s not clear.)

Anyway, a quick google of cushion halos showed this one, which is an odd number of stones (25 to my count) but doesn’t look odd/asymmetrical at all to me. The others that showed in my brief check were all even numbers. I don’t know what carat size this centre stone is - if yours is very different, the halo stone size may be different so the overall effect could change. There’s also 25 to your planned 15. I see your jeweller is using cads, so you’ll approve those to confirm your happy with the visual effect, before production starts.

It still gives it a great cushion shape. But if you look closely the diamonds on each side don’t match up perfectly. If you take the band as a marker, the one on the right lines up perfectly, the one on the left is slightly higher. Yet, it still looks like a normal shape cushion. We will see tomorrow when the official cad comes. Today we switched between a 14 and 15, and for some reason the 15 was more aesthetically pleasing to both of us. But that may change when I see it in full CAD.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Personally, it would bug me that it were not even/symmetrical due to the odd # of halo diamonds given they’d likely be large enough to discern (for that # of halo diamonds around that size center). If it were a round halo, different story. But a cushion halo would need to be even, or something would always be throwing my eye off when looking at it.

The example posted above has 5 slightly smaller halo diamonds on the left and 4 on the right; I wonder if that would draw attention to slightly more metal outer-edge on the left. It may also be more or less ‘obvious’ depending on the orientation of the center diamond (note arrows in below mock-ups) as well as the type of ‘cushion’ outline (further below) may make the odd # of halo diamonds more or less obvious.


Here are two examples with even numbered halo diamonds with a central round diamond.


It really seems like such an easily-remedied ‘concern’ to alleviate - just have them go with a smidge-smaller halo diamonds so it’s visually (and numerically) ‘even’. It seems like - for that size center stone - 14 or 15 halo diamonds would be about 2.5mm, which seems larger than most halo melee, but that is entirely personal preference.

 

[Whithoov]

Personally, it would bug me that it were not even/symmetrical due to the odd # of halo diamonds given they’d likely be large enough to discern (for that # of halo diamonds around that size center). If it were a round halo, different story. But a cushion halo would need to be even, or something would always be throwing my eye off when looking at it.

The example posted above has 5 slightly smaller halo diamonds on the left and 4 on the right; I wonder if that would draw attention to slightly more metal outer-edge on the left. It may also be more or less ‘obvious’ depending on the orientation of the center diamond (note arrows in below mock-ups) as well as the type of ‘cushion’ outline (further below) may make the odd # of halo diamonds more or less obvious.


Here are two examples with even numbered halo diamonds with a central round diamond.


It really seems like such an easily-remedied ‘concern’ to alleviate - just have them go with a smidge-smaller halo diamonds so it’s visually (and numerically) ‘even’. It seems like - for that size center stone - 14 or 15 halo diamonds would be about 2.5mm, which seems larger than most halo melee, but that is entirely personal preference.

Yes it is a 2.4mm halo, which I know is against most people’s preference...but this is my second remake of this ring, so I know the exact measurements I’m looking for everywhere. Thank you. We may drop to 14