Natural Cushion Cut Diamonds

Cushion is not one shape but two, and the reports do not distinguish between them. Some cushions are cut with large, chunky facets that throw broad flashes of light, close to an old mine cut. Others are cut in what the trade calls crushed ice: many small facets that scatter light into a fine glitter. They look completely different in the hand and they photograph completely differently, so decide which you are after before you compare prices — a cheap cushion is often simply the version you did not want.

Both styles share one useful property: a cushion hides colour better than almost any shape. The rounded corners and the deeper pavilion let you drop to I or J and still read as white in yellow or rose gold, which is where most cushions end up anyway. That is a real saving on a mined stone, and it is worth taking.

Where not to save is depth. Cushions are often cut deep to hold weight, and a deep cushion faces up smaller than its carat suggests. Compare the millimetre measurements, not just the number on the report.

Every stone here shows in 360°, which is the fastest way to tell chunky from crushed ice.