Old European cut versus European cut; whats the difference?

[Arcadian]

I may know colored stones but fall pitifully far in the world of diamonds.

A bit of history; I'm looking to replace some diamond studs. The current ones I have will be given to my niece...they're basic, .90tcw and about M color with a brown tint. I'm dark so they look white enough, BUT, I always wanted to go to a higher color/better cut if opportunity arose.

Anyway, I found a pair I like, a bit over 1tcw, nice cut, VS2/SI clarity *looