Cushion stone recommendation request

[carbon-seeker]

Hello Pricescopers!

This is yet another first-timer seeking help with a stone recommendation. I’ve been lurking on the forums for some time and have found them very helpful. The current plan is to buy the stone online and get a setting by Victor Canera. Further details for what my girlfriend and I are looking for are below.

Diamond Specifications + Budget
Modern cushion; F or better; approximately 1 carat; VS2 or better / eye clean stone; and square or slightly elongated is fine. We both do not like the crushed-ice look. My budget for the stone is approximately $5k.

The Setting
To provide some further background, I’ve decided on Victor Canera’s Emilya halo pave setting (my GF really liked Harry Winston’s The One and I ended up meeting with Victor after reading posts on this forum). Victor informed me that the color of the pave stones will be G.

https://www.victorcanera.com/rings/the-emilya-halo-solitaire-with-2ct-vintage-cushion

Example Stones
The following are some example stones that I've come across. Do you any of the following stand out or do you have other recommendations? I can then request ASETs where applicable.

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/C102-175967Z40:


https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/C103-7276Z8137:


https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...ut/1.06-carat-f-color-vs1-clarity-sku-1924251
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.01-carat-e-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-888036

Thank you in advance for any help/recommendations.

 

[tyty333]

I think all of those stones look promising...the asets look good. Is that second aset the F 1.06 because it looks really nice!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

This one is excellent and I don't think you'll do better:

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/C103-7276Z8137

Although, I'd personally look at G color, too.

 

[carbon-seeker]

Thank you for the comments.

tyty333, the second ASET is the Enchanted Diamonds 1.03 F-VS2 (link is below).

diamondseeker2006, just so I have a better idea, what characteristics makes this one better: https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/C103-7276Z8137 over the others? E.g., in addition to its ASET, is it the particular proportions of the stone?

Also, regarding your G color suggestion, do you recommend I look at that color because the halo stones will be G as well?

I will be requesting the jamesallen ASETs tomorrow and will post those as soon as I get them.

 

[seekingshiny]

The ASET for the Enchanted Diamonds 1.03 F-VS2 is much stronger than the first you posted. The 1.03 F VS2 would be my pick between the two.

I'd encourage you to look at G and H color diamonds because they are still extremely white in person to the average person who is not extremely color-sensitive, and will allow you to look at larger stones for your budget. GIA/AGS grading is the standard and stricter than EGL, so if you've been going by the color of the diamond at your run-of-the-mill EGL-graded diamond from the mall jeweler, that is not representative.

 

[carbon-seeker]

seekingshiny, thank you for the information. The 1.03 F-VS2 is the leading contender, and I'm waiting on some additional images.

In particular, I found your comments regarding G stones helpful. After some searching the below two were the best that I could come up with.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.02-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2310673
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.04-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-703269

The previous jamesallen stones weren't local so they couldn't provide ASETs. If I can narrow down some G color stones, I'll request those ASETs.

 

[ariel144]

You should also consider this one:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-search/1.00-platinum_select_modern-SELECT-GIA-F-VS2-diamond-stock-14869-cert-

or this:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-search/1.00-platinum_select_modern-SELECT-GIA-F-VS1-diamond-stock-14849-cert-

Under budget and antique cushion cut:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-search/0.96-platinum_select_vintage-SELECT-GIA-F-VS2-diamond-stock-12775-cert-

 

[ariel144]

I would not buy a cushion without an ASET.

The first one has gray mush under the table which means light leakage. The 2nd one looks better IMO.
gray mush:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.02-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2310673

GOG will do a video with several of their stones for comparison, which is very helpful to the buyer.

Cut is king and a J stone that has a phenomenal cut will be more beautiful than a stone with an higher color and not so good a cut. It will out perform an higher color stone because of the excellent light performance. Also you can find stones that are SI in clarity but are eye clean. Thus you can save money or choose a larger stone in your budget. Just saying what I've learned after many years of educating myself on PS.

Good luck with your search.

Another below budget:
http://www.brilliantlyengaged.com/1.00-carat-g-vvs1-x-factor-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-947316.html

 

[carbon-seeker]

ariel144, thank you for the recommendations! I requested video and additional images for all of them. That antique cushion piqued my interest–I had previously thought all antique cushions would be out of my budget range.

I am going to stay away from cushions without ASETs.

Does "gray mush" refer to cloudiness? Pardon my novice eyes.

 

[ariel144]

ariel144, thank you for the recommendations! I requested video and additional images for all of them. That antique cushion piqued my interest–I had previously thought all antique cushions would be out of my budget range.

I am going to stay away from cushions without ASETs.

Does "gray mush" refer to cloudiness? Pardon my novice eyes.

Yes, I call it gray mush but it is the fuzzy gray under the table where you cannot see crisp plain facets. The ASET shows it as white to confirm the leakage. If there is a lot of green around the girdle/perimeter of the stone it will appear smaller than it's weight as those facets won't light up well.

You might also consider the 1.20 AVC L color on GOG. It is quite large 6.3mm and in budget. Those AVC's are amaze balls and usually the color is hard to discern by most ppl. Some are highly sensitive to color and others aren't. But that .96 antique cushion has a really nice ASET but ASET's don't always tell everything about performance. A lot of antique stone lovers prefer a little color in their stone. JKL or M. Usually a J color shows up colorless in most well cut diamonds and are a great buy for those with the knowledge of how important cut is in making a really beautiful stone. Most would not suggest pick anything lower than an I for an engagement ring though.

If you go to the "show me the bling" and search for old cuts you can see some real honkers in the lower colors that are amazing.

 

[ariel144]

I can always spot a "CUSHION BRILLIANT" on JA by the faceting....here is a lovely one. $5400

Note if you set it East West the finger coverage will be close to 7mm.

Some of the best cut cushions are cushion brilliants they have the 8 main star faceting and this one has the wider star facets...not the modified cushion brilliant.

Watch for the mid 60% depth and mid 50% table size...you can also search using those under the "advanced" tab.

Will be interesting to see the ASET on this cushion brilliant.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.08-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2310736

 

[carbon-seeker]

ariel144, thank you so much for the suggestions! In fact, I’m close to pulling the trigger on the .96 F VS2 antique cushion cut.

The following is the video I requested for it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vVtCdZ-IKU

I would appreciate any final thoughts on this stone before I lock it in for $4k. I put a reservation hold on it and I have a couple days to
decide. Thank you!







https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=2151988778

Table: 46%
Depth: 69.4%

The jeweler also mentioned that the diamond was supposed to be an August Vintage Cushion but the cutters missed the mark by a hair.

 

[tyty333]

I can always spot a "CUSHION BRILLIANT" on JA by the faceting....here is a lovely one. $5400

Note if you set it East West the finger coverage will be close to 7mm.

Some of the best cut cushions are cushion brilliants they have the 8 main star faceting and this one has the wider star facets...not the modified cushion brilliant.

Watch for the mid 60% depth and mid 50% table size...you can also search using those under the "advanced" tab.

Will be interesting to see the ASET on this cushion brilliant.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.08-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2310736

This is a lovely stone and is large...(the stone posted above)

I like the GOG (antique cut) as well. One of these would be my choice depending on how large of a center stone you want and how
much money you want to spend on it.

Here is a relative size difference between the two stones on a size 6 finger/2mm band...