Fancy Gurus Please!

[moremoremore]

I just want to add that #2 above is not just for H&A cushions. That is also the plot for my "modern" cushion which is a "cushion brilliant" on the cert....My stone is nearly square...and it blows my mind!

I just love fancies. never been attracted to rounds. Don't know why.

Fancies need to be seen!!!! You can't tell much from a cert. Mark T is fab. Jon at GOG is fab. White Flash is fab...and so are all the other ps vendors (e/t I haven't been able to do business with them)...

That is step #2 to a fancy- find a good vendor!!!!

Step #1 is to just figure out what shape you are attracted to the most! But dare I say step #2 is more important!!

 

[oldminer]

Cehrabehra and I had a long phone chat today. This is one dedicated shopper! I have never seen so many "cushion" shaped line images in one place, but the truth is you can''t tell which one looks the best to anyone else. The diamond John Q posted early in the thread did look very nice, but how to compare it to any other with different facet designs, sight-unseen? I don''t think we really can do that yet.

We can measure performance, but we cannot predict which one any particular individual will prefer if we give them two or more high performance stones to select from. We know that the prettiest are in the top three or four categories of performance, but from that point on we can''t really tell what each personality will choose as personally prettiest.

I wonder what the look of the final choice will be? It will be neat to find out.

 

[Gypsy]

WOW Cerha-- I''m in awe! What you''ve complied there is so awesome! THis is fabulous for people hunting for cushions. I''ve actually expanded my plots to 1, 2 and 5. I''m so impressed by your dedication.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/11/2006 2:33:36 PM
Author: oldminer
Cehrabehra and I had a long phone chat today. This is one dedicated shopper! I have never seen so many ''cushion'' shaped line images in one place, but the truth is you can''t tell which one looks the best to anyone else. The diamond John Q posted early in the thread did look very nice, but how to compare it to any other with different facet designs, sight-unseen? I don''t think we really can do that yet.

We can measure performance, but we cannot predict which one any particular individual will prefer if we give them two or more high performance stones to select from. We know that the prettiest are in the top three or four categories of performance, but from that point on we can''t really tell what each personality will choose as personally prettiest.

I wonder what the look of the final choice will be? It will be neat to find out.

Oh David, it was a true pleasure! I''m so grateful that you took the time to explain the older stones... when I look at that one ring in this thread that is just simply *gorgeous* to my eyes... and I pay close attention to that facet reflection shape, it looks distinctly like an old european cut... hmmmm.... I know nothing about them LOL Should I?!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/11/2006 4:48:07 PM
Author: Gypsy
WOW Cerha-- I''m in awe! What you''ve complied there is so awesome! THis is fabulous for people hunting for cushions. I''ve actually expanded my plots to 1, 2 and 5. I''m so impressed by your dedication.

LOL! That''s what obsessing all night does... and that''s not the half of it, I even "created" my own cut LOL I''m such a goof! Too much time in paintshop I suppose lol Much of that I found in the thread you linked me to, but having it in one graphic vs a whole thread is rather handy. I cut the pictures out... I''m not convinced they all matched up correctly with the facet plot anyway lol

 

[Gypsy]

I obsess about things too... and when I do... watch out! So I can totally understand. Still it''s a great resource... have you thought of posting it on the other thread? It would be so nice to keep all of the information in one area for easy reference.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Oh Gypsy, guess what!?

I might be able to double what I was going to spend on a stone! My one ring to rule them all! bahaha... thanks to my cunning investment instinct I might be making my husband a very happy man and in return I can be a very happy woman! haha! Shhhhhhhhhh he doesn''t know about this yet Once he plods through all of his logic and research he''ll realize I''m right and it''s no-risk and he gets what he wants and I get what I want! wooooohoooo!!!!! He knows my instincts are good too... every time he hasn''t listened to me he''s regretted it, and when he has, he''s benefitted. I can see my cushion now... bahahahahahahaha... of course this is assuming I can even FIND a cut I really like ::sigh:: but it''s been a good day.

