Do you know why, as Marilyn Monroe sang, diamonds are a woman's best friend? Men or women, we all end up losing our charms... But the stones, them, cut in table or pear, do not lose their forms!
We recommend our article on the birthstone of April, right herefor a more general approach to diamonds: origin, history, and of course the 4C's to evaluate the quality of the stone. The whole sprinkled with our best humor.
Because here, we talk exclusively about sizes and shapes.
Diamond vocabulary
Do you speak diamond? Let's start with a brief vocabulary point based on a classic brilliant cut.
The diamond is made up of an upper and a lower part, whose meeting point is called the rondiste. The upper part is called the crown. It is broken down into facets, including the table which is the most important facet. The lower part is called the breech. It is also faceted. We will see that the number of facets varies depending on the diamond cut. The lower end of the breech is called the culet or breech point.
The first attempts to enhance the stone date back to the 13th century. The rough gems were then worked by polishing the natural faces, which brought more transparency and brilliance. It was not until the 15th century (1400) that table cutting appeared, leading after many experiments and nearly three centuries later to the first brilliant cut at the end of the 17th century, now known as the ancient cut, developed by Vicenzo Peruzzi. But the modern brilliant cut, with so-called ideal proportions, dates from the 1910s and was developed by the jeweler Tolkowsky.
Art Deco diamond solitaire 0.50 Ct
American Art Deco diamond wedding band
It is common to hear that diamond is the hardest material in existence. The ancients understood this well since its name derives from the Greek "adamas" meaning indomitable. This is an opportunity for us to briefly mention theMohs scale, which is commonly used when talking about jewelry. It is a measure of the hardness of materials developed in 1812 by the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. Hardness does not mean resistance to deformation or impact but the ability of a mineral to scratch another. For each level there is a hardness test, for example, quartz (7/10 on the scale) has the ability to scratch glass. And so, at the top of the scale, our first in class (10/10) can only be scratched by another diamond while talc (1/10), crumbly under the fingernail, gets the dunce's cap. You will also have recognized thesecond best, corundum, which we talk about in our articles on the ruby and sapphire.
Mohs scale, via hautehorlogerie.org
Profession : diamond dealer
Attention, we are not talking about the diamond trader, also called diamond cutter, but the diamond cutter. Decidedly, our king of precious stones does nothing like his fellow men! Because all gemstones (grouped under the name "colored stones") are cut by the lapidary - derived from "lapis" in Latin, meaning "stone". Except for diamonds, therefore, which are shaped by the diamond cutter. Do you follow?
The main size centers are India, China, as well as Tel Aviv, New York and of course Antwerp.
What is the purpose of cutting? To increase the value of the stone by revealing its beauty, of course! In fact, the first step in the diamond cutter's work is to choose the cut to be adopted. It is then a matter of making a clever calculation to estimate what would be the most lucrative result. To do this, the diamond cutter bases himself of course on the natural shape of the rough gem, in order to lose as little raw material as possible, but his evaluation also aims to erase natural inclusions, for example, or to optimize the color of the stone. Then, the cutting process is broken down into these different steps:
- The cleavage allows to roughen the facets by giving the stone an octahedron shape
- Thechipping or rounding gives the diamond its shape composed of a crown and a breech
- Grinding allows the creation of different facets
- Finally, polishing completes the cutting process by removing the last imperfections.
As an example, a modern brilliant cut for a stone of about 1 carat requires between 5 and 7 hours of cutting.
Now that the latter has no more secrets for you, how about we teach you to recognize the most common diamond shapes in antique jewelry?
The pink size
It is one of the must-haves. It is one of the first faceted cuts, developed in the 16th century. It is composed of 3 to 24 triangular facets arranged in a dome on a flat base. There is also, but this is rarer, a pink cut called "crowned" for which we observe a faceted dome on both sides of the rondist.
We also often find, especially in the 19th century jewelryRose-cut diamonds are also often found, especially in the 19th century, mounted "on foil" or "on paillon". The gems are set on a thin layer of metal, for example aluminum, which originally gave more brilliance to the stones. This is the case here on our rose gold, silver and diamond garter ring.
In addition, the pink cut is often preferred for the decoration of the entourage.
