Ever heard of Spirit Sun Diamonds or Context

[eyesoftexas]

I just read that they are suppose to be 15 to 20% more brilliant than the best ideal cut diamond. They ar every diffrent looking to say the least but I was just wondering if anyone has actually seen one in person and could comment on its light return performance.

 

[valeria101]

Again those "light return percentages" ! How would one measure light return to come up with those numbers ??? The system is used for grading colored stones, but I simply have no idea.

This is one Q for Garry, I supose.

 

[EdSkinner]

I saw one about 9 years ago. It didn't fly to well. Haven't seen one since. It is different, but I do not know about the brilliancy. It may or may not be the most brilliant. But if you like the shape and it does what you want for you, buy it. But I'd offer less that what has been offered for. Just because it is uncommon does not make it valuable unless you are a collector.

 

[sumi]

I saw one a few months ago at Stuart Moore in Newport Beach, CA. The context diamond is a very interesting looking stone. It's a very simple, understated stone. Imagine if this shape <> were turned on its side. I just remember that they were very expensive. If I remember correctly, the stone I saw was about .4ct and it was $6k. (Stuart Moore is on the pricey side anyway, but it was the stone that was expensive too)

I didn't ask to see the stone outside of the case, so I can't give you much more info. I wasn't terribly impressed by the stone, but I can see how some people would really like it. Sorry I can't give you more info. You can find a lot of information on the context diamond and spirit if you do a google search. Also, if there is a Stuart Moore near you, they have very nice and very detailed packets that you can take home.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 3/22/2004 7:45:37 PM sumi wrote:



I wasn't terribly impressed by the stone, but I can see how some people would really like it.

----------------

No idea on brilliance, but the look is terrific! Total meltdown

Another cut of the same naturistic flavour is the Octus by Bunz. If anything can improve on the original shape without erring much from it, these come close.

I saw some spinel and tourmaline "Spirit" cut and they surely were brilliant. No diamonds though. A cut simmilar to the "Spirit" has been launched for colored stones under the name of "Fog Cutter" - indeed...

Just for fun... the HCA should work perfectly on the Spirit cut: this one has NO minor facets, and the HCA does not take them into account at all. So the system should work better on this odd cut than on the RBC itself

Pictures from Freis Leben jewelry

 

[valeria101]

Ok... so there is some research available on the light return on these cuts.

WWW

Not your usual "white-light / fire / brilliance" breackdown, but they do have some back up.

Good luck!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Hardly the highest light return from the stones I have seen - at least not face up light return.
but it is a really cool 'designer' look

 

[starfire]

Hi,

We deal with the Spirit-Sun and Context Diamonds in our stores in Singapore, so I suppose I have some useful information to share about these 2 cuts.

To begin with, the Spirit-Sun and Context Cuts were designed by world-renowned gemcutter Bernd Munsteiner in the '70s. They were then further developed on diamonds by Dr Ulrich Freiesleben in Germany.

In the late 1997, the Context Diamond won the "Highest Design Award" in Germany (the same category won by the Audi TT). This was the first time a diamond won a design award on the basis of its cut. The following year, the Spirit-Sun diamond won a "High Design Award".

There was a study done in the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics on the light reflectivity of the Spirit-Sun and Context Diamonds. The study showed that the Spirit-Sun and Context Diamonds in comparison with ideal-cut diamonds improved light refectivity by 10 to 17 percent.

And because the Spirit-Sun has no table, it appears larger face-up than a corresponding round brilliant by about 15%. This means that a 1-ct Spirit-Sun looks like a 1.15ct round brilliant.

The Context Diamond was designed to preserve the original shape of a perfectly shaped rought diamond octahedron (double pyramid), which occurs less than 1 in 100,000 gem quality diamonds. This explains the price premium for Spirit-Sun and Context Diamonds. With 4 facets arranged in a square on top and below (total 8 facets), the Context Cut preserves the essence of diamond.

The Spirit-Sun cut was derived by spinning the Context Diamond 4 times, and drawing a circle connecting the points. This diamond has a total of 32 facets. When seen through a loupe, you will see the shape of a "fiery sun" in the center of the diamond, hence the name Spirit-Sun.

The Spirit-Sun diamonds are also featured in the latest supercar, the Bugatti Veyron. 2 pieces of 1-ct Spirit-Sun diamonds are set in the dashboard of each Bugatti Veyron. For further information, please visit the Diamond Luxuries site.

At present, gemstones cut in the Spirit-Sun and Context cuts are available from a few cutters in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Bernd Munsteiner is still producing beautiful jewelry, combining his beautifully sculpted gems with Spirit-Sun or Context diamonds and gems.

I hope this information will give you a little more insight about these 2 beautiful diamond cuts. For more information, please visit the Freiesleben website.

Best regards,
Stephen Tan
Charlotte Atelier
Singapore

----------------
On 3/22/2004 8:17:33 PM valeria101 wrote:

----------------
On 3/22/2004 7:45:37 PM sumi wrote:

blockquote>


No idea on brilliance, but the look is terrific! Total meltdown

Another cut of the same naturistic flavour is the Octus by Bunz. If anything can improve on the original shape without erring much from it, these come close.

I saw some spinel and tourmaline 'Spirit' cut and they surely were brilliant. No diamonds though. A cut simmilar to the 'Spirit' has been launched for colored stones under the name of 'Fog Cutter' - indeed...

Just for fun... the HCA should work perfectly on the Spirit cut: this one has NO minor facets, and the HCA does not take them into account at all. So the system should work better on this odd cut than on the RBC itself

Pictures from Freis Leben jewelry----------------