Thank you to Tim and David. Thank you thank you thank you! And thank you to Scott and Maya. They don''t post here but they both definitely deserve my thanks today as well!

 

[Gypsy]

DOUBLE the budget? *drooling*... um. Want to take over my finances? LOL. Oh this is going to be FUN! What kind of budget are we talking about... ballpark ish?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/11/2006 9:03:56 PM
Author: Gypsy
DOUBLE the budget? *drooling*... um. Want to take over my finances? LOL. Oh this is going to be FUN! What kind of budget are we talking about... ballpark ish?

Oh, I dunno... I haven''t actually talked numbers with the hub, but I know I *should* consider my husband LOL I''m afraid to bring up numbers because I don''t want to see him cringe. I did tell him today that I was doubling my budget, but we never actually set a budget in the first place LOL I wanted to keep the whole ring, including setting, under 10k and now... it''s flexible Though in his head he could have been thinking 5k in the first place... Honestly? For what I want I don''t think I NEED to pay more than that... but it all depends on the stone. At this point I''m still not sure the stone I want even exists LOL Though I think I want a 1-1.3 old european with squared corners! bahahahahahaha!!! (see? doesn''t exist! lol)

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/11/2006 9:03:56 PM
Author: Gypsy
DOUBLE the budget? *drooling*... um. Want to take over my finances? LOL. Oh this is going to be FUN! What kind of budget are we talking about... ballpark ish?

Put it this way... I told him to buy google stock several months before it quadrupled. He didn''t. Ha! Every time he doesn''t trust me, he regrets it LOL I do have him on board with this (it''s land development) but of course when HE does the figuring he puts everything way low and pessimistic like. Still, he knows I''m right and it didn''t even take a week of debate lol We''ve been saving for 10 years to move back to California and still can''t afford a decent house there... but it leaves us with capital to invest so we can still work toward that... so really the money I''m blowing on a ring is money that COULD be either put toward or invested toward moving... and I know he thinks that would be the wise choice... and it would... but I''ve been patient for 15 years and when *the* stone comes along he''s prepared to drop coin. He misses his family desperately though and it makes me sad that we cannot afford to move there

::weighs:: practical... fairy tale... practical... fairy tale... 15 years of practical... it''s time lol Maybe I should make the budget 15k... one for every year I''ve waited LOL!

 

[Gypsy]

Hmm. Well. Um. There are, I think, custom cutters out there.

Sorry, that wasn''t very helpful was it. Still. I mean that''s a nice budget. Really nice. IF I were to add my setting budget and my ring consignment $$ I''d probably get up to around 9K. Which would get me a FABULOUS cushion. I''ve looked. So I know you can get a REALLY exquisite cushion for the money. And an amazing setting on top of it.

What kind of setting do you have in mind BTW?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/12/2006 1:34:19 AM
Author: Gypsy
Hmm. Well. Um. There are, I think, custom cutters out there.

Sorry, that wasn''t very helpful was it. Still. I mean that''s a nice budget. Really nice. IF I were to add my setting budget and my ring consignment $$ I''d probably get up to around 9K. Which would get me a FABULOUS cushion. I''ve looked. So I know you can get a REALLY exquisite cushion for the money. And an amazing setting on top of it.

What kind of setting do you have in mind BTW?

