Question about Cushions

[Cosmogrrl]

After reading this board for a long while, I have come to the conclusion that cushions are more difficult to pick (especially for a newbie!).
Is there any type of HCA rating system for cushions? I have keyed in my specs for my cushion and am surprised at what came back. Well not really surprised, as I know it will be different because it''s not round. But it is still a ''brilliant'' cut.
Any thoughts??

 

[RockDoc]

RE: Analyzing Cushions

One of the sticklers on this is the style of how the facets are cut, which can vary wildly with this shape stone.

Recently, a client of ours had 4 cushions get sent in for analysis. All were very high quality, large diamonds. Three looked a lot alike, with the facet up performance. The fourth one had a much higher crown height, and took on a totally different face up appearance that was significantly better than the other three.

Why? This particular diamond has a 21% crown height, and a girdle that was not extremely thick in some areas as many cushions have. The result was a far more dispersive stone, than the others. None of these stones were substandard in any way, it was just the appearance factor here, of a somewhat differently proportioned stones, being compared to what is more commonly proportioned.

Hope this helps.

Rockdoc

 

[Cosmogrrl]

Thanks for the reponse RockDoc!!

Could I ask another question? Should I be concerned that the cut is Excellent (I''m not sure if this vendor has an ''Ideal'' category - I think not), but the polish/symm is Very Good. If I was to post the specs could the average PS''er be able to tell me about my stone? Or is it very different from being about to analyze a RB?

My stone is very white, with alot of white sparkle - which I LOVE!

There''s still fire to it (I believe that is the coloured sparkle), but it''s the white sparkle that gives this stone it''s glory!

Alot of people I know don''t know alot about cushions, so I just want to arm myself with knowledge! Many thanks in advance!

 

[boston_jeff]

Hi Cosmo,

The answer is yes and no. If you post detailed specs (including the facet plot on the cert), people here will be able to give you some insight (although you are right that it will not be as much help as with a RB). If you can post good pictures, people will be able to help even more.

Very good polish/symmetry is most likely not a problem at all (it depends slightly on what type of cushion you have).
Is the "Excellent" cut you were talking about a vendor''s classification? If so, vendors sometimes do not give ideal grades to cushions. In any case, the grade a vendor gives to a stone, especially a cushion, should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[boston_jeff]

Hi Cosmo (again),

I just noticed on a different thread that you have a Novo from Tiffany''s? If that is the cushion you are talking about, I really don''t think you have anything to worry about. It is my understanding that the Novo is similar to a Square H&A stone, and I am sure that it performs very well. And it will perform more like a round brilliant than a typical cushion (although similar to the modern cushions people have here (like MMM)), so that would explain that prevalence of white light over fire.

 

[Cosmogrrl]

Yep that''s me! So much for being incognito

I just got my documents/portfolio in the mail this morning - and I was taken aback by the very good grade. I don''t know why I was, but I was. My FI did his homework big time before making any decisions. And yes, we did look at many different options before deciding on a Tiffany''s. When I asked him about the stone, all they told him was that it was a .61 F/VS1 Excellent Cut. The rest was a mystery until we received the paperwork in the mail. Now, I don''t know if he asked specifics or not, after his journey to get there (20 hours after many delays), I think he just wanted to get it done.

In any case, I LOVE my stone and my ring

... And I am pretty excited that I have one of the first ones on the block!!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 3/23/2007 12:21:00 PM
Author: RockDoc

RE: Analyzing Cushions

One of the sticklers on this is the style of how the facets are cut, which can vary wildly with this shape stone.

Recently, a client of ours had 4 cushions get sent in for analysis. All were very high quality, large diamonds. Three looked a lot alike, with the facet up performance. The fourth one had a much higher crown height, and took on a totally different face up appearance that was significantly better than the other three.

Why? This particular diamond has a 21% crown height, and a girdle that was not extremely thick in some areas as many cushions have. The result was a far more dispersive stone, than the others. None of these stones were substandard in any way, it was just the appearance factor here, of a somewhat differently proportioned stones, being compared to what is more commonly proportioned.

Hope this helps.

Rockdoc

I

Big Crowns!!!