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Opinion on this cushion cut

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brickpreviews

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 18, 2023
Messages
7
Hi all, been looking around both locally and online and decided on James Allen. GF wants a 14k yellow gold solitaire setting (1.5mm band width) on a 7.5 ring size. She like the cushion cut. For my budget (4-6k CAD) I have narrowed down on a 1.21 CT H VS1 Ideal Cut that is priced at $5226 CAD ($3900 USD).

1.21 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.21 carat H color vs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

How is this diamond, anything I should be aware of?

I was playing around with the Diamondscreener and the graph recommended a similar 1.20 CT H VS1 Good cut priced for $6600ish CAD. This one here: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-vs1-clarity-sku-17134735?a_aid=55f8cd4e21a11

Why is the second one so expensive? What I am not seeing in the first diamond? Any expert help appreciate it!

Thanks
 
Neither of these stones is very nice. They are very "mushy" under the table and will not return light well. Are you looking for
a crushed ice stone (lots of very little sparkles that can be seen up close but not usually at a distance)?

There are other faceting patterns that will give you a good mix of smaller flashes(seen up close) and some larger facets for fire
(seen from a distance).

Would you like some recommendations?
 
So, I didnt find anyone that jumped out at me. Here are the options that I did find. Can we look at other vendors or do you want to
stick with JA? What is your top budget for the stone (dollars please)? You said that stone above is $5226 but when I click on it it says
$3720.

1.23 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.23 carat H color vs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

1.20 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.2 carat G color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

1.21 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.21 carat H color vvs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

1.24 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.24 carat H color vvs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

1.21 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.21 carat H color vs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
 
I agree that neither of the two original options are good. I like the 1.23 and 1.24 that tyty posted
 
Hello and welcome to PriceScope, brickpreviews!
For that kind of money, you should seriously consider a JP Cushion 8 - you'll be in the 1.6-1.8 carat range cut from rough that has some of the strictest QA in the industry.
...if you are in a position to wait the 6-8 months for the custom cut.

Screenshot_20230418-184702-859.png
 
DejaWiz said:
Hello and welcome to PriceScope, brickpreviews!
For that kind of money, you should seriously consider a JP Cushion 8 - you'll be in the 1.6-1.8 carat range cut from rough that has some of the strictest QA in the industry.
...if you are in a position to wait the 6-8 months for the custom cut.

Screenshot_20230418-184702-859.png
Click to expand...

Whoops.... disregard. I was looking at pricing for JP's LGD versions. My mistake!
 
tyty333 said:
So, I didnt find anyone that jumped out at me. Here are the options that I did find. Can we look at other vendors or do you want to
stick with JA? What is your top budget for the stone (dollars please)? You said that stone above is $5226 but when I click on it it says
$3720.

1.23 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.23 carat H color vs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

1.20 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.2 carat G color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

1.21 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.21 carat H color vvs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

1.24 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.24 carat H color vvs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

1.21 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.21 carat H color vs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendations, the 1.2 CT in your list seems very affordable. How would you able to tell if a stone will return light well? What other factors should I consider other than the 4Cs?

The price I quoted are in Canadian dollars so the $3720 is the US dollar price. I am probably looking at a max price of $5000 USD. I am open to vendors other than JA but I heard JA is really good and since I am Canadian there are some stores that don't work for us.
 
If you have a lot of experience looking at stones you can tell which ones will have good light return. Mainly you look for well-defined
facets that are flashing on/off (white/gray/black) vs seeing facets that are fuzzy around the edges and do not flash (stay various
shades of gray).

I'll try to show you with this oval diamond because they usually have both "nice" facets and "mushy" facets.

The green areas are nice facets that will return light well. The areas circled in orange show mushy areas where the light
goes in and bounces around and doesn't make it back out the table to the eye.

Inkednice oval.jpg

Here is the first cushion you posted...you can see that the facets under the table are not well-defined and are various
shades of gray (without turning white or black). This stone is pretty mushy. It may have some small sparkles under
the table.

mushy cushion.png

Here is a cushion with nice facets (nice light return)...

1.01 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.01 carat I color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

I'll check blue nile and see what they have.
 
tyty333 said:
If you have a lot of experience looking at stones you can tell which ones will have good light return. Mainly you look for well-defined
facets that are flashing on/off (white/gray/black) vs seeing facets that are fuzzy around the edges and do not flash (stay various
shades of gray).

I'll try to show you with this oval diamond because they usually have both "nice" facets and "mushy" facets.

The green areas are nice facets that will return light well. The areas circled in orange show mushy areas where the light
goes in and bounces around and doesn't make it back out the table to the eye.

Inkednice oval.jpg

Here is the first cushion you posted...you can see that the facets under the table are not well-defined and are various
shades of gray (without turning white or black). This stone is pretty mushy. It may have some small sparkles under
the table.

mushy cushion.png

Here is a cushion with nice facets (nice light return)...

1.01 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.01 carat I color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

I'll check blue nile and see what they have.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your excellent explanation, I can definitely tell the difference now!
 
@tyty333 thanks for the adiamor link! Right now I am leaning heavily towards that 1.2 CT one you linked on JA. It looks great, I can see some inclusions but I assume that is under 10x magnification and not visible under the naked eye?

I also found this 1.2 CT on JA that is IF for clarity. It doesn't sparkle as much as your 1.2 tho but seems less mushy than some of my initial ones

1.20 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.2 carat I color if clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
 
brickpreviews said:
@tyty333 thanks for the adiamor link! Right now I am leaning heavily towards that 1.2 CT one you linked on JA. It looks great, I can see some inclusions but I assume that is under 10x magnification and not visible under the naked eye?

