Yes. The cushion cut is one of the shapes people ask for by name, and it has been in continuous demand for well over two hundred years. It is not the single most popular shape — round holds that position and has done for decades — but it sits comfortably in the group that customers request without being prompted, alongside oval, emerald and pear.

What follows is an honest picture of where the cushion sits: why it endures, who it suits, what it costs, and where it is genuinely the wrong choice.

A note on popularity figures

You will find articles quoting exact percentages for how many engagement rings use each shape. We are not going to give you one, because there is no reliable published figure covering the UK market. What exists are individual retailers’ own sales mixes, which reflect what that retailer stocks rather than what the country buys.

What we can tell you honestly is what we see. Across our own range we hold twenty round designs, eleven pear, six emerald, six marquise and three cushion. That reflects demand as we experience it — round dominates, and cushion is a steady, well-loved minority shape rather than a mass-market default. Take that as one jeweller’s view, not a national statistic.

Why the cushion has lasted

The cushion is one of the oldest diamond shapes still in regular production. Its ancestor, the old mine cut, was the standard shape for most of the 18th and 19th centuries, before electric light and modern cutting wheels existed. Those stones were cut by candlelight and for candlelight: a small table, a high crown, big chunky facets that throw slow, fat flashes.

That heritage is exactly why the shape keeps coming back. When fashion turns towards antique, vintage and Art Deco styling — as it does every so often — the cushion is the shape that carries it naturally. It does not have to pretend to be old. It genuinely is.

The modern cushion has been reworked with brilliant-style faceting, which gives it far more liveliness than its ancestors had, while keeping the soft pillow outline that gives it its name.

What people actually like about it

• Softness. No sharp corners. It reads as gentle and romantic rather than architectural. Emerald and asscher cuts feel formal; a cushion feels warm.
• Two very different sparkle personalities. A traditional cushion gives big, slow flashes. A modified cushion brilliant gives fine “crushed ice” glitter. Same shape name, two completely different looks — so the shape suits both the person who wants drama and the person who wants shimmer.
• It hides small inclusions well. The busy sparkle of a crushed-ice cushion makes tiny natural marks harder to see with the naked eye. That is a real practical benefit if your budget is better spent on size than on clarity.
• It works in both square and elongated outlines. Square for a vintage feel, elongated for a longer-looking finger. One shape, two very different silhouettes.
• Corners are protected by the shape itself. Compared with a princess cut, the rounded corners of a cushion are far less exposed to knocks.

Where the cushion is the wrong choice

Being fair to you matters more than selling a shape.

If you want maximum sparkle per pound, buy a round. The round brilliant is engineered specifically to return the most light. Nothing else matches it, and there is no shame in the obvious answer being the right one.

If you want the largest face-up size for the weight, look at oval or elongated shapes. Cushions carry more of their weight in the depth, so at the same carat weight a cushion often looks slightly smaller from above than an oval.

If you love clean geometric lines, an emerald or asscher will please you more. Those step cuts give long, mirror-like flashes rather than sparkle, and they suit a modern, minimal aesthetic that a soft cushion never quite delivers.

Cushion against the shapes it competes with

If you are weighing a cushion against the other shapes people shortlist, this is the honest summary:

Shape	Strongest quality	Main compromise	Choose it if
Cushion	Soft, romantic outline with a genuine antique lineage	Carries weight in the depth, so looks slightly smaller face-up	You want warmth and history rather than sharp modern lines
Round	Maximum sparkle; the engineering benchmark	Highest price per carat of any shape	Sparkle is the priority and you want the safe classic
Oval	Looks large for its weight, lengthens the finger	Prone to a visible bow-tie across the middle	You want the most visible size for your budget
Emerald	Calm, glassy, architectural flashes	Shows inclusions and colour far more readily	You prefer clean geometry to glitter
Pear	Distinctive and flattering on most hands	The single point needs protecting	You want something individual without being obscure

Does popularity affect the price?

A little, and in a way that works in your favour.

Round brilliants command a premium partly because of demand and partly because more rough is lost in cutting them. Fancy shapes — cushion included — are generally a bit less expensive per carat than a round of comparable quality. This is guidance based on how the market usually behaves, not a fixed discount, and it applies to lab-grown and natural stones alike.

Within the cushion family, square cushions are cut most often and are the easiest to find. Elongated cushions at attractive ratios are cut less often and can carry a small premium simply because supply is thinner.

Cushion cut rings we make

Every ring is hand-made in solid gold or platinum with lab-grown diamonds, and every centre stone comes with a free IGI certificate. Our cushion collection is deliberately small and considered:

• Bezel Cushion Cut Engagement Ring in Platinum — £904 at the time of writing. A full metal rim around the stone. Modern, secure and very wearable if you work with your hands.
• Three Stone Cushion Cut Engagement Ring — £957 at the time of writing. The classical arrangement, and the best way to see the soft corners repeated across the finger.
• Solitaire Cushion Cut Wedding Band in Sterling Silver — £904 at the time of writing, for carrying the shape through to the wedding band.

See them together in the cushion cut collection, or compare cushion against every other shape we make in the engagement ring range. If you want a cushion setting we do not currently list, we will design and make it bespoke at no extra design cost.

Frequently asked questions

Are cushion cut diamonds still popular?

Yes. It is a long-established shape with steady demand rather than a passing trend. It has been in continuous production in one form or another since the 18th century.

Is a cushion cut more popular than an oval?

Oval has been the stronger seller in recent years across the trade generally, largely because elongated shapes look larger for the weight. Cushion has the deeper history and the more distinctive character. Neither is going anywhere.

Do cushion cuts look dated?

No, but they do look traditional, which is a different thing. If you want a ring that will still look considered in thirty years, that is an argument in its favour. If you want something obviously contemporary, a bezel or hidden-halo setting modernises a cushion immediately.

Are cushion cut diamonds cheaper than round?

Usually somewhat, at comparable quality, because less rough is lost in the cutting and demand is lower than for round. Treat that as general market guidance rather than a fixed figure — it holds for both lab-grown and mined stones.

Which cushion style should I choose?

If you love antique jewellery, look for a traditional cushion with fewer, larger facets and big slow flashes. If you want constant glitter, look for a modified cushion brilliant with the crushed-ice pattern. Ask the seller which one you are looking at — the listing rarely says.

Does a lab-grown cushion look the same as a mined one?

Yes. Same material, same cutting, same certificates. The cut quality of the individual stone matters far more to how it looks than where it was formed.

If you would like to compare a cushion against a round or an oval in person, we are in North Harrow and happy to talk it through. Free insured UK delivery and 30-day returns apply to everything we make.

More guides on this topic

• What Are the Types of Diamond Cuts? A Plain-English Guide