Cushion Newbie.......Please Help

[SayYes]

Hello all! Been lurking for about a month now and am starting to get serious about picking out a Cushion for my honey! It''s pretty damn nerve-racking though.

I have a call in to the Cushion Master (Mark T at ERD) to see if he can find me something nice in this range:

1.25-1.6 Ct
F-H color
VS1-SI1 clarity (can deal with some inclusions around the edges)

$4k-6k


What I don''t quite understand yet is the how the depth and table percentages are going to effect the performance of the diamond.

Also, does anyone know what setting Scarlet16 has for her cushion? Price?
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-did-the-erd-cushion-cross-the-road.84788/

Thanks......I''m sure I will be posting more in the future!

 

[pixley]

I really don't know that you have to understand all the gory details if you're in Mark's capable hands. He found Scarlet16's and CrookedRock's and gloyd77's cushions recently and they are ALL incredible antique-style cushions. Mark will steer you away from stones that are too shallow (which can look watery) and stones that are too deep (which sacrifice spread). He will also be up front about the performance of the stone (i.e. its fire, brilliance, scintillation). Scarlet's setting is a custom setting from Leon Mege's atelier www.artofplatinum.com. I see Skippy123 gave her the heads-up that you were looking for her, so she'll probably chime in with more scoop on her beautiful ring.

If you really want to know about depth/table, etc. you can read Boston_Jeff's thread called Cushion Question for Cehrabehra and others: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cushion-question-for-cehrabehra-and-others.58597/ and that will give you lots of information on cushions, but it's quite the brain buster. Lots of things affect cushion performance besides just the total depth and the table percentages, so just know that Mark will steer you away from anything unsightly.

 

[SayYes]

Perfect! The less amount of homework the better for me. Not that I don''t want to really know my diamond, but I''d rather leave that up to the expert.

To be honest with you, I really didn''t want to have anything to do with diamonds prior to my recent studying......but now.....I really understand how they can take your breath away. Anyways, thanks for you your help, I will read BostonJeff''s post and confuse myself some more.

 

[pixley]

You are in good hands. Mark also found Boston_Jeff''s stone and it''s magnificent. He also worked with Leon Mege to set the stone in that perfect platinum solitaire. I don''t think you could possibly go wrong working with ERD and Leon Mege.

 

[scarlet16]

Hi there-

Pixley has given you some fantastic information. You are in SUPER capable hands with Mark. The only thing is make sure you tell him which type of cushion you''re looking for. Pixley mentioned the antique-style cushions, but there are also the Ex-Ex cushions which are a mix of modern and antique. I''d check out "bargaincrazy"''s stone for a good example. Mark also sourced her stone. There are a few other threads on here explaining the differences. As far as your price range, I''d guess that would put you closer to the lower end of your carat weight preference. Our budget was about twice yours and we ended up w/ a 1.66ct stone.

For the setting, there is no doubt Leon does a FANTASTIC job creating a beautiful product. The original estimate was for between $2550-$2750. We came in just above that (I think the final was around $2900) since we used single cut stones for the pave rather than full cut. Also, Leon''s prices do change based on platinum price fluctuations so the estimate may change.

HTH!

 

[scarlet16]

I also meant to add that Mark recommends that the table be smaller than the depth. Generally around here (although not a rule), most people keep the depths in the mid-60s% and tables in the mid-50%s (mine is actually right at 60% and is GORGEOUS).

 

[SayYes]

I''m trying to find a pic of BostonJeff''s ring. Is there an easier way of finding pics posted by certain users? thx

 

[pixley]

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-2-48-cushion-w-pave-setting-by-mark-t-erd.55339/ Bargaincrazy

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/2-26-cushion-old-mine-brilliant-leon-mege-solitaire.62389/ Boston_Jeff

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/erd-and-leon-a-match-made-in-heaven.85741/
CDNinNYC

(All these were sourced by Mark T.)
Bargaincrazy''s is an 8 pavilion main modern style cushion brilliant (EX/EX as Scarlet mentioned)
Boston_Jeff''s is an 8 pavilion main antique style Old Mine Brilliant cushion
CDNinNYC''s new cushion is a 4 pavilion main cushion brilliant

The search engine is a little tricky. You kind of have to know how the username is formatted otherwise, the name won''t come up.

 

[SayYes]

Does anyone (maybe BostonJeff himself) know how much the Leon Mege platinum solitaire setting was?

 

[scarlet16]

I think a few people have mentioned recently that the plain solitaire is about $1600