My name is Greg Kwiat, and I want to help you learn everything you need to know to buy a diamond.

Today, I will introduce you to the Kwiat Cushion, simply the most beautiful and perfectly cut cushion shape diamond in the world. We will explore what makes the Kwiat Cushion exceptional and compare it to other lesser quality cut cushion diamonds in the market. Let’s begin with some general information about cushions. Cushion cut diamonds are one of the most popular and appealing shapes. The shape is as almost as old as polished diamonds themselves – diamonds cut before the late 1800s were almost always cushion in outline. In general, cushion cut diamonds are soft rectangular or square-ish shapes with rounded corners and gently curving edges. In the diamond industry, there’s no universally accepted set of standards that defines the cushion cut. The world of cushion diamonds is like the wild west – anything goes. More than any other shape, cushion cuts will vary dramatically from one diamond to the next. Cushion cut diamonds can range from attractive elongated shapes to very square. And the faceting style of cushions can range from a classic brilliance to the antique style to ultra-modern.

Now the problem with having so much variation in what can technically be called a cushion is that many diamond cutters use this lack of defined standards to cut sub-par – and sometimes downright ugly – cushion cut diamonds. Cutting a gorgeous cushion shape takes skill and experience, and at Kwiat, we have been cutting cushion diamonds for more than a century.
And now after years of study and refinement, I present to you, the Kwiat Cushion. The Kwiat Cushion is an elongated cushion shape, with beautifully rounded sides and corners. This is the perfect cushion shape –soft, distinctive, graceful. It has an extraordinary, classic brilliance – faceted with the traditional brilliant cut pattern without the modifications that are often found on lesser quality diamonds. Demonstrating the great precision of the cut, Kwiat Cushions achieve Excellent polish and Excellent symmetry, which is rare in fancy shape diamonds. Kwiat Cushions are highly consistent from one to the next, each diamond is cut with the same care and attention to detail. And because of the way that we cut our cushions, they will have a larger surface area and bigger size appearance than all other cushion cuts.

To truly understand why the Kwiat Cushion is so exceptional, it helps to compare it to lesser quality cushions that other jewelers cut and sell. There are basically two general problem areas when it comes to cushion cut diamonds that are subpar. The first issue is that the general shape of many cushions is simply unattractive. The second issue is that the faceting pattern is often poorly done leading to an ugly or lacking brilliance. And in many cushion diamonds, we see both of these issues at the same time. So let’s start with the general shape. To be a beautiful cushion, the diamond should have an elegant and graceful outline. It should have a softness that comes from gently rounded sides and corners and some elongation to show its proper size appearance. The Kwiat Cushion is exactly that – a gorgeous, elongated diamond with beautifully rounded sides.

One common variation of a badly cut cushion is the very square shape diamond with rounded corners. And in another bad variation, we see diamonds with rectangular shapes, and nearly straight edges and very broad corners. In these cases, the round corners of the diamond will technically earn the cushion designation from the GIA, but these diamonds couldn’t be farther from the classic cushion shape. They lack all of the grace of the beautifully shaped Kwiat Cushion. The square cushions look small for their size because they carry more weight on the underside of the stone. Diamond cutters cut the square cushion shape to save weight – increasing the carat weight of the finished diamond in a way that does not appear larger. These diamonds may “sound bigger” when you hear the carat weight, but they won’t “look bigger” when you see the diamond itself. And those boxy rectangular shapes – they may be elongated but they really look more like radiant cuts with rounded corners that true cushion shapes. By comparison to these imposters, the Kwiat Cushion is the perfectly cut diamond – a stunningly beautiful and soft elongated shape with a visually larger size appearance for its carat weight. Possibly the biggest issue with most cushion shapes is that they are poorly faceted and lack beautiful brilliance. The facets of a diamond are the small surfaces that are placed on the diamond by the cutter to give it is beautiful prismatic effect – they’re part of the quality of the diamond cut. Beautifully cut and faceted diamonds will be bright with intense sparkle. The Kwiat Cushion has an exceptional and classic brilliance without any unnecessary modifications to the faceting pattern.

The GIA report for a Kwiat Cushion describes the diamond as a “Cushion Brilliant”, which is considered the finest description for a cushion diamond. But most diamonds in the market are faceted in an unattractive way, mainly with the goal of saving weight in the cutting process or to attempt to compensate for a general lack of brilliance. These diamonds are typically described on the GIA report as “Cushion Modified Brilliant” and are simply not as finely cut. The term Modified when used by the GIA or the industry is indicating that a non-traditional faceting pattern or extra facets were used in the cutting of the diamond. Typically, these facets are on the underside of the diamond, and are intended to retain carat weight or to regain brilliance that is otherwise missing. And as with many other poorly cut cushion shapes, this extra carat weight in the diamond makes it appear small for its size. A common variation of the modified cushion is something often called “crushed ice.” Now to be clear, this is NOT typically used as a positive description. In crushed ice cushions, there are extra facets intended to give the diamond the appearance of additional brilliance – kind of like you’re looking into an ice cube that has cracked on the inside. Now some sellers will try to position the crushed ice look as a positive, but the reality is that crushed ice cushions lack the proper, classic brilliance that a diamond ought to have. It’s a visual trick that comes at the expense of beauty.

Some cushion diamonds are actually old stones, cut in a previous era. And others are more recently cut in the antique “Old Mine” style. Some people have a preference for an antique style cut, and that’s a personal choice that is not necessarily right or wrong. Antique style cushions typically have smaller table sizes, larger crown angles, an open culet and larger looking facets. The overall brilliance is more subdued relative to a modern stone, consistent with the way that diamonds were cut in the 17 and 1800s. There are many beautiful antique cushions – like the ones found at Fred Leighton for example. But just as with modern cushion diamonds, there are also many examples of badly cut antique style cushions. These diamonds are poor imitations and are attempting to mimic the true antique style in order to sell a lesser stone. The Kwiat Cushion will typically look larger than an antique cushions and will have a more vibrant brilliance. At Kwiat, all of our diamonds are cut to our rigorous technical and quality standards. With more than 100 years of diamond cutting experience, we make certain that every diamond in every shape is cut to the be the most beautiful that it can be. The Kwiat Cushion is the most beautiful and perfectly cut cushion shape diamond in the world.