Cushion

What defines the cut

Cushion describes the outline — square-to-rectangular with rounded corners and gently curved sides — rather than one fixed facet arrangement. Modern cushions range from "chunky" faceting with larger, fewer facets that flash brightly, to "crushed ice" faceting with many small, irregular facets that create a sparkly, broken-glass appearance rather than distinct flashes.

Modern versus antique cushion

The term "cushion" alone today almost always means a modern cushion brilliant. It's worth distinguishing this clearly from the antique cushion-shaped cuts it's descended from — old mine cut and old European cut — which share the rounded-square outline but use entirely different, much older faceting styles with higher crowns and larger culets. See the Old Mine Cut and Old European Cut pages for that distinction.

Buying considerations

• Decide on chunky versus crushed-ice faceting by viewing examples — this is a bigger visual difference than most cut-grade nuances within either style.
• Squarer ratios (close to 1.00) versus more rectangular ones (1.15+) are a style preference; check how the stone will sit under a halo if that's the intended setting, since halo shape needs to match.
• Depth matters for avoiding windowing (a washed-out, glassy centre) — cushions cut too shallow for their crown/pavilion combination are more prone to this than round brilliants.

Jewellery suitability

Cushions are especially popular in halo settings, where the rounded outline complements a circle or cushion-shaped halo of melee diamonds. They also suit vintage-inspired designs generally, given the shape's antique lineage.