shattered glass look = bad cushion cut?

[pepperell]

So I finally got out and looked at some real stones. I noticed looking into some cushions the light reflected back was disorganized and looked a bit like shattered glass. Though they seem to reflect a lot of light back and appear brilliant, I don''t really like the way they look. One cushion I looked at seemed a bit better (ie pattern was cleaner, less shattered glass look), but it was unfortunately way out of the budget.

Is this related to the symmetry of the cut? Is a rectangular stone more likely to send back the shattered look? Those of you who have looked at or own cushions, do you know what I''m talking about because the salesperson looked at my like I was crazy.

 

[valeria101]

Those must have been radiant-style cuts... and that is how they are supposed to lok like: a splash of glitter

(if I understand it right). A brilliant-style pavilion would look more "orderly". There are other versions of cushion cuts as well and the proportions done on each make a difference from case to case. If one version is better or worse it is up to your choice, IMO.

Honestly, I do not have a handy technical explanation for this: perhaps internal reflections and the size of pavilion facets could be part of the story.

 

[Orange]

There are many different cushion facet patterns. Some, the "modern" cushions, have pavillions very similar to round brilliants and therefore have a similarly brilliant pattern. Others have more "chunky" facets (for lack of a better term), and have a more scattered look. I have one of the chunky ones (you can see pics on my thread from a few days ago). Good Old Gold has a great cushion tutorial that shows a few of the various facet patterns.
http://www.goodoldgold.com/cushion.htm

Also, when I was looking at cushions, one vendor showed me a "cushion" that was clearly a radiant. Perhaps this is what happened here as well.

Do you have the GIA cert?

 

[FireGoddess]

My initial reaction is that someone showed you a radiant...which definitely has a crushed glass look.

 

[Nicrez]

Curious if you saw this stone in NYC? I saw a cushion shaped, radiant cut diamond at Jacob & Co. I marveled at it, because frankly I thought it was the perfect combination of softness and radiant mystery sparkle-wise. It''s all a matter of taste.

Radiants don''t have a standard in the industry, so they are mostly cut willy-nilly if they are not the Original cut. Cushions are actually far worse. Since they are MUCH older, they have so many different interpretations, and even have mixed breeds of Old Mine cuts, Round brilliants, radiants, and princess cuts even...

Even stone has a voice, and if you see it and you don''t like it, move on. Sometimes the mixed breeds are lovely. Iin the cutting industry there are so many cutters, some formally trained, some trained by generations of being in the trade, and all over the world, that makes it very difficult to get an exact cut on shaped stones every time. Round brilliants are easiest, and even they have many variations.

Good luck, and see as many cushions in person as you can, and determine the stone by each look it has, and which look you prefer.

All the best!

 

[windowshopper]

MODERN CUSHIONS ARE MORE AKIN TO RADIANTS --WHEREAS THE OLDER ONES HAVE CHUNKY FACETS THAT TO MY EYE ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE AS WELL. MOST CUSHIONS ARE NOT CUT THAT WELL. YOU WOULD PROBABLY LIKE THE OLDER ONES WITH FEWER FACETS.............LESS CRUSHED GLASS , MORE FLAT PLANES OF LIGHT

 

[moremoremore]

Hmm, I have to disagree, my "modern" cushion doesn''t look anything like a radiant...the look is larger facets...

I agree with Nicrez, that wasn''t your cushion...and certainly not all cushions!

 

[katrina_33]

I see what both Windowshopper and MMM are saying - in my experience looking at many cushions and radiants, many of the old cushions have really big facets, and are almost more like old miner cuts. The modern cushions do have smaller, more symmetrical, precise facets than this, but they''re not necessarily the "cracked glass" look either, just more organized like a round. I have also seen lots of cushions that did have that cracked glass look, but I have no idea why. I actually like that look anyhow. Maybe these are more radiant cuts with rounded corners? I''m sure that''s totally possible -since there''s no standard facet arrangement for radiants or cushions, who''s to say what it is? They''re probably calling it a cushion because of its outline, when really the facet pattern and look are more like what most people think of when they think of a radiant.