If you are in the market for a diamond ring, one of the most important decisions you have to make is about the shape. While all diamonds are beautiful, there are those cuts that have the edge over the rest and the cushion cut is among these. It is oldest cuts in existence having been around since the 1700s when it was called the old mine cut. The popular rounded “pillow” cut is rectangular hand has rounded sides and corners which give it the appearance of a pillow. Some of its characteristics features include a high crown, small table, and flat facet. During the early 1900s, it was one of the most popular diamond cuts when the Art Deco rules the artistic world. If you are after a trendy, stylish, beautiful diamond which is still affordable, you should learn more about this pillow cut.
Why Invest In A Cushion Cut Diamond?
For a start, this is a classic cut with a rich heritage going back 200 years. The traditional cushion cut diamond had a distinctive look and remain popular with antique lovers. However, the research of Marcel Tolkowsky in the 1920s refined this cut with the effect such as such as enlarging the table, shrinking the culet, and improved cut angles which led to increased brilliance.
Today, this diamond cut has an antique feel combined with fire and brilliance. It is an affordable alternative to other expensive cuts because you still get a diamond with a lot of fire. With vintage styles coming back in fashion, cushion diamonds are trending with celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Garner, Ivanka Trump, Kim Kardashian, Bar Refaeli, and Sofia Vergara all wearing these diamonds.
This article highlights the advantages of this diamond cut and gives tips on selecting the best. Like with all diamonds, buying the best cushion diamonds is not easy. However, you can use these tips given by expert jewelers to get started:
Start with GIA Certifications
With so many jewelry frauds in the market, you need to confirm a diamond’s certification before you even start. When you visit your jeweler, make sure you look for every diamond’s certification by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Once you do this, you will have peace of mind shopping for your cushion diamond from the collection.
Choosing Cushion Diamond Color
Cushion diamonds retain color remarkably well and for this reason, you need to go for H or better when buying a cushion diamond. If you intend to use white gold or platinum for the setting, color grade H or higher will work best. If the diamond is going with yellow or rose gold, you can go down to J or K color.
Selecting a Good Quality Cut for a Cushion Diamond
The best cut for a cushion diamond is a very Good grade. For the depth, go for under 70%, table under 70% and polish/symmetry Good, Very Good, or Excellent. For the length-to-width ratio (the proportionate length and width of the diamond) of a square cushion, you can go with whatever you like but experts suggest 1.00 and 1.09 times as long as it is wide. For a rectangular cushion, go for a diamond between 1.15 and 1.5 times as long as it is wide. The length-to-width ratio also tells you how your diamond will look from a face-up view. It also tells you how big or small the diamond will appear. The polish parameter tells you how fine the polish applied to the facets is.
Consider the Types of Cushion Diamonds
There are different versions of cushion diamonds in the market and you should take time to understand them. They include the Standard vs. Modified Cushion Brilliants, crushed ice cut, X-factor cut, Antique Cushion Diamonds and cushion brilliant. Take time to understand the differences to make an informed choice.
Cushion Diamond Clarity
Clarity refers to the presence of inclusions in a diamond and it is advisable to go for SI2 clarity or SI1 clarity for the best value. Due to the large open table, it is easy to see inclusions and you thus need to go for a higher clarity grade to get the best diamond. For the crushed-ice diamonds, the inclusions are not obvious. It is thus important to select the clarity grade based on the shape of the cushion diamond you want.
There you have it, with these tips you can now go ahead and buy the best cushion cut diamond for your ring.
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