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Advice on this 1.2 Cushion

B

Bruin945

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Messages
5
Hi Guys,

I am extremely new to this whole diamond thing. I was wondering if anyone could tell me whether this diamond is a good deal and worth buying? Its through bluenile and the only problem I see with it is the "fair" cut. I talked to one jeweler who told me that the "modified brilliant" shape in the report means it was probably a different shaped diamond initially. This doesnt seem right to me. Any information or advice is greatly appreciated!

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD02941804
 
It's hard to tell with BN especially because they don't provide pictures and since this is a cushion, it could be cut in a lot of different ways...Plus it says it's "Fair" cut...For that price though, the color and clarity are great! have you checked out www.jamesallen.com ?
 
don't work with that jeweler. :rodent:
 
JA has a 60 day return policy. Each vendor has their own policy, so you need to check individually.

That is not the most impressive cushion I've seen.
 
yeah, i agree, that is not a cushion I'd recommend...keep it on ideal cut and see what comes up. They have a lot of gorgeous cushions! I'd help you look but I'm running out the door...
 
Modified Cushion Brilliants usually hold more weight around the middle and edges. This diamond in particular is very deep at 72% and will face up smaller when compared to other cushions that are better cut. The table is also very large and it is not a look I like. I would suggest you move on and find another diamond.
 
NO. That is not a good cushion. For many reasons. Here are a few I'd suggest instead. Ask JA if they are eyeclean and to provide you with an ASET (will take 3-4 days) to check light performance.

When trying to compare one cushion to another for size carat weight is meaningless compare DIMENSIONS (actual measurements listed).

While they weight less, these are actually either the same size or larger than your 1.2 above. None of them are screaming "amazing" to me, but they might ASET out well. But you had posted from JA so I thought I'd look for you.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VVS2-Good-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1543088.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Good-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1359451.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Very-Good-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1525287.asp

THIS is the diamond I would buy. http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/1.01-carat-h-si1-a-cut-beyond-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-101696.html Gorgeous with great performance, larger face up than the 1.2 was. Also cheaper.

This one is my second choice: http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/0.92-carat-h-vs2-a-cut-beyond-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-102943.html AGAIN LOOK AT THE MEASUREMENTS NOT THE CARAT WEIGHT.

Buy one of those and put the rest of the funds toward getting a high quality setting.
 
04diamond<3|1355442281|3330644 said:
yeah, i agree, that is not a cushion I'd recommend...keep it on ideal cut and see what comes up. They have a lot of gorgeous cushions! I'd help you look but I'm running out the door...
Click to expand...

This is bad advice.

Cushions (and fancies) are NOT rounds and you CANNOT use the same standard to buy them as you do with rounds.

There are only 2 lines of cushions with ideal light performance. They are GOG's AVC line and Victor Canera's new line of Cushions.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY IDEAL CUT CUSHIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE. And maybe the Briella line. But regardless, they are all branded, and they are priced that way.

The "very good" "ideal" and "good" ratings at ANY OTHER VENDOR, and that includes JA, are based on criteria that is meaningless. JA in particular only uses table and depth to catagorize their cushions and they are working to elimate this as it creates confusion for customers. If you want to find a nice stone at JA the BEST advice is: IGNORE the ratings they assign.

ANY OTHER CUSHION (outside of AVC and Victor's lines and the Breilla) needs to be evaluated on an individual basis. HOW do you determine if you have a good cushion? The certificate and the numbers do NOT tell you. YOU MUST evaluate each stone on faceting and light performance. HOW do you do this? With your eyes and an ASET scope in person. On the net: with a VERY good video (few and far between outside of a few vendors that have got this down) and an ASET image WITH an image of the actual stone (or several of them).

Please make sure you are giving CORRECT advice to the new posters. :wavey:
 
I would consider these two diamonds.

This seller has a store front in Chicago that I have visited a few times and are used to online sales. The first one is a modern cut and looks fantastic to me. Check out the pattern. The second one is a true antique and I have a sneaking feeling that it is much prettier in real life.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-29ct-G-SI1-GIA-CERTIFIED-1-00-DIAMOND-CUSHION-VINTAGE-ENGAGEMENT-ART-DECO-RING-/170955246836?pt=Diamond_Solitaire_Rings&hash=item27cdba0cf4

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-08-H-VS2-GIA-CERTIFIED-VINTAGE-PLATINUM-OLD-MINE-CUT-DIAMOND-ENGAGEMENT-RING-/170957615986?pt=Diamond_Solitaire_Rings&hash=item27cdde3372
 
Gypsy|1355446515|3330692 said:
04diamond<3|1355442281|3330644 said:
yeah, i agree, that is not a cushion I'd recommend...keep it on ideal cut and see what comes up. They have a lot of gorgeous cushions! I'd help you look but I'm running out the door...
Click to expand...

