Round, Radiant or Cushion?

[Dumpling]

Hello my lovelies!

I am so happy to be here among you experts and enthusiasts to figure out what my dream engagement ring will look like. I have spent quite a bit of time reading the forums, browsing dreamy SMTB posts and perusing the collections of various jewelers.

There is SO MUCH to love out there I am having a hard time narrowing it down.

To start, I can't figure out if a round, modified radiant or cushion will give me the best brilliant bling bang for the buck. There are so many branded cuts now. I love the old school feel of vintage cuts but would not want to compromise on light return, apparently August Vintage rounds or cushions might be an answer to this... Or do I want a Brellia or a Jubilee? OR should I just stick with the classic round H&A? Will a modified square feel less timeless than a round? Or will a round of equivalent weight face up smaller than a modified square?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Todd Gray]

Congratulations on your upcoming engagement! There are a few branded cushion cut diamonds floating around out there which do offer the volume of light return, brightness and sparkle factor of a round, and you've mentioned some of them.

One thing to take note of is how the girdle edge of these diamonds is designed, some of them are overly thick and present a challenge to set and maintain securely in the setting because of the variance in girdle thickness.

I was recently discussing a new cushion cut diamond design that was featured by an online vendor via email and happened to say something along the lines of "By the way, who the h*** designed that [blank name] Cushion for you? The girdle edge... uh, wow."

Okay, that's exactly what I said... he came back with "Girdle could be better and it is improving with production. The stone actually looks amazing in person and performs equal to a round with [Lab]. When you come to [City] I will be happy to give you a personal viewing."

So the point that I'm trying to make is that the girdle edge of these modified cushion brilliant cut diamonds is a critical factor, and not all of them are designed well... and apparently the companies selling them are well aware of it! Also take into account that the design of the facets, size of the facets, etc., will have a direct effect upon the pattern of light return, number of virtual facets, size of the virtual facets, which in turn will have a direct effect upon the size of the flashes of light and type of sparkle that you see within the diamond.

 

[Dumpling]

Thanks Todd, I appreciate your thoughts. I will take note of the girdle and bear that in mind. I definitely want a delicate setting, likely 4 claw prongs, set low... and I won't want to worry about the security and stability of my stone.