How to Pair Your Cushion Engagement Ring With a Wedding Band
Angelica Frey | October 24, 2023
A Cushion cut lab-grown diamond engagement ring is romantic, elegant, and notable for its unprecedented fire. Choosing a suitable wedding ring or band means finding something that complements its unique scintillation pattern and extraordinary rainbow-colored light dispersion.
As with other diamond shapes, the ultimate deciding factor for building your wedding band is your personal preference. Even though Cushion diamonds are often associated with vintage-inspired styles, the truth is that they suit even more streamlined settings. Wedding bands made with VRAI created diamonds can accommodate any style choice.
How Do I Choose a Wedding Band With a Cushion Engagement Ring?
A Cushion diamond is a diamond shape that is timeless in its romantic elegance. When it comes to pairing an engagement ring featuring a Cushion diamond with a wedding band, the Cushion cut is versatile and gives you a lot of options.
“The shape of your diamond matters less when choosing a wedding band than the shape of your setting does,” says Grace Taylor, VRAI’s Chief of Sales and Senior Director of Customer Experience.
What pairs well with a Cushion solitaire will be different from what suits multi-stone rings best. Size and carat weight will also be determining factors.
“One thing to note –and this applies to all elongated shapes and very large center stones – if your stone is very large and you have a flush fit style, you may want a spacer band to push the wedding band out from underneath the center stone so you get to see it.”
What Are the Characteristics of a Cushion Diamond?
A Cushion Diamond derives its name from its pillow-like appearance. It’s a square with rounded corners, with facets that give off a unique sparkle. Because of these characteristics, the Cushion diamond has more fire (the rainbow-colored dispersion, as opposed to the white-light one) compared to other diamond shapes.
The fire is due to the smaller facets, which make the Cushion super glittery. By contrast, a diamond with larger facets—say, the Emerald—has more of a white flash. Cushion diamonds are the modern-day evolution of the Old Mine Cut diamond. Old Mine cuts were precursors of brilliant-cut diamonds and featured a high crown, a deep pavilion, and faceted in a way to maximize scintillation by candlelight.
Cushion diamonds face up smaller than Round and Oval diamonds. For this reason, VRAI’s diamond experts recommend emphasizing the carat weight and color rather than clarity. The unprecedented fire will elegantly conceal clarity characteristics that might interfere with the diamond’s anatomy.
Cushions don’t have a standardized appearance, with varying degrees of thickness in the girdle and varying proportions in length and width. Some Cushions are square-cut, others sport a more rectangular, elongated shape. The largest square Cushion diamond in VRAI’s inventory weighs 7.71 carats.
Square vs Elongated Cushion Diamonds
Elongated Cushion diamonds combine the rounded corners of a square cushion diamond with an elongated shape, similar to an Emerald or Radiant diamond. Compared to the Radiant diamond, however, the facets of the Elongated Cushion maintain the softness found in the Square cushion. It’s a great alternative to the Oval diamond for those who deem ovals too trendy and want a more niche option.
VRAI created Elongated Cushion diamonds are available through the Cut for You process, which allows you to choose from 30 different diamond shapes and a broad range of carat weights. Currently, the highest carat weight for Elongated Cushion diamonds is 11 carats; for square Cushions, it goes up to 9 carats.
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What Are the Best Settings for a Cushion Engagement Ring?
Cushion diamonds can be easily paired with a wide variety of settings, without concern for their weight distribution. “All of our settings are made to order around the individual diamond you select so regardless of the diamond's depth it'll fit perfectly,” Taylor assures us.
Choose something timeless such as VRAI’s Signature Setting, look back to tradition with the Floating Split Band, or make your Cushion engagement ring modernist by pairing it with the Signature V and the compass setting.
Best Cushion Wedding Ring Sets
Cushion engagement rings work with a wide variety of wedding rings. The setting of your choice, rather than the actual diamond shape, will determine what’s best for it. With their unique fire, Cushion diamonds need something to match that unprecedented scintillation.
“They have more of a glitter than a flash, generally speaking,” says Taylor. “I find this characteristic pairs really nicely with a pavé style wedding band. A little extra glitz is always appreciated.”
Classic Cushion Engagement Ring and Wedding Band Pairings
If you choose to set your Cushion diamond in VRAI’s Signature setting, which is sleek and emphasizes the center diamond with its elegant four prongs, you can easily opt for a more ornate wedding band. The Alternating Shapes Band is an all-diamond design that alternates brilliant and step-cut diamonds, to create harmony rooted in variation. The Devotion Band featuring Round diamonds is a channel-set band that highlights a series of diamonds, creating a look of sophistication that highlights the romanticism of your Cushion engagement ring.
Vintage-Inspired Cushion Engagement Ring and Wedding Band Pairings
The split band is a silhouette that enjoyed substantial popularity in the Edwardian era, and the antique-inspired faceting pattern and silhouette of the Cushion diamond (both square and elongated) are the ideal fit for this style.
The Chevron band, with its gently contoured shape, naturally follows the curve of the Split Band engagement ring. The Dew Drop Crown Band and its nature-inspired design highlights the Art Nouveau shape of this wedding set.
Modern Cushion Engagement Ring and Wedding Band Pairings
Cushion diamonds create a fascinating contrast with sleek, abstract settings. The Elongated cushion diamond, for example, seamlessly nestles in the dipping center of VRAI’s Signature V engagement ring.
The Signature V Band, whose V matches the one in the Signature V Engagement Ring, can be worn with the V facing either direction. Choose between the original size (2.0mm band width) or the petite size (1.50mm band width)