A brief history of
the cutting of diamonds. By Damien Kalmar.
Published in Antiques in
New South Wales December 2003
Most of us know the
shapes of diamonds. These include the emerald cut, heart shaped, pear cut and
the ever-popular round brilliant cut to name but a few. Today, with the advent
of computers and lasers, diamonds can be made into much more fanciful shapes,
such as a sailing boat or even your own initial.
But what about 100
years ago? Or 300 years ago, or even several centuries before, when diamond
cutting was as primitive as the tools used? This article delves briefly into
the history of diamond faceting throughout he ages, and looks at cuts that are
now found in a museum, an antique store or even on your own finger right now!
Diamonds have been
known since as early is 1,000 to 400 BC
in the dry riverbeds of
India
. However, it wasn’t until the 11th Century in
Europe,
that the first real attempts at diamond cutting began. The “point cut” was
achieved by rubbing the diamond crystal, in this case an octahedral-shaped
diamond crystal, against another diamond to produce an eight-sided stone.
The 14th
Century saw the introduction of the “table cut”, a diamond squared in shape,
with a total of eight facets. Earlier point-cut diamonds were now re-cut into
this more “modern” cut, and today this practice of re-cutting older style
diamonds into new modern shapes continues.
Various other
modifications of this cut were made. However, the next major step in diamond
fashioning was the introduction of the “rose cut”. The design resembles a rose
bud, comprising of a flat base with a number of triangular facets arranged in
rows above each other, meeting at a sharp point in the centre.
First manufactured in
India at the end of the 15th
Century, this cut was perfected at the diamond cutting workshops in
Antwerp and
Amsterdam,
and was very popular during most of the 16th and 17th
centuries.
Example of the rose cut diamond from the
side and the top.
Because the base of
the diamond was flat, stones were often foiled back to improve the brilliance
of the stone. This was achieved by applying foils or tints to the base of the
stone.
For a number of
years, diamond cutters experimented with variations of the rose cut, resulting
in some truly amazing cuts, such as the Dutch rose, half-Dutch and the boat-
shaped rose.
In the early 1640’s,
the old single cut was introduced, consisting of between 18 and 30 facets per
stone, depending on the shape of the diamond crystal. Today, the round
brilliant cut has 58 facets. The most notable changes were two important
features; a “table” – the flat top of the stone, and a “pavilion” – an inverted
triangular base.
The world is introduced to the Brilliant Cut.
At the start of the
18th century, a great leap forward emerged with the “invention” of
the new 58-facetted diamond. At the time, these were the closest resemblance to
today’s brilliant cut, and are referred to as old mine cuts, or old miners.
These were cut often squarish or cushion shaped, with quite a steep angle on
the crown and pavilion, to maximise weight retention. While weight was kept to
a maximum, they often lacked a lot of internal fire and “brilliance”. As well
as these features, the “old miners” often had quite a large culet or “collet”,
the horizontal base formed by the blunting of a point when the stone is cut as
a brilliant.
During the mid 19th
century, the old European cut came into focus, and was an attempt to change the
old mine cut stones into a more perfect round cut. These stones can be
considered as the first true round brilliant cut diamonds. The facets from the
old miners were kept in their same position, but changed shape to a more round
and evenly shaped stone.
The culets became
smaller, as it was learnt that light could “leak” out from this point in the
stone. The development of the modern brilliant cut occurred in the early part
of the 20th century with further modifications through the century.
Diamond cutters apply the brilliant cut to other shapes, and this very exacting
skill continues to enthral craftsman and enthusiasts alike.