Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Inspired Cushion 3 Stone Engagement Ring
No doubt you've heard the news, the engagement of Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle is official! The ring consists of a cushion cut diamond center stone with two small accents on the side. As you might expect, cushion cut diamonds are enjoying a renaissance of interest in light of this proposal.
From what we can see in the photographs, Megan Markle's engagement ring is a traditional three stone setting. The center stone is a cushion shape cut from diamond rough that originates from Botswana. The accent diamonds appear to be round brilliant cut from the collection of the late Princess Diana.
The three-stone setting appears to be 18k yellow gold with a platinum or white gold gallery for the diamonds. The ring looks very similar to the Classic 3 Stone setting by Brian Gavin, which is one of those timeless designs that is always in style.
Diamonds from Botswana:
It is interesting for us to see the happy couple proudly promoting the fact that the cushion cut diamond is from diamond rough that originates from Botswana. Not many people know that most of the Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamonds begin their journey in the heart of Botswana.
Botswana is a significant source of diamond rough and supplies many of the world's top producers of diamonds. Thus, it's not just royalty who is wearing diamonds from Botswana, but many of our clients proudly wear diamonds from there also.
Of course, it's not the origin of where a diamond comes from that enables it to express its beauty. Nor is the country where the diamond cutting occurs an indication of quality or light performance. The nation of origin is merely the point on the map where people were fortunate enough to find diamonds.
The next leg of the journey is for those diamonds to find their way into the hands of a diamond cutter who possesses the talent and the skill to release their inner beauty.
Which Cushion Cut Diamond should you buy?
It would be interesting to know which rendition of cushion cut diamond is set in Meghan Markle's engagement ring because there are so many different variations of facet structure for that shape. It is common to see the terms cushion brilliant and cushion modified brilliant on diamond grading reports.
Rather than get caught up in the subtle differences between cushion brilliant and cushion modified brilliant cut diamonds, we think it is better to focus on finding a cushion-cut diamond that reflects light in a pattern that you find appealing.
Brian Gavin offers two distinct styles of cushion cut diamonds:
As you can see by the photographs, the two versions of cushion cut diamonds look similar but completely different at the same time.
The 1.708 carat, G-color, VS-1 clarity, Black by Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond on the left has the same pillow-like outline as the 1.75 carat, G-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Select Cushion cut diamond on the right. However, that is where the similarities cease and the distinct differences begin to change the visual properties of these two styles of cushion cut diamonds.
The Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond is designed to deliver a higher degree of light return and sparkle which is more intense. Notice the presence of the eight point star pattern that creates a higher degree of contrast brilliance in the Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond.
While the facet structure of the Brian Gavin Select Cushion cut diamond breaks the light into smaller pieces that feather out from the center. Both of these diamonds are "cushion cut" because of the outline or shape, however the facet structure and light performance of the diamonds are entirely different.
Deciding which version of cushion cut diamond you should buy largely depends on which pattern of light reflection appeals to your preferences and sense of balance.
The same principle applies to the engagement ring; some people prefer the look of a classic three stone setting like Meghan Markle's engagement ring; while somebody else might prefer the appearance of a halo setting or a simple solitaire. Which is why Brian Gavin offers a broad selection of engagement rings with and without accent stones and in all the popular alloys.
