Diamond’s cut – one of the four Cs of grading and certifying a diamond – refers to the style or design chosen when shaping a diamond for polishing. Out of the four CS – cut, carat, color and clarity, cut is the only one determined by man, while the others are found naturally within the diamond.
The cushion-cut diamond (once referred to as old-mine cut) combines a square cut with rounded corners, and it is this shape’s resemblance to a pillow which gave it its name.
According to the GIA, the world’s leading authority on diamonds, colored stones and pearls, cushion-cut diamonds have been around for 200 years, and the cut served as the de-facto diamond shape until the 20th century.
Cushion-cut diamonds have always been popular, and their look is prized by dealers in antique diamonds. Their appeal does not rest on their brilliance, since they are generally less brilliant than round-brilliant diamonds, but on their fire; that is, the light that reflects out of a diamond, which in cushion-cut stones is particularly strong.
