Cushion Cut Diamond Guide: Soft, Romantic, and Built to Sparkle

What Is a Cushion Cut Diamond?

The cushion cut — sometimes called a pillow cut — is a square or rectangular diamond with rounded corners and large, open facets that produce a distinctive chunky sparkle pattern. It is one of the oldest diamond cuts still in widespread use today, with roots in the old mine cut that dominated the nineteenth century.

Cushion Cut Characteristics

The cushion cut's rounded corners and curved sides give it a softer, more romantic appearance than the hard geometry of an emerald or princess cut. The large facets produce broad flashes of light rather than the pin-point brilliance of a round brilliant — a quality often described as "crushed ice" in some variants.

Choosing Your Cushion

Cushions vary significantly in their length-to-width ratio, from nearly square (1:1) to noticeably rectangular (1.2:1 and above). They also vary between cushion brilliant and cushion modified brilliant cuts, which produce different light patterns. For colour and clarity, cushion cuts are more forgiving than step cuts but less forgiving than round brilliants — aim for VS2 or better clarity and G or better colour in white metal.

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