The Lowdown: 1.50 carat cushion cut diamond, graded as “G” color “VVS1” clarity with a GIA certificate. This diamond has also has grades of excellent polish/excellent symmetry and measurements of 7.34mm x 6.38mm making it an elongated cushion cut in ratio. Watch the video here of this diamond alone and compared to a similar carat weight stone so you can get a better feel for its beauty before reading the article. While these statistics are all considered high end in the world of loose diamonds, taking a deeper dive will unveil a simply gorgeous, one of a kind diamond. By nature cushion cut diamonds are arguably the most difficult diamond shape to pin down because there are so many variances in their outlines, ratios, and overall faceting appearance. As we always stress here at Lauren B, choosing the perfect diamond should never be done by the certificate alone and is important to get a real life visual and expert analysis which is something we provide with each stone we offer our clients. Let’s break this diamond down further here:
The Cut: Let’s start with the most glaring strength of this cushion cut diamond; its immaculate cut. For starters, the polish and symmetry grade are both marked as excellent on the certificate which mean every facet is perfectly aligned to each other and that the surface is completely free of any blemishes or scratches. Usually even a “very good” grade is just fine as well but when both are excellent you can take that as an added bonus. While there is no actual overall “cut grade” for fancy shape diamonds, by looking at all these factors combined as well how it sparkles in real life you can say this diamond has an ideal cut. More importantly it has a very sought after “brilliant” type of faceting that allows for larger flashes of sparkle and a more distinct pattern. Watch this video comparing a brilliant cushion against a crushed ice style cushion. The arrangement of the pavilion (beneath the girdle) facets come to a sharper point allowing for this coveted look, which leads us to our next point:
The Spread: This relates to how large the face up measurements of the diamond are. In this particular diamond it is 7.34mm x 6.38mm which is super impressive and is what you would normally see from a cushion cut diamond that weighs 1.70 carats or larger. The reason you are getting such a large spread relates to how the diamond is cut and the fact that there is no wasted weight on the bottom of the diamond. There is a fine line to walk when going for a “spready” diamond without sacrificing on the cut. Always keep in mind that if a diamond is too shallow you will lose sparkle so do not automatically target a diamond with the largest measurements and think you are in the clear. For more on diamond spread you can refer back to our blog post on this topic here. This 1.50 carat cushion brilliant cut diamond toes the line perfectly and you are able to achieve a huge spread and maximum sparkle all rolled up into one diamond. See the comparison to the right showing…
The Color: A “G” color diamond falls right outside the colorless range as specified by GIA standards. However, diamonds are graded face-down where color is more noticeable and a diamond that has a near colorless grade of G-H and even I-J in some instances, will appear colorless face up. To top it off, since this is a cushion brilliant style diamond, the concentration of color is less noticeable so it will actually appear closer to an “F” graded diamond when viewed head on. Watch this color comparison of loose cushion cut diamonds. Can you see any difference?
The Clarity: While it may not be entirely necessary to own a diamond in the VVS (very very slightly included) or higher clarity range, you can take solace in knowing that you had have something rare on your hands. For the most part you can go as low as SI1 or even SI2 for most diamond cuts. For a cushion cut diamond we usually recommend SI1 or higher to be certain you will not see any distracting inclusions to the naked eye or have any milky/hazy overtone to the diamond.
The Shape: Two things of note to mention regarding the shape of this diamond. First of all, there is no mistaking that is an elongated cushion cut diamond either by seeing it in person or viewing its measurements of 7.34 x 6.38 which equate to a 1.15:1 length to width ratio. Generally speaking for cushion cut diamonds you can follow these rules: anything with a length to width ratio of 1.1:1 or greater would be considered long, ratios of 1:1 to 1.05:1 are square and anything in between these two would be considered slightly elongated. Of course deciding between elongated and square for your cushion cut diamond is a matter of preference and one is not considered better than the other. One thing to keep in mind is that an elongated diamond will sometimes appear larger on the finger while a square cut will have a more concentrated and intense sparkle. Watch this video comparing elongated and square cushion cut diamonds to get a better idea. Last of all it has a beautiful rounded outline giving it that plush pillow like appearance.
Taking into account all these factors above and seeing photos or videos of this 1.50 carat G color/VVS clarity cushion cut diamond will tell you that this is one remarkable stone. At Lauren B we pride ourselves on helping clients select the best value diamond across all quality categories for their specifications and budget. For more you can view our online gallery here with videos comparing cushion cut diamonds across various sizes and qualities.