This is bad advice.

Cushions (and fancies) are NOT rounds and you CANNOT use the same standard to buy them as you do with rounds.

There are only 2 lines of cushions with ideal light performance. They are GOG's AVC line and Victor Canera's new line of Cushions.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY IDEAL CUT CUSHIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE. And maybe the Briella line. But regardless, they are all branded, and they are priced that way.

The "very good" "ideal" and "good" ratings at ANY OTHER VENDOR, and that includes JA, are based on criteria that is meaningless. JA in particular only uses table and depth to catagorize their cushions and they are working to elimate this as it creates confusion for customers. If you want to find a nice stone at JA the BEST advice is: IGNORE the ratings they assign.

ANY OTHER CUSHION (outside of AVC and Victor's lines and the Breilla) needs to be evaluated on an individual basis. HOW do you determine if you have a good cushion? The certificate and the numbers do NOT tell you. YOU MUST evaluate each stone on faceting and light performance. HOW do you do this? With your eyes and an ASET scope in person. On the net: with a VERY good video (few and far between outside of a few vendors that have got this down) and an ASET image WITH an image of the actual stone (or several of them).

Please make sure you are giving CORRECT advice to the new posters. :wavey:
Click to expand...

I don't think it is - it's a matter of preference. If that's not what he likes, fine, it's just something I suggested. The ones you recommended from JA are stunning though! I'm not a fan of chunky cuts. But it's up to the OP.
 
I am sorry to say I agree with Gypsy about JA's cut rating for fancy diamonds. I've seen plenty of yucky looking diamonds listed as Ideal cut and a few fantastic ones listed as Very Good cut. This might be true and work for rounds but absolutely not for non round diamonds.
 
04diamond<3|1355449701|3330756 said:
I don't think it is - it's a matter of preference. If that's not what he likes, fine, it's just something I suggested. The ones you recommended from JA are stunning though! I'm not a fan of chunky cuts. But it's up to the OP.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. I want to clarify though, so there is no misinformation being put out there.

That JA's rankings of cushions are based on simple table and depth ranges is not preference, it's fact.

That you can't judge cushions by their stats (particularly just table and depth) is also fact not preference. And that means that JA's assigned ranking are meaningless when it comes to selecting well performing cushions.

Also fact is that you cannot apply the same process/rules for buying cushions as you do rounds.

That has nothing to do with faceting preferences for chunky or modern cushions. That is definitely a matter of opinion and you are right that the cushions I recommended are antique faceted. I didn't recommend them based on faceting but rather based on light return, price and the fact that none of the ones I found at JA have faceting structures that normally result in high performance.

If modern cushions are your preference these are what I'd suggest.

If eyeclean this would be great choice, based solely on performance and pricing. It's also an 8 main cushion which are hard to find, and like gold when you do.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9544/ If you want a modern cushion, this would be my recommendation.
 
Cushions vary so much-I would stay away from "fair".
 
lambskin|1355499173|3331208 said:
Cushions vary so much-I would stay away from "fair".
Click to expand...

Okay, deep breath. I really feel that I have to be clear about this.

There is no "fair" rating. Because there is no lab that will grade standard cushions. The only cushions that labs grade for cut are those specifically entered in for cut, which are ONLY designer lines that are guaranteed to get 'ideal'. Why would a vendor submit a badly cut cushion for light perfomance rating when they don't have to and it would loose them business.

Any "fair" you see next to a cushion is a vendor's rating (and again, they wouldn't rate their own inventory as fair, because it would make the stone unsellable, vendor ratings ONLY go down to "Good" for a reason). And even if there was a vendor rated "fair cushion" it cold still perform really well. WHY? Because Vendor ratings are meaningless because they are based on the numbers the NUMBERS DO NOT MEAN ANYTHING with respect the performance of CUSHION by themselves. Cushions are not like rounds.

THERE ARE NO STATS THAT CAN PREDICT THE PERFORMANCE OF CUSHIONS ON A LAB REPORT. Also there is NO set standard for stats for cushions at all. ANYTHING GOES. So the only thing that matter is: Do you like the faceting and DOES IT PERFORM.
 
Again, I have to second Gypsy. There is no standardized cut rating on cushions or most fancies with the exception of a few branded cushions. The ratings of ideal, VG and G are just based on table and depth percentages listed in the lab memo that vendors use to group these diamonds. They tell NOTHING about the cut. You MUST see a picture of the cushion to select a few, then have them tested with the ASET. It is impossible to buy well cut cushions by the numbers alone.
 
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