The ancient size
It is the ancestor of the brilliant cut. Also called Peruzzi cut, it was developed in 1700 and consists of 58 facets. Its main characteristics are a relatively small table and a high crown, as well as a deep breech. In addition, the stone has an open culet. When you look at the diamond from above, you can see the culet in the center. This is the element that allows you to recognize an old cut gem for sure!
The half size
The half-size is a hybridization between the ancient cut and the modern brilliant cut. Benefiting from the technical advances of the early 20th century, the half-cut is less rustic (all things considered) than the old cut. It has a wider table and a lower crown than the latter. Nevertheless, there are some common characteristics, such as the breech opening.
Very common in the 1930s, the size is called "transitional".
The 8X8 size ("Eight-eight")
At the same period, the 8x8 cut diamond is composed of 16 facets: 8 on the crown and 8 on the breech, as well as a table. It is preferred on small and medium sized stones that cannot be cut brilliantly, which may explain why it is sometimes found on Art Deco or Tank pieces. Indeed, the various World Wars made the supply of raw materials difficult in the first half of the 20th century. To learn more about the context of jewelry at the time, take a look at our articles on the history of jewelry from this period (Part 1 Belle Époque, Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Part 2 From the 40's to the 70's).
On the same principle, there is the 16x16 size.
Sizes 8X8 and 16X16 are favored by watchmakers: these are the preferred sizes for diamonds set in watches.
The modern brilliant cut
It may be called "modern", but the brilliant cut as we know it today is already a century old! It is certainly the most famous and most prized cut. It is also the most brilliant, insofar as the gem will offer, thanks to the multiplicity of its facets, an important power of refraction, that is to say: to shine with a thousand lights.
The brilliant cut was invented by the jeweler Tolkowsky in 1919. If the stone has 58 facets (32 + table on the upper part, 24 + culet on the lower part) like the old cut diamond, the proportions diverge.
In 1978, theInternational Diamond Concil determined the ideal proportions giving the diamond its maximum refractive power in order to possibly put an end to the different Gallic villages of the brilliant cut. Until then, it differed from country to country! For example, in Germany there was the brilliant cut "Feinschliff". There is also the Scandinavian standard brilliant dating from 1968.
"Ideal proportions" of the modern brilliant cut diamond.
Brilliant sizes called "fancy".
The term "fancy cut" is used for all cuts whose general shape or facet shape is unusual. Among them, we can find for example in the old jewel:
- The marquise waist, or navette waist, is an elongated oval with pointed ends. Dating from the 18th century, it is rumored that it was imagined by Louis XV, inspired by the smile of his mistress the marquise of Pompadour to whom we have already devoted an article.
Not having one on hand, we present instead a "marquise" ring named after the eponymous diamond for its similar shape.
- The cushion cut, with a square or rectangular crown with rounded corners. The facets give the illusion of a slightly domed stone, evoking a soft cushion, hence the name.
One of the most famous cushions is certainly the Tiffany yellow diamond whose history is told in the article on the April birthstone.
- The pear size, characterized by its pear-shaped crown
- The heart size, for which we suppose you don't need a drawing?
Marquise ring, pink gold and diamonds
Colombian emerald and diamond heart ring
Step sizes
Finally, let's take a look at step cuts. This type of cut has trapezoidal facets that run parallel to the diamond's roundel and follow one another like steps. It is particularly used in the case of colored stones since it optimizes the color. However, it is sometimes used for diamonds, the most common step cuts being the baguette and emerald cuts.
For the first one, the crown has a four-faceted rectangle topped by a rectangular table. The breech is cut in a similar way, except for the addition of an extra stage.
As for the emerald cut, it is a rectangle with cut sides, with 8 edges on the top and topped by an octagonal table. The breech is entirely cut to degrees. Invented at the end of the 19th century, this cut was originally favored for the emeraldsIt is also used for diamonds. It is nevertheless used for all kinds of gems, like our aquamarine.
Sapphire ring with baguette diamonds
Emerald Art Deco ring (emerald cut)
So yes, you might think that we haven't talked about the princess cut, dating back to the 1980s and about to dethrone the brilliant cut on the engagement rings nor of the Asscher cut, cousin of the emerald cut. But you will find a plethora of files on the internet listing the different contemporary diamond cuts. Which will not necessarily talk about 8x8 cuts or half-cuts 😉
Finally, there are also mixed sizes for which the crown and breech are cut differently. But that's another story!
Find all our collection by categories in the tab " Antique Jewelry "of the site.