I also found this 1.2 CT on JA that is IF for clarity. It doesn't sparkle as much as your 1.2 tho but seems less mushy than some of my initial ones

1.20 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.2 carat I color if clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
Click to expand...

That stone is mush. Maybe not quite as mushy as some of the other ones but still mush...are you willing to go down to an "I" color. I can see what looks good in an "I". An "I" may show a little tint.
 
tyty333 said:
That stone is mush. Maybe not quite as mushy as some of the other ones but still mush...are you willing to go down to an "I" color. I can see what looks good in an "I". An "I" may show a little tint.
Click to expand...

Agreed
 
What about this one? I'm not an expert, so let them weigh in.
JA 1.02 H VVS2
 
@brickpreviews you can use this tool to get a relative size review of the stone. This is the stone that @momofive posted on a
7.5 finger. 2mm shank (1.5mm is extremely thin and not recommended...but you do you.) If it were me, I would go for an elongated
cushion to lengthen the finger. But again, you decide what you like.

1.02ct Cushion (5.84×5.84×3.74) vs 1ct Round (6.5×6.5×3.92)

Compare 1.02 carat Cushion (5.84×5.84×3.74mm) vs 1 carat Round (6.5×6.5×3.92mm) on actual diamond size and finger coverage (30.7mm² vs 33.18mm²)
www.diamdb.com www.diamdb.com

cushion.png
 
tyty333 said:
If you have a lot of experience looking at stones you can tell which ones will have good light return. Mainly you look for well-defined
facets that are flashing on/off (white/gray/black) vs seeing facets that are fuzzy around the edges and do not flash (stay various
shades of gray).

I'll try to show you with this oval diamond because they usually have both "nice" facets and "mushy" facets.

The green areas are nice facets that will return light well. The areas circled in orange show mushy areas where the light
goes in and bounces around and doesn't make it back out the table to the eye.

Inkednice oval.jpg

Here is the first cushion you posted...you can see that the facets under the table are not well-defined and are various
shades of gray (without turning white or black). This stone is pretty mushy. It may have some small sparkles under
the table.

mushy cushion.png

Here is a cushion with nice facets (nice light return)...

1.01 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.01 carat I color vs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

I'll check blue nile and see what they have.
Click to expand...

I love this post so much. Super easy to see for new folks! Well illustrated.
 
tyty333 said:
@brickpreviews you can use this tool to get a relative size review of the stone. This is the stone that @momofive posted on a
7.5 finger. 2mm shank (1.5mm is extremely thin and not recommended...but you do you.) If it were me, I would go for an elongated
cushion to lengthen the finger. But again, you decide what you like.

1.02ct Cushion (5.84×5.84×3.74) vs 1ct Round (6.5×6.5×3.92)

Compare 1.02 carat Cushion (5.84×5.84×3.74mm) vs 1 carat Round (6.5×6.5×3.92mm) on actual diamond size and finger coverage (30.7mm² vs 33.18mm²)
www.diamdb.com www.diamdb.com

cushion.png
Click to expand...

Great thank you for the help! I am gonna pull the trigger soon. Between the 1.2 CT one you posted and the 1.0 CT one @momofive posted which would you pick? I really like the 1.2 CT but I noticed on the GIA report that it has strong fluorescence. I read that this can make nearly colourless stones appear cloudy/milky. Would this affect the 1.2 CT stone since it is a G color?
 
I love tyty's 1.02. That is very clear and should bling ping casual observers across the room :D

Can you post the 1.2 to make sure I can see which one it is?

Also, strong fluorescence rocks! Occasionally a strong fluorescence creates that oily look, but you can ask your vendor to check that before purchase (usually it is fine). I have owned and loved several strong blue stones. And as an added bonus, you glow under black light! Also, usually labs do not glow blue, so you have an added status symbol.
 
MMtwo said:
I love tyty's 1.02. That is very clear and should bling ping casual observers across the room :D

Can you post the 1.2 to make sure I can see which one it is?

Also, strong fluorescence rocks! Occasionally a strong fluorescence creates that oily look, but you can ask your vendor to check that before purchase (usually it is fine). I have owned and loved several strong blue stones. And as an added bonus, you glow under black light! Also, usually labs do not glow blue, so you have an added status symbol.
Click to expand...

The 1.2 I am looking at is this one: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.20-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-17430250
 
The 1.02 is much better than the 1.2
 
1.02 strongly beats 1.2 for me, too.

The IF sounds impressive but give me a Si1 with strong faceting any day. A cushion will cover many flaws but will not handle a bad cut. Mushy cushions don't sparkle much.
 
Just wanted to say that the 1.02 was found and posted by @momofive first (giving credit where credit is due).

So, the 1.2 is strong under the center of the table but has some leakage under the edge of the table. Watch the stone as it turns.

size comparison of the two...FYI

cushion.png
 
tyty333 said:
Just wanted to say that the 1.02 was found and posted by @momofive first (giving credit where credit is due).

So, the 1.2 is strong under the center of the table but has some leakage under the edge of the table. Watch the stone as it turns.

size comparison of the two...FYI

cushion.png
Click to expand...

Thanks for the correction. Sorry @momofive - a great pick!
 
Options...
I dropped down into "I" color to see what they have. Mind you, "I" colored stones may show some tint at angles.
(I'm trying to gain you some size over the 1.02 while maintaining good light return).

This is another 8 main faceting pattern like the 1.02 but slightly bigger (but an "I" color)...

6.1 x 5.94

1.16 Carat cushion modified diamond

This cushion modified cut 1.16 carat I color vs1 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
 
Your welcome @brickpreviews !

Very excited for you...come back with pics when you get it!
 
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