Ultimate Guide to Buying a 2 Carat Cushion Cut Diamond Ring
2 ct Cushion Cut Diamond in Petite French Pavé Crown Setting
A diamond ring is a significant purchase, and you want to find one that suits both your style, and budget. They also make great gifts! In this week’s blog post, we will take an indepth look at buying a 2 carat cushion cut diamond ring.
So, what is a cushion cut, how do carats work and how do you even pick a great looking diamond? We will answer these questions below, as well as show you some of the best 2 carat cushion cut engagement ring designs on the market.
Read on to find out more!
First of All, How Do Carats Work?
Each diamond is measured by weight, which is called referred to as carat. Weights for rings usually start at around a quarter carat and go up from there. Typically, a 1 carat is a size that most people aim for, but a 2 carat is even better. It allows for more bling, more sparkle, and infinitely more style.
What is a Cushion Cut?
A cushion cut basically follows a pillow-shaped outline and is a perfect shape for an engagement or anniversary gift. It is a geometric type of square in design, but with softer edges and a gentler appearance.
When cut well, the cushion shaped diamond displays excellent fire and brilliance. With a two carat cushion diamond, you are looking at a very nice size gem with great finger coverage.
Tips to Buying a Large Sized Diamond
Since we are looking into two carats, you probably have already figured that this size will be significantly more expensive than a one carat. This means you will be making a large investment and will certainly want to consider available options and compare quality before buying.
Here are some tips to keep in mind.
Ditch the Local Stores And Head Online
If there’s one thing you need to get in your head from this entire write up, it’s this. When it comes to buying a 2 carat cushion cut diamond engagement ring, the best approach is to buy from an online vendor.
Why?
It would cost a bomb for brick and mortar store to carry 2 carat cushion cut diamond rings in their inventory because of stocking and insurance costs. As a result, most stores only carry an extremely limited of large sized diamond rings and often try to offload them regardless of what the consumer needs are.
Couple this with the fact that the majority of cushion shaped diamonds are poorly cut, the odds are stacked against you. To learn how to select a cushion cut diamond ring, read this article.
Besides better prices and a wider selection range, online vendors offer far greater details about a diamond than what a typical brick and mortar store would. This means you get to cherry pick the best possible diamond based on tangible data that’s within your own preferred specifications.
The example above is an extremely well cut cushion shaped diamond with its ASET showing tangible proof of light performance (place a request with JA’s support to get the info). With some research and help, one of Beyond4cs.com’s readers purchased this stunning diamond for his engagement ring!
Price is What You Pay, Value is What You Get
For a two carat cushion stone ring, you will likely have to pay between $9,000 and $20,000 for your jewelry depending on the quality of the 4Cs. If you are constrained by your budget, the best color/clarity combination to consider would be G-H color and VS1-VS2 clarity. Diamonds within these ranges tend to face up relatively white and are eyeclean.
Here’s a side by side comparison of 2 carat cushion cut engagement ring prices and how much they would differ based on different diamond specifications.
The price of the G/VS2 diamond on the left is only $16,650 while the price of the 2ct D/IF cushion diamond on the right is a whopping $32,460. That’s almost paying double for qualities that your naked eye may not see!
The Best 2 Carat Cushion Cut Diamond Ring Designs We Love
Here are a few beautiful selections if you are interested in buying from an online company. They have some good prices and large selections. From Blue Nile, check out this lovely rose gold solitaire design which emphasizes the size of the diamond.
This 2 carat cushion cut solitaire ring packs simplicity and elegance…
James Allen has some equally stunning options, which you can create yourself! Visit their website to browse through ideas if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for yet. Here’s one of my favorite halo engagement rings from their collections.
2 carat cushion cut halo engagement rings like these are attention grabbing.
James Allen has a wide range of vintage designs that you can see here. The great thing about them is that they have settings catered to different budget levels. Here’s a beautiful and yet affordable vintage setting…
Detailed beading and milgrain decorate the shanks of this setting.
Overall, a two-carat cushion diamond is a purchase that shows you already know what you’re doing and want. It is a very specific purchase and it is important to examine all prices and designs before making your final decision.
Remember the 4 C’s, check out the excellent rings we recommend and keep an open mind. With some time and effort, you can definitely find a ring design you and get the best value for your money at an online vendor.
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6 Comments
I noticed that the vendors you recommend also offer a preset option for 2 carat cushion cut engagement rings. Is this better than choosing and selecting a diamond by myself or should I trust the vendor’s judgment for the two ct center stone?
I wasn’t aware that the online vendors sell preset diamonds for such large sized diamonds. If you are looking for 2 carat cushion cut solitaire engagement rings, the best approach is to pick out your own center stone. This way, you generally get better quality and exactly what you want.
My local store has offered a 2 carat cushion cut diamond with halo ring for sale at $8,000 which comes with an EGL International certificate. The center stone is J color VS2 clarity and seems quite blingy inside the store. In your experience, how much does a 2 carat cushion cut diamond cost if it doesn’t have a GIA/AGS certificate? Do you think this is a good deal?
They have a few other options of two ct GIA certified stone but these are 40% more expensive than the first stone.
No it isn’t. EGL diamonds are a big big rip off for the consumer. If you are constrained by your budget, my advice for you is to choose a halo setting with larger melee perimeter and you can actually go down in size for the center stone to achieve the same effect as a typical 2 ct cushion cut halo engagement engagement ring at a lower price.
I am looking into upgrading my ring for my anniversary (was supposed to be for 25th but now is closer to 26th). I was originally looking for a round but started looking at the cushion because every time I see one online, I love it and it seems like a better value. A jeweler told me that they actually appear smaller than the round though because of the cut… deep on the underside (hope I described that right.) What do you think? Also, since I currently have a colorless diamond, I was looking at D,E,F no lower than VS2. I like the idea of a halo ring, it’s always beautiful, but some people have said if I am going with such a nice stone, don’t put it in a halo. Thoughts?
Cushions that are cut for light performance (brilliance, sparkle and fire) tend to be a little steeper than round diamonds. Because of this, it makes them face up a little smaller. Personally, I have no issues with that as cushion cuts have their unique appeal and appearance because of their softer corners. The key is really, to make sure you select a well cut cushion instead of the crummy ones regularly found in the market and the best way to do this is via tangible data like videos and ASET scopes. Blue Nile is a great place that holds a good inventory of well cut cushions above 2ct.
As for the halo ring design, this is really a matter of personal preference. Who’s to say you are right or wrong if you like a halo design? The purpose of the halo is to accentuate the center diamond and from why I infer, you are assuming that the halo is only to be used to make a “lousy” diamond look good. That is a misconception. Anyway, here’s a video review of a halo cushion cut diamond I recently made. You may want to watch it in full here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OQ6R0tUkus