Cushion cut
The Old Mine Look
The cushion is not a modern shape imitating an antique one. It is the antique one. Everything since has been a departure from it, including the version most people are now sold.
Written by the Mapple Gems workshop, Surat ยท Updated 31 August 2026
Short answer
Four things make a cushion read antique: chunky faceting rather than crushed ice, a high crown, a small table, and a visible culet at the bottom of the stone. None of them appear on a grading report and none are the modern default, so all four have to be asked for. A newly cut stone can have every one of them โ you are specifying a style of cutting, not buying an old diamond.
Before electric lighting, diamonds were cut for candlelight. That meant big facets that returned a lot of light from a few directions, a tall crown to catch it, and a small table so the crown facets had room to work. The result is the old mine cut โ a squarish stone with soft corners, which is to say a cushion.
Modern cutting reversed almost all of it: bigger tables, shallower crowns, more and smaller facets, and a culet ground to a point. Those choices maximise brightness under electric light and, not incidentally, preserve more weight from the rough. The crushed ice cushion is the end of that road.
So when someone says they want an antique cushion, they are not asking for an aged stone. They are asking for the older set of cutting decisions โ and every one of them can be made today.
The four things to ask for
1. Chunky faceting. The one that matters most. Large facets under the table that light up individually, rather than a fine restless glitter. Without this, none of the rest will produce the look. How to identify it is worth reading first.
2. A high crown. The section above the girdle, tall rather than flat. It is what gives an antique stone its depth and its distinctive dome when seen from the side. Modern cutting shaves it to save weight.
3. A small table. The flat top facet, proportionally smaller than modern cutting uses. A small table forces light through the crown facets, which is where the coloured fire comes from.
4. A visible culet. The bottom point of the stone, flattened into a small facet rather than a sharp tip. Looking down through the table you see it as a small dark octagon at the centre. Modern buyers occasionally mistake it for an inclusion; it is the single most recognisable antique signature there is.
What each choice actually costs you
| Feature | What it gives | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Chunky faceting | Large distinct flashes, real fire | Hides nothing โ needs VS2 and G+ |
| High crown | Depth, character, a domed profile | More weight in depth; taller ring |
| Small table | Coloured fire through the crown | Slightly less face-up brightness |
| Open culet | The unmistakable antique signature | A small dark spot at the centre |
| All four together | A genuinely period stone | Faces up smaller per carat than any modern cut |
That last row is the honest headline. An antique-proportioned cushion carries more of its weight in depth than almost anything else you can buy, so a 2 carat antique cushion looks smaller than a 2 carat modern one. You are buying character rather than surface area, and it is worth knowing that going in rather than measuring afterwards.
From our bench in Surat
The culet is the thing we warn people about, because it is the one detail that surprises buyers after delivery. Looking straight down into an antique-cut stone there is a small dark octagon at the centre. It is meant to be there. It is the defining feature of the cut. Every few months somebody photographs it and asks us whether their diamond has a flaw in the middle.
And the concession: we do not show a top-down close-up on our antique-style listings, which is precisely the image that would prevent that conversation. Ask for one before you order. If you look at it and think "inclusion", the antique cut is not for you, and it is much better to find that out on a screen.
The setting has to agree
An antique-cut stone in a sharply modern setting looks confused. A few details that carry the same language:
- Double prongs at each corner rather than single. Period-correct and visually softer.
- Milgrain along the shank or bezel edge โ the beaded detail that reads instantly as older. See milgrain detailing explained.
- Yellow or rose gold. Antique cuts were rarely set in white metal, and warmer gold suits the warmer colour grades this cut tends to show.
- A visible gallery with some decoration under the stone, rather than a plain modern basket.
- Restraint elsewhere. The stone is doing the work. A pavรฉ shank fights it โ the case for going plain is in why buy a plain solitaire.
A note on colour
Antique cuts flatter warmth. The large crown facets and small table give a warmer stone a honeyed depth that a modern brilliant would simply show as yellow. Combined with a yellow gold setting, an H or I colour in an antique cushion often looks better than a G would โ which makes this one of the few cases where buying down the colour scale is an aesthetic decision rather than a budget one.
Clarity is the opposite. Chunky faceting hides nothing, so VS2 is the sensible floor, and the culet area in particular should be clean.
What to specify
- Chunky faceting, named explicitly.
- High crown and small table โ ask for crown height and table percentage.
- Open culet, and a top-down close-up so you can see it before ordering.
- VS2 minimum clarity; HโI colour is a feature here, not a compromise.
- Millimetres and depth percentage, since this cut faces up small.
- Double prongs, milgrain and a warm metal if you want the setting to match.
- Profile height, because a high crown makes a tall ring.
Keep reading
Asscher and old European cuts: vintage brilliance
Frequently asked questions
What is an old mine cut?
The historical ancestor of the cushion: a squarish stone with rounded corners, a high crown, a small table, chunky faceting and an open culet, cut to perform in candlelight. Today the same proportions can be cut into a new stone โ you are buying a cutting style, not an aged diamond.
What is the dark spot in the middle of my antique cut stone?
The culet โ the flattened bottom point of the stone, seen through the table as a small dark octagon. It is the defining signature of an antique cut, not a flaw. If you find it distracting on a photograph, choose a modern cut instead.
Do antique cushions sparkle less?
They sparkle differently. Fewer, larger flashes rather than a constant fine glitter, and considerably more coloured fire because the small table forces light through the crown facets. In dim indoor light they often outperform a modern cut; under bright directional light a modern cut looks brighter.
Can I get the antique look in a lab grown diamond or moissanite?
Yes, in either. It is a matter of how the stone is cut, not what it is made of. A word of caution on moissanite: the antique cut's big facets combined with moissanite's strong dispersion produce a great deal of coloured fire, which is spectacular but not subtle.
Do antique cushions look smaller?
Yes. A high crown and deep pavilion mean more of the carat weight sits where you cannot see it, so an antique-proportioned cushion faces up smaller than almost any modern cut of the same weight. Ask for millimetres rather than working from carats.
Ask for a top-down close-up
The culet is the detail that decides whether the antique cut is for you. We will send the image before you order anything.
Leave a comment