Cushion Cut Cubic Zirconia: Pros, Cons & Fire

Our cushion is a square with rounded corners and a brilliant facet plan, descended from the old mine cut. The model has 85 facets, a 39.56° pavilion and a deep 65.0% profile.

In CZ its fire, 87, equals the T73's and sits far above the same cushion in diamond. Its light beats the diamond version too (88 against 80), but the T73 suits CZ so well that the cushion still trails it.

Is a cushion cut a good choice for CZ? Pros and cons

Pros

Far more fire than a diamond cushion 87 vs 73
A little more sparkle than the T73 85 vs 80

Cons

Heavy: a deep cut in a dense stone 2.09 vs 1.27 ct
Less light than the T73 in CZ 88 vs 98
Less steady than the diamond cushion 85 vs 92
Some light leaks through the back 7 vs 1

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the Cushion Cut in diamond. A difference counts from 3 points (Brilliance, Fire, Tilt, Leakage), 5 (Scintillation, Symmetry), 2 (Spread) or 5% (weight); Tilt counts as a pro only for a stone within 5 points of the brilliance it is compared with. How we measure.

All eight scores against the T73

At a glance: the Cushion Cut in cubic zirconia (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia (dashed): solid white where it reaches further, hatched where it falls short. Each pro and con is explained, with pictures, below.

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: ahead on 1, level on 1, behind on 6.

Global88, the comparison 93, difference −5
Brilliance88, the comparison 98, difference −10
Fire87, the comparison 87, difference 0
Scintillation85, the comparison 80, difference +5
Spread98, the comparison 100, difference −2
Symmetry97, the comparison 100, difference −3
Shape-norm102, the comparison 106, difference −4
Tilt85, the comparison 87, difference −2

Face-up light census, a different measure from the Cut Grading Tool; Spread and Shape-norm above 100 sit on the ring.

Open it in the Cut Performance Wheel

What the cushion gives cubic zirconia

Far more fire than a diamond cushion

Fire 87 against 73 for the Cushion Cut in diamond: 14 points higher

Two things help. CZ returns more light through this plan than diamond does, and it spreads that light more widely into colour. The renders show the colour.

Cushion cut in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 87) — Look at the coloured flashes: those are fire. Same light, same size, same face-up angle; rendered by our 3D Gemstone Simulator from each cut's own model.

Cushion cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 73) — Look at the coloured flashes: those are fire. Same light, same size, same face-up angle; rendered by our 3D Gemstone Simulator from each cut's own model.

Try it yourself: See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

A little more sparkle than the T73

Scintillation 85 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 5 points higher

85 facets against 73: the crown diagram shows the cushion's plan divided into more, smaller facets than the round's.

Cushion Cut · 85 facets · Scintillation 85

T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Scintillation 80

Scintillation follows the number of facets: more facets, more and smaller flashes as the stone moves. Count the facets in each crown. Drawn from each cut's own model.

Try it yourself: Compare the Scintillation spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel

The catch with a cushion CZ

Heavy: a deep cut in a dense stone

2.09 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.27 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)

At 65.0% deep the cushion carries more weight below the girdle than a round, and CZ adds 65% on top. At 6.5 mm it is 2.09 ct, one of the heavier stones on our CZ pages.

A Cushion Cut 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

What helps: Buy by millimetres; the cushion's depth makes carats a poor guide.

Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the Cushion Cut page

Less light than the T73 in CZ

Brilliance 88 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 10 points lower

Light that reaches the cushion's corners meets the pavilion at angles a round avoids. Against the T73's 98, the gap is wide; against a diamond cushion, CZ is ahead.

Cushion cut in cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 88) — Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; grey = light leaving through the pavilion. This is the head-on view; the Brilliance score averages a wider cone of light, so the score can differ from what one picture shows.

T73 round brilliant in cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 98) — Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; grey = light leaving through the pavilion. This is the head-on view; the Brilliance score averages a wider cone of light, so the score can differ from what one picture shows.

What helps: For more light in an eight-sided outline, DG-Octagonal Kite Cubic Zirconia returns 93; for the most, DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia (100).

Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator

Less steady than the diamond cushion

Tilt 85 against 92 for the Cushion Cut in diamond: 7 points lower

Tilted, the CZ keeps 85 of its face-up light, the diamond cushion 92. Light arriving off-axis escapes more easily from the lower-index stone.

Cushion cut in cubic zirconia tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 4% of the face leaking — Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. Each frame is the Light Return map with the stone tilted away from you by the angle shown; grey is light leaving through the pavilion. The share under each frame is that picture's own.

Cushion cut in cubic zirconia tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 7% of the face leaking — Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. Each frame is the Light Return map with the stone tilted away from you by the angle shown; grey is light leaving through the pavilion. The share under each frame is that picture's own.

What helps: The Square Cut Cubic Zirconia keeps 88 tipped, though from less light, 85.

Try it yourself: Compare the Tilt spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel

Some light leaks through the back

Leakage 7 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 6 points higher

In our census 7% of the light goes out of the back; the T73 in CZ loses 1%. The 39.56° pavilion is above CZ's guide minimum of 38.1°, so this is not a too-shallow pavilion.