Yeah, I don''t think I *need* to spend 15k to get what I''m looking for... but I feel a bit more open. I really don''t want a huge rock, I swear... I want something that I can wear 24/7 that doesn''t catch on things and make life difficult LOL I''m so sentimental I won''t want to take it off. It will probably be filthy LOL shhhhh don''t tell Though if I design my own cut (which I''m slightly inclined to do at this point - with the aid of my husband) it might very well take every penny of that budget. The setting details are still kinda foggy... I DO like the idea of having a mirrored surface beneath the stone rather than skin and having the sides airy and open... creating a little prism chamber under the 5 main stones of the ring, though four will be small. Right now I''m thinking 13 diamonds... oooooh my lucky number! I hadn''t thought of that! lol!! Too cool!! It''s gonna be weird... I''m tellin'' ya. Total fusion. Lots of personal symbolism.. Be prepared not to like it LOL! Did you see my other thread? https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/settings-for-max-brilliance.47744/ My husband LOVES those parabalas. They''re a bit too utilitarian for me as they are (I think they''e GORGEOUS - don''t get me wrong!)... and I *love* that naked side view of the stone with reflective metal under it - particularly when I know most cushions are leaky... at the very least I figure reflective metal is better than skin for the culet. I''m not sure though... I''m very fold of antique styles... edwardians with crown mountings, filligree, pave... but I want the ring to be smart too. It''s all up in the air. We have drawings, but I''m not sure I could describe them lol My hub keeps making suggestions about making a wide infinity symbol ribbon to act as a partial parabala and I''m like, nah I don''t think so lol Simple, unique, and elegant is what I''m going for... but I seriously want a stone that throws prisms of rainbow - big ones - on the ground for my kids to play with and what leaks out can create a little light show *within* the ring as well It will be simple though... or at least SEEM simple, I hope!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/12/2006 1:34:19 AM
Author: Gypsy
Hmm. Well. Um. There are, I think, custom cutters out there.

Sorry, that wasn''t very helpful was it. Still. I mean that''s a nice budget. Really nice. IF I were to add my setting budget and my ring consignment $$ I''d probably get up to around 9K. Which would get me a FABULOUS cushion. I''ve looked. So I know you can get a REALLY exquisite cushion for the money. And an amazing setting on top of it.

What kind of setting do you have in mind BTW?

Wait? did you say SETTING? Here''s some settings...

 

[Cehrabehra]

this is bigger... picture this with a bit more space under the stone and a shiny reflective surface under it as well... being slightly convex it won''t perform NEARLY as well as a concave surface, but oh well!

 

[Cehrabehra]

ugh... several of the ones I want to show you are bitmaps so I''ll need to convert them... I''ll do it later

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 7/11/2006 2:33:36 PM
Author: oldminer
Cehrabehra and I had a long phone chat today. This is one dedicated shopper! I have never seen so many 'cushion' shaped line images in one place, but the truth is you can't tell which one looks the best to anyone else. The diamond John Q posted early in the thread did look very nice, but how to compare it to any other with different facet designs, sight-unseen? I don't think we really can do that yet.

We can measure performance, but we cannot predict which one any particular individual will prefer if we give them two or more high performance stones to select from. We know that the prettiest are in the top three or four categories of performance, but from that point on we can't really tell what each personality will choose as personally prettiest.

I wonder what the look of the final choice will be? It will be neat to find out.

I think so too.

Cehra, I know Bob enjoyed his conversation with you the other day. I wanted to ask how many of these different styles you've had the opportunity to see firsthand - or are you operating on descriptions for now? The range of taste and what speaks to each individual is going to be wider with the array of options (and individual stones) than it is for rounds. I hope you'll keep posting your thoughts as you move forward. This is a fun and different thread.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Looking at the range of configurations on p2 I thought you might like to see our friend the barion here. Basil Watermeyer, a highly regarded cutter, named this design after his wife Marion - using his first initial. This design is also used with colored gemstones.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/12/2006 12:41:47 PM
Author: JohnQuixote

Date: 7/11/2006 2:33:36 PM
Author: oldminer
Cehrabehra and I had a long phone chat today. This is one dedicated shopper! I have never seen so many ''cushion'' shaped line images in one place, but the truth is you can''t tell which one looks the best to anyone else. The diamond John Q posted early in the thread did look very nice, but how to compare it to any other with different facet designs, sight-unseen? I don''t think we really can do that yet.

We can measure performance, but we cannot predict which one any particular individual will prefer if we give them two or more high performance stones to select from. We know that the prettiest are in the top three or four categories of performance, but from that point on we can''t really tell what each personality will choose as personally prettiest.

