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Heirloom Diamond...Is this a Transitional cut?

co_katherine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 19, 2015
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3
My fiance proposed with his great grandmother's diamond, purchased around 1915 to 1920 in Boston Mass. It's a half carat round, and the appraisal I got said it was a "brilliant cut" but I don't think it looks like the modern brilliant. It has a chunkier facet pattern, but no open cutlet so it's not and OEC or OMC. What do you all think? I am biased and hoping it is one, since I loved transitional cuts when I was ring shopping.

There is a pretty big carbon inclusion, so you'll notice that in the photos.
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I think it’s an OEC or a transitional - there’s a teeny culet which you can see in the second picture. To know tho for sure, a profile shot would be super helpful. It’s really pretty and congratulations on your engagement
 
I think it’s an OEC or a transitional - there’s a teeny culet which you can see in the second picture. To know tho for sure, a profile shot would be super helpful. It’s really pretty and congratulations on your engagement

Thank you! I never noticed the cutlet before! Here's a couple profile shots, the second is of the old setting but shows the profile pretty well. I've got it low set in my current setting so harder to see the stone.
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That is a very tiny culet! It's very cute! It doesn't have that very high crown I associate with an OMC from what I can see. The facets kind of look more checkerboard versus floral as well, but I could be wrong. It looks like it has a lot of pretty color flashes too- congratulations!
 
Congratulations on your engagement! It’s so sweet that your fiancé had a special, meaningful heirloom engagement ring to share with you for the proposal. :appl:

I think it’s probably an OEC/early transitional; the crown is lower than most OECs I’ve seen, and the culet is so tiny. It’s really hard to tell for sure with pics, but that’s my guess. Either way, it’s lovely and a wonderful piece of family history to cherish.

Edited: didn’t realize you’d had it reset already, so disregard the word of caution about the prong if you saw that before I edited. :)
 

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That’s not too dissimilar to the profile of my OEC which has a bigger table and a shallow crown than your classic teeny-tabled high-crowned OEC or OMC. (Not a great pic sorry but you see what I mean). You’ve definitely got a nice checkerboard pattern going on too so those indications (plus its known provenance) would tend to agree that you’ve got an old cut!
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Congratulations on your engagement! It’s so sweet that your fiancé had a special, meaningful heirloom engagement ring to share with you for the proposal. :appl:

I think it’s probably an OEC/early transitional; the crown is lower than most OECs I’ve seen, and the culet is so tiny. It’s really hard to tell for sure with pics, but that’s my guess. Either way, it’s lovely and a wonderful piece of family history to cherish.

Edited: didn’t realize you’d had it reset already, so disregard the word of caution about the prong if you saw that before I edited. :)

Thanks for your reply! I had always wanted an heirloom so it's very special to have this one!

I didn't see your comment before the edit, but the first setting was a story in itself. The diamond had been set in a necklace prior to our engagement, so he bought a simple solitaire to propose with and planned for me to choose a setting afterwards. The "brand new" setting was horrible, the diamond spun and wobbled, the resizing was obvious, there were black marks on the prongs and shank, it hadn't been plated, or hallmarked. I'm thankful he didn't intend on that being the final setting, it was so bad!
 
Thanks for your reply! I had always wanted an heirloom so it's very special to have this one!

I didn't see your comment before the edit, but the first setting was a story in itself. The diamond had been set in a necklace prior to our engagement, so he bought a simple solitaire to propose with and planned for me to choose a setting afterwards. The "brand new" setting was horrible, the diamond spun and wobbled, the resizing was obvious, there were black marks on the prongs and shank, it hadn't been plated, or hallmarked. I'm thankful he didn't intend on that being the final setting, it was so bad!

Pfew! :lol: I was so worried when I saw that pic, I didn’t even bother to read. I just didn’t want you to risk losing the diamond, but am so glad to read that it’s safely & securely in a new ring! :wavey:
 
With the low crown, bigger table, it was likely cut with an early diamond saw as a first step in the cutting process which puts it into what some people call transitional.
 
It’s very pretty and congrats on your engagement!
 
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