Another Cushion--What Do You Think?

[Haven]

Okay, so we''re looking for a cushion diamond for my e-ring. I know I''ve already asked you about three other stones, but we''re still searching and I STILL need your help!

Our local jeweler found this stone for us, so I don''t have as many specs as normal, but this should do.

How do these specs look?

2 cts
7.8 x 6.9 (no depth info)
G
SI1 (eye clean)
MB fluorescence
64% deep
59% table
VG polish
VG symmetry
$12,000 (before haggling, of course)

My main concern is the effect of the MB fluor on the appearance of the stone. We''ll be setting it in a solitaire setting with one row of pave on the band, similar to the WF Legato setting. Will the fluor make the stone look funny compared to the diamond pave?

If we''re interested he can bring the stone in tomorrow. Are we interested?

Thanks, guys!

 

[Haven]

Okay, I just looked at the Calling all cushion peeps!!!! thread and I see that it's hard to give advice based on cushion specs.

So here are the updated questions: Based on these specs, is it worth bringing in the diamond at all? AND, does the price seem reasonable?

Thanks!

 

[chrono]

I think this could have some potential to be called in to run the gamut of tests. The price also seems all right for all the specs.

 

[neatfreak]

Could have potential (but as you know, it could not!) and the price seems pretty ok. Why not have it called in? Do you have anything to lose?

 

[boston_jeff]

As said above, it looks OK from the numbers.

To me, the price looks low, which raises at least a little red flag. However, cushion prices tend to be all over the place, especially in non-moderns.

I''d say get pictures if you can with little effort.

 

[Haven]

Thanks for the advice, guys.

We really don''t have anything to lose by having it brought out; the diamond must be here in Chicago because our jeweler said he can bring it in for us tomorrow.

I just wanted to know if anyone saw any red flags from the numbers alone because I don''t want our jeweler to go to any unnecessary lengths to get a stone that is a definite "no". He''s already spent a ton of time looking for sapphires for us, and now that we decided to go for a diamond I just feel bad for taking up so much of his time. I know, I know, we have to love what we end up purchasing, and sometimes it takes a while to find the right stone, but that''s why I wanted to have my PS friends scan the numbers in case there was anything clearly undesirable about the stone.

Any comments on the MB fluor in a G stone? Anyone have a G stone with MB fluor?

 

[diagem]

Date: 7/27/2007 3:25:57 PM
Author: Haven
Thanks for the advice, guys.

We really don't have anything to lose by having it brought out; the diamond must be here in Chicago because our jeweler said he can bring it in for us tomorrow.

I just wanted to know if anyone saw any red flags from the numbers alone because I don't want our jeweler to go to any unnecessary lengths to get a stone that is a definite 'no'. He's already spent a ton of time looking for sapphires for us, and now that we decided to go for a diamond I just feel bad for taking up so much of his time. I know, I know, we have to love what we end up purchasing, and sometimes it takes a while to find the right stone, but that's why I wanted to have my PS friends scan the numbers in case there was anything clearly undesirable about the stone.

Any comments on the MB fluor in a G stone? Anyone have a G stone with MB fluor?

Like I said many a times..., its impossible to give objective advice based on the numbers.
You didnt even mention what cutting style it incorporates!!!!

The MB with the G has greater odds being fine..., but that TOO is on a stone per stone basis!

 

[Haven]

DiaGem--Like I said, I simply got these few specs from my jeweler over the phone, and I am looking for feedback whether these specs alone raised any red flags that would inform our decision whether to have our jeweler even bother to bring the stone in. That's all; I don't expect anyone to be able to give a detailed analysis of the stone, I was just hoping for some friendly general feedback to help me decide whether we even want to take a look at it, and to see if anyone could provide insight about a G color with MB fluor. Please don't let my little inquiry get under your skin, I'm simply looking for a tiny bit of direction here, which I have been so lucky to have gotten from wonderful PSers many times before. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

ETA: After having a second read I wanted to add that I hope my response does not come across as snarky, this was not my intention. I really do appreciate any and all input, DiaGem! I just wanted to clarify my purpose for posting this topic in the first place.