I wonder what the look of the final choice will be? It will be neat to find out.

I think so too.

Cehra, I know Bob enjoyed his conversation with you the other day. I wanted to ask how many of these different styles you''ve had the opportunity to see firsthand - or are you operating on descriptions for now? The range of taste and what speaks to each individual is going to be wider with the array of options (and individual stones) than it is for rounds. I hope you''ll keep posting your thoughts as you move forward. This is a fun and different thread.

I''m operating on descriptions right now... I''ve looked at cushions in a basic ''chain'' store and they were all the same and all unacceptable. I called pacific gem lab here in portland this am and got THEIR recommendations for who I should call in this area so I can go in and look at some...

What I want, that is difficult, is an asscher *quality* to my stone. Not that I want an asscher CUT - I just want the stone to draw your eye in and have fabulously placed, symmetrical, chunky facets that beg you to stare in and not be completely distracted by the flash, brillance and fire. I want those too, in moderation. I want large prismatic chunks, not tiny pin flashes (though a few of those too wouldn''t be bad lol)

If I was going with a round, I would have called up whiteflash and I''d probably be done by now... but for this very special stone for me, I feel like I need all the resources I can get. For the record I will never be upgrading this stone. I won''t rule out other purchases of diamonds in the future, but this ring has a lot of meaning and I won''t be parting with it or changing it once it is complete. If it takes a year, I''m up for the challenge I have a gut feeling that what I go with isn''t going to be one of the three main flavors... but I have yet to rule that out. It very well could be in the end

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/12/2006 1:05:17 PM
Author: JohnQuixote

Looking at the range of configurations on p2 I thought you might like to see our friend the barion here. Basil Watermeyer, a highly regarded cutter, named this design after his wife Marion - using his first initial. This design is also used with colored gemstones.

Whew - that''s a new cut! Kinda cool! A definite upgrade cut for an oval! Do you have any other image shots of that type of cut? I''ll do a search as well... Personally I would rather the points be at 12, 3, 6, and 9, but I''m curious what the philosophy is on where they are ideally located in relation to a long stone.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/12/2006 1:05:17 PM
Author: JohnQuixote

Looking at the range of configurations on p2 I thought you might like to see our friend the barion here. Basil Watermeyer, a highly regarded cutter, named this design after his wife Marion - using his first initial. This design is also used with colored gemstones.

question - is this considered an oval cut or a cushion cut? or... that side view is very lovely... does Basil W do custom cut jobs?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Okay... I phoned the two recommended jewlers here left a message with one... the other says he has 4-5 stones over a carat I could look at but when I asked him what type of cut they had all he knew was that they were "cushion" and admitted he didn''t even know they had different cuts I''ll head out there when I can get away from my kiddos, but I''m not feeling very encouraged lol

 

[Cehrabehra]

I think what I find most ironic about this journey is that cushion cuts are the oldest cuts and so few people know anything about them. You say cushion and they say princess! I''ve been chronicalling my phone interviews for *local* places, and have been dismayed, amused, and surprised. I''ll share some of them later... I think you''ll get a kick out of a few lol It seems like the cushion cut, being one of the oldest, would be more understood and I''ve run across people who''ve never even heard of them!

The thing I find second most ironic is that while everyone shouts out that we should demand perfection from our diamond, the answer for a cushion is to take what you can get. And I''m supposed to find that acceptable? Maybe I''m ahead of my time... or maybe cushions will never be fully understood or defined. I hope I''m wrong.

