Cushion cut diamond engagement ring - five quick tips.

I've received a lot of questions about cushion cut diamond engagement rings and how to not get screwed and save money.

So here are five quick tips.

Number one - what exactly is a cushion cut? As you know, there are four C's to evaluate a diamond ring. The color, the carat, the clarity, and the cut. I'll explain them to you in a few minutes, but one of them is the cut. The cut is really how the diamond itself is cut. There are multiple different kinds of cuts, and one of them is called the cushion cut. Now, why is it called the cushion cut? Well really, it looks like a pillow if you'd like. It's one of the oldest cuts. In fact, it was very popular in the 1900s. At that time, the technology to do the cutting of the diamond was not as advanced as today. So this is why these diamonds have 60 facets, meaning around 20 facets less than the other cuts. So, it creates diamonds that have "less sparkle".

Which, brings me to the second tip, the color. The color relates to the fact that some diamonds are really, really white and some diamonds are more "yellowish". Of course, the whiter a diamond, the more value it has. Unfortunately, a lot of the cushion cut diamonds are more in the "yellowish category", so make sure if you're going to buy a cushion cut diamond that it is still well graded on the color criteria.

Tip number three is you can pay less money playing with the carat. The carat is the weight of the diamond. Instead of paying for a two carat engagement ring, pay for a 1.95 or 1.90. To the naked eye you won't see the difference, but you'll pay a lot less for a 1.95 or 1.9 carats than a complete two carats.

The fourth tip to save money is you can buy a diamond that looks gorgeous but is lower on the clarity criteria. The clarity criteria simply means that the diamond has less imperfections which can only be seen with a microscope so you can save money there. The higher on the clarity a diamond is appraised, the less imperfections it has. But most imperfections cannot be seen by the naked eye.

The last tip is buy your cushion cut diamond engagement ring online. You'll have more choices, you won't be harassed by slimmy sales people and you'll pay less money. You'll pay less money because online the cost of advertisement is lower and the jeweler doesn't have to pay as much taxes as an established offline jeweler. So I hope this helps, if you have any questions just ask me and I'll be more than happy to answer them.