 

[Haven]

Now we have another cushion in the running. Here are the specs:

2.37
7.93x7.29x4.87
J
VS2
M-STK
N
VG
GD
N
66.8
59

VS original cushion in question:

2 cts
7.8 x 6.9 (no depth info)
G
SI1 (eye clean)
MB fluorescence
64% deep
59% table
VG polish
VG symmetry

Assuming they are both beautiful in person, would you choose a G colored cushion with MB fluor, or a J with no fluor? Is this another impossible question? (Perhaps the fact that I''m an English teacher makes me prone to asking these impossible questions, non?) The price difference between the two is negligible, as well.

Thanks again!

 

[chrono]

Assuming that both are equally well cut, I'd take the G with fluoro. You may not even be able to see the lavender tint under strong direct sunlight with a MB, but personally, I love that effect.

 

[diagem]

Date: 7/27/2007 4:04:48 PM
Author: Haven
DiaGem--Like I said, I simply got these few specs from my jeweler over the phone, and I am looking for feedback whether these specs alone raised any red flags that would inform our decision whether to have our jeweler even bother to bring the stone in. That''s all; I don''t expect anyone to be able to give a detailed analysis of the stone, I was just hoping for some friendly general feedback to help me decide whether we even want to take a look at it, and to see if anyone could provide insight about a G color with MB fluor. Please don''t let my little inquiry get under your skin, I''m simply looking for a tiny bit of direction here, which I have been so lucky to have gotten from wonderful PSers many times before. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Haven..., you are getting it all wrong..., (and I am sorry if I am making you feel you are getting under my skin..., You are not).
It would be unfair to you if anyone would give you any advice based on the info. you have posted!!!

You should feel comfortable with your jeweler to have him bring in a worthy Cushion for you..., the problem is that its a crazy jungle of Cushions out there...
My only advice to you is to spend time (if you can) reading the Cushion threads here on PS (I can assure you wont find better information anywhere else publicly)..., you need to start by knowing what "TYPE" of Cushion you would prefer!!! This way you limit the chances of calling in a Cushion that will not suit your taste!!!

I hope you find my advice helpful..., If you educate yourself a bit..., you can save yourself a lot of aggravations, and actually enjoy the experience of finding the right Cushion for you.

Good luck,

 

[Haven]

Chrono, what would I do without you? Thank you for the input! I actually think I like a little lavender effect, too.

DiaGem--Okay, now I understand what you''re saying, and thank you for looking out for me! I''m a bit embarrassed to admit that I HAVE spent hours (literally) going through all of the threads on cushions here, yet I still can''t say which type I prefer because I love them all. I really, really do love every single cushion I have seen, and I''ve spent some time looking at that wonderful thread with all the different cushion types posted. The real problem is that I don''t work in the summer (I''m a teacher) so I have way too much time to obsess over this!

I do trust my jeweler to bring in a good cushion, but I just wanted any feedback from PS before I went ahead and told him it was a go, because at this point I''m feeling pretty bad about all of the time he''s spent trying to locate a stone for us. We had a really difficult time finding "the right" sapphire, and gave up on sapphires altogether just a bit ago when we decided to get a diamond, instead.

Thanks again, all. We''re going to go ahead and take a look at the cushion tomorrow, I''ll let you know how it goes!

 

[Stone Hunter]

Any updates? How did the stones look?

 

[Haven]

WARNING: LOOOOOOOOOOOONG

We DID see the diamond, Stone Hunter, thanks for asking!

So we went to the jeweler yesterday, he brought out the stone, we looked at it in the store, under direct sunlight, under the light they shine on it to check for fluor, under the lighting in the car, under the microscope at several different settings, put it on top of some mountings to get an idea of how it might look, and . . .

I LOVE IT! I AM IN LOVE WITH IT! I WANTED TO RUN OUT OF THE STORE WITH IT AND CODDLE IT IN MY ARMS FOR A LONG WHILE! It is so beautiful, it "shines like the top of the Chrysler Building!"

Seriously, though, it is gorgeous. It had much more fire and brilliance than I ever expected from a cushion, and I almost hit the floor when he first brought it out. They actually have a gorgeous 2.6 ct J VS1 set in a halo, which was one of my original inspiration rings, and this stone made that big ol'' J look like a dull, yellowy rock. I couldn''t believe it.

The color was incredible, too. I don''t know if it''s the MB fluor or what, but that stone looked white white white. And Chrono, I did see some of that lavender tint under the sun, talk about gorgeous!

I have updated specs from the EGL cert (yes, I know the cautions against EGL, so we will have this one appraised from an outside source if we do purchase it):

2.01 cts
7.81 x 6.93 x 4.50
G
SI1
64.9% total depth
58% table width
15% crown height
47% pavilion depth
Thin, faceted girdle
G to VG polish
G to VG symmetry
No culet
Moderate blue fluor

The stone was completely eye clean, even my eagle-eyed BF couldn''t see a thing after much focusing and staring at the beautiful little thing. We spent about two hours in the store looking at the stone and talking about the setting and looking at watches for my BF, etc. etc.

As for the no culet, I understand that culets are actually coveted in cushion cuts, but my personal taste is for a cushion without a culet. Perhaps its one of those "you have to be older to appreciate the taste of a fine bleu cheese, my dear" things, but as it stands right now, I''m digging to no culet cut.

I was scared one of two things would happen: 1) I''d see the stone and be terribly disappointed due to a lack of fire and brilliance or just plain poor cut, or 2) I''d love it but it would look tiny on my hand because it is a bit smaller than what we were looking for. Well, neither happened, and instead, I fell in love. Now, I told myself to remain calm and not let my eagerness to find the right stone cloud my ability to see anything that might bother me later, but I''m pretty sure it wasn''t a "love is blind" type of thing--this stone is just plain gorgeous.

We''re still waiting to hear back about a few other stones, so who knows--something better may pop up. However, I love this one, and I''m pretty sure we won''t be able to find anything this gorgeous for this price somewhere else, but we''re keeping an open mind. We''ll make a decision by Tuesday.

The facet pattern from the cert looks similar to this pattern Valeria posted a while ago in one of the cushion threads. The difference is that in the second image the facets are more fanned out to the sides.

Any thoughts on the facet pattern? It looks different than most cushions, almost more like a radiant or princess, right?

 

[neatfreak]

Yay yay yay!!!!!! If you love it you should def. get it!!!!!

Sounds amazing and while I appreciate a good open culet, I also love cushions without. Just a different look!!!

As for the pattern, it''s one I have seen before, I think it''s a type of modified cushion right? But all that really matters is that the price is right and you love the pattern which you do.

Can''t wait for pics!!!!

 

[Haven]

Thanks, Neatfreak--can you tell I'm excited about this stone? Your cushion is so beautiful, I actually have a picture of it in my "Dream Cushions" file--hope you don't mind!

Ooh, and I forgot to mention that the profile view is incredible--so fluffy and pillowy, I'm not sure what the technical term is, but I love it.

I only got two pictures of the stone when I was at the jeweler's before I gave up and admitted to myself that I do not know how to properly use my macro settings. SO, here is the one closeup shot I got of the stone--it's not nearly as sparkly as it looks in real life (I know, you've heard that one before) but it's so true. My jeweler said he'll send us some good pics once he gets them, so until then . . .

 

[Haven]

ADMIN--Could you please remove the first GIANT picture, please? How do I contact an admin to get that thing removed? It''s ginormous!

Anyway, here is a blurry handshot, but it gives a good idea of the general size:

 

[Haven]

So I suppose the "Msg Admin" button is a good place to start in order to get the pic removed!

Anyway, here''s a shot of that cushion halo I referred to above, the 2.6 ct J VS1. I think this setting is absolutely gorgeous, and I''m already planning to get a yellow sapphire set in it for a RHR in the future.

 

[neatfreak]

Ohhh love it! Very pillowy and I love that the facet pattern is a bit different than normal. And of course I don''t mind that you have my cushion in a file! It''s very flattering, I will tell FI because it will make him happy and a happy FI will buy me more bling!

As for the picture, just click the MSG ADMIN button to the right and up of your first post in this thread.

 

[Haven]

Wow do my hands look wrinkly in those photos! I''m going to have to slather on some more lotion.

The stone looks milky in the picture, but I assure you, there is not a speck of milkiness in real life, I think this pic says more about my inability to use my digital camera than it does about the stone itself. It does give you a good idea of the facets, though.

Neatfreak--thanks for the feedback! You can tell your FI that my BF said "Whoa, that''s a perfect cushion" when he saw the picture of your ring. Now that''s a great testimonial if I''ve ever heard one. (Here''s to future bling from your FI!)

 

[Haven]

Okay, now that I''ve decided on a shared prong band for my ering, which size diamonds would YOU get for a 2 ct cushion solitaire ering?

The incredibly blurry picture I posted shows the diamond sitting on a mounting with 4 pointers in a shared prong setting--what do you think? Too big? I really like the bling factor that you get with these 4 pointers, my only hesitation is that I don''t want the band to take too much away from the cushion. But then again--it really is blingin'', as my students would say!

I was originally going to go with a setting similar to the WF Legato, with a thin row of pave along the top, but then I fell in love with the shared prong and how little metal you see with it.

What size diamonds would you choose? 2 pointers? 3 pointers? Anyone know how thick the band will be with the various diamond sizes?

 

[decodelighted]

Are you still asking "what do you think" or is it more like show & tell "I found my cushion"?

 

[Haven]

Good question Deco--we haven't committed to this cushion yet, even though I really love it. I'm still looking for feedback, and now that I know I really like this size cushion, even if we don't purchase this one we'll be looking for one with a similar size and L/W ratio, so feedback about the setting is definitely appreciated, as well.

ETA: Deco, I LOVE your doggie in your avatar! Is he/she yours? What's his/her name? So adorable!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/29/2007 4:27:19 PM
Author: Haven
As for the no culet, I understand that culets are actually coveted in cushion cuts, but my personal taste is for a cushion without a culet. Perhaps its one of those ''you have to be older to appreciate the taste of a fine bleu cheese, my dear'' things, but as it stands right now, I''m digging to no culet cut.

No need to justify your likes. There are no rules as to what is best, or what you should like, it''s whatever you like that is best for you.

Your cushion is just gorgeous!! I love it!


Can''t answer your question on the stone size for the band, I''d have to see them all. Did you try the stone with different sizes?

I can''t wait to see this ring finished!!

 

[neatfreak]

Well...I think the 4 pointers are a bit much for MY preferences, but then I tend toward the very dainty (hence my 1pts!!), but I think that 2-3 pointers would be peeeeeerfect with that stone. Plenty of bling while still letting the center stone shine.

Love the look though!

 

[decodelighted]

Okay ... well, I love the color & size & sharpness.

From a distance though it looks like a round, but a dull round. Especially in comparison to the shared prong RB''s in the setting. But that could just be the picture I guess?? The faceting isn''t my taste in cushions & I agree it looks more like Princess or Radiant faceting. It''s also more oval than every other cushion I''ve ever seen (at least seen photographed).

If you''re selecting that particular cushion I would go with much smaller RBs -- maybe even micropave, for a glimmer rather than "bling". I do feel like brilliant-cut "bling" is going to detract from a radiant-ish cushion no matter how small you go though. Maybe -- if you''re set on shared prong stones, you should consider Leon Mege''s "bright cut" or single cut antique-ish round side stones for the setting.

Lastly -- no way that "J" is a GIA "J"

-- that *must* be EGL too. Me no likie. Radiant faceting like that is designed to bring out color in a stone (rather than hide it) And BOY does it in that one. Yeesh. Though again, it could be the pix or lighting I guess.

 

[Haven]

Keep the comments coming, ladies (and gents)!

Ellen--Thanks for sharing my enthusiasm! I''ve only looked at the cushion with the four pointer shared prong band, so I''ll have to try it with some others this week. It''s so hard to envision different bands.

Neatfreak--I also usually tend toward dainty, but when I saw the stone in the 4 pointer shared prong setting it looked beautiful. However, I need to figure out if it''s the setting I really like, or the size, hence all the feedback I''m seeking. What I''m trying to say is THANK YOU for the feedback, it''s so hard to step away from something and look at it from a sane perspective when you''re so close to the jewelry.

Deco--I know what you mean about the shape. I actually like this because I was torn between an oval and a cushion, so this really seems like the perfect compromise for me. As for the dullness, when I was looking at it in person it did not look dull at all, BUT I''m going to go back in and take another look just to make sure. I can say that we were marveling at how flashy and firey the cushion looked next to the shared prong RBs, so I''m thinking it''s just the picture, but I''m going to go back in tomorrow to make sure.

As for the setting--pave, shared prong--I''m so torn because that shared prong looked absolutely amazing and I really hadn''t even considered it before. I was originally a pave-all-the-way girl until I just saw this shared prong setting. For some reason I have an aversion to settings that show a lot of metal, so I think I''m leaning toward the shared prong because it shows the least amount of metal possible.

That J really is a GIA J, I saw the cert myself. Maybe the halo brings the color out? I''m not sure, but I can say that I did not even notice the color in person until we put it next to the loose G cushion we''re thinking about purchasing. I''m starting to think it''s a good thing I didn''t become a photographer, because these pictures must really skew things.

Anyway, I really really really appreciate the feedback. This is an enormous decision, and since I''m going to be wearing this ring for the rest of my life (and BF will be spending quite a bit on it) I really want to be informed and make a good choice. And I''m still on summer vacation for another two weeks so I have mucho time to obsess over it!

Thanks again! I''m eagerly awaiting any more comments anyone may have!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 7/29/2007 6:21:48 PM
Author: Haven
I know what you mean about the shape. I actually like this because I was torn between an oval and a cushion, so this really seems like the perfect compromise for me.

That''s a lucky find then! You can''t knock that "just know it" feeling -- so if it feels like the one then it probably is!

Photos are rarely a good judge & never comperable to seeing for yourself! We''ll give you tips though so you can photograph the heck out of the final product!!

And the PUP in my avatar is my little girl Tallulah. She''s a five year old Papillon about 6 1/2 pounds (2 1/2 of them Tongue)

 

[Haven]

Deco--Um, I can't believe that your dog is named Tallulah, because MY DOG IS NAMED TALLULAH! Mine is a nine year old border collie mix, and I named her after Tallulah Bankhead, the actress from the 20s. When I just read your response I nearly jumped out of my chair! How bizarre that I asked you your dog's name, and it happens to be the same as my own!

I've never met another Tallulah pup, and we even spell it the same! If you have another dog named Killian then we will have officially entered the Twilight Zone. Killian is my five year old black lab mix.

We call our Tallulah "Lulee" for short. It's a big name but she certainly lived up to it!

Thanks again for all of your help, and I'll post new pics tomorrow if I can get any decent ones.

(Still reeling from the bizarre coincidence . . . )

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 7/29/2007 6:34:17 PM
Author: Haven
Deco--Um, I can''t believe that your dog is named Tallulah, because MY DOG IS NAMED TALLULAH! Mine is a nine year old border collie mix, and I named her after Tallulah Bankhead, the actress from the 20s. When I just read your response I nearly jumped out of my chair! How bizarre that I asked you your dog''s name, and it happens to be the same as my own!
I''ve never met another Tallulah pup, and we even spell it the same! If you have another dog named Killian then we will have officially entered the Twilight Zone. Killian is my five year old black lab mix.

HA! That *is* funny! No "Killian" over here - but I did have a "Finnegan"!

We also have four cats & I see a cat in your avatar -- could the coincidences go any deeper??

Oh, & my "T" is also Bankhead-inspired. She goes by an assortment of nicknames: Luli, Loo-Loo, Tutu, Pretty, Sweetie Girl, Tootles, Tootie etc.