Also... after reading storm''s post in the pink pear thread, I''m starting to feel nervous... am I going to be fired for being so demanding? LOL I seriously worry about that... I know that finding the right stone for me isn''t going to be easy, but I hope that someone out of the goodness of their heart will do that and be happy to help. I feel honestly like I''m not even ready to search for a stone even though I want a stone yesterday... I feel like I''m still in the research phase and am quickly getting to the point where I''m running out of places to find more information - and yet I don''t feel like I even know which cushion cut I want! Ugh!! Like I''ve said, I kick myself daily and tell myself I should "just" get a round because it would be so simple and I could have an absolutely gorgeous stone on my finger within a month. But I know in my heart that if I''m going to spend my husband''s hard earned money on a clear pebble as he would say... I really need to have one that I love and that will represent me to my children and grandchildren long after I''m gone. I want a stone that truly fits me and will give me a lifetime of satisfaction. I know it''s out there - it must be. That''s why I haven''t given up. I just hope I haven''t offended any vendors with my ignorance or exactitude.

Gypsy? This ring has a pretty ideal example of what I want the top of the ring to look like (not exactly but this is close)... but when you look through the setting for the main stone and you see the pincers? I want that to be a high polished rhodium mirror surface instead of looking through to skin. The open bottom design is more ideal if you''re holding the ring, but if it''s up against the browns and pinks of skin tone, especially if it creates a little dark cave under the diamond, I don''t think it''s best... particularly if the stone you''re looking for (or I''m looking for lol) is going to be somewhat light-leaky. Best to turn that to an advantage IMO. I call it a prism chamber I have more pictures to post as well...

 

[Cehrabehra]

Here are some more shots of barions... I don''t know if they are considered "cushions" but they certainly would be a good candidate for the "catch all" that is "cushion" lol

 

[Cehrabehra]

Barion - octogonal with facet plot

 

[Cehrabehra]

This is a very beautiful cut, but for me I don''t want all of those very thin facets on the pavillion. Gorgeous stone though...

 

[Cehrabehra]

Two barion rings

 

[Cehrabehra]

I thought this was fun... it''s the cutting process of a barion stone... Anyone know what weight that gold piece is or what country it''s from?

 

[Cehrabehra]

I like this setting a lot... I like its simplicity and elegance. I wish I had a side view and top view of it.

 

[Cehrabehra]

This is the ring in my icon... I really like this ring a LOT. The sides are the closest to what I''m doing that I''ve found, though I want a simpler 5 stone setting with 3 different diamond cuts. What I don''t like is that the main diamond sticks out so high from the ring; I''d rather see it more flush with the side stones... if you look at the side stones and just raise them up to the girdle and create space under them like the main diamond - that''s what I''m going for.

 

[Gypsy]

Gypsy? This ring has a pretty ideal example of what I want the top of the ring to look like (not exactly but this is close)... but when you look through the setting for the main stone and you see the pincers? I want that to be a high polished rhodium mirror surface instead of looking through to skin. The open bottom design is more ideal if you're holding the ring, but if it's up against the browns and pinks of skin tone, especially if it creates a little dark cave under the diamond, I don't think it's best... particularly if the stone you're looking for (or I'm looking for lol) is going to be somewhat light-leaky. Best to turn that to an advantage IMO. I call it a prism chamber I have more pictures to post as well...

This is fascinating for me. So this helps your stone appear brighter. I skimmed your other thread... and well, I would love to underrstand this better-- especially if it can be applied to my custom setting. Wonder if asschers are 'leaky'... I am actually hoping for a barion cut gemstone to replace my asscher in this setting, so I really like them-- and have seen BEAUTIFUL versions of the cut in colored gemstones.

As for cushions and stress on you.

Can I advise you to do something? I don't know where you live. But if your in the US (or even Canada)... I would HIGHLY suggest a trip out to NYC for you. You could go see Mark T at ERD and Jon at GOG... and browse the diamond district. You wouldn't have to buy. It needn't be a buying trip. It can be an educational trip... and when you figure out what you want, if you want to use a PS vendor you can always have the diamond sent to you or an appraiser to see if before you decide.

And frankly, if you come out to the NYC area I'll meet you at either GOG or ERD and browse with you. 100% sincere offer. I would love to go browse diamonds in NYC with another PSer it would be a TOTALLY FABULOUS experience.

ETA: Those settings are beautiful, especially the one from your av. what shaped stones are you wanting for your setting?