The cushion cut is one of the popular antique diamond cuts that ruled the diamond industry in the olden time. However, it lost its glory after the introduction of brilliant cut stones, especially round brilliant diamonds and princess cut diamonds. Surprisingly, cushion cut diamond engagement rings are making a comeback now. If you are interested to flaunt cushion cut engagement rings, it is advisable to understand the important characteristics of cushion cut diamonds that make it unique.
Characteristics of Cushion Cut Diamonds
Cushion cut stones flaunt a unique silhouette with a square or rectangular shape and rounded off corners. This exclusive profile will make cushion cut diamonds look like sparkling pillows or cushions, which gave it the name. It is to be noted that square cushion cut diamonds usually come with the Length-to-Width ratio between 1 and 1.05. At the same time, diamonds with LTW in between 1.20 and 1.30 are ideal for rectangular cushion cut diamonds. Note that rectangular cushion cut diamond engagement rings will be perfect for making the wide fingers look elongated and slimmer.
Cushion cut stones are mainly divided into two categories: standard cut and modified cut. The former option refers to the actual cushion cut pattern with flat and less number of facets. This type of diamonds tends to showcase their sparkle to the best under dim lighting. When it comes to modified cushion cut diamonds, it is the latest version of cushion cut stones. Here, its faceting pattern is altered in such a way that it offers the best bling under every lighting condition. However, this will not create a major impact on their appeal.
The cutting process of fancy shaped diamonds yields way more than their standard counterparts. In fact, most of the fancy cut stones are made from poor quality diamonds. Note that it will be easier to remove severe inclusions and flaws in the case of fancy cut stones since the shape does not matter here. The same thing is applicable to cushion cut diamonds as well.
The cut quality of fancy cut stones will not be documented in its authenticity certificate as well. Hence, you will have to analyze the quality of your cushion cut diamond on your own. For this, you will have to thoroughly check the diamonds by using a loupe and evaluate its sparkle under different lighting conditions.
Ideal cushion cut diamonds that have a table and depth percentage between 60% and 70%. Note that the sparkle of diamonds with the depth and table value above 70% will be less sparkly. Furthermore, even though cushion cut diamonds are less lustrous than their round brilliant counterparts are, the former has an upper hand when it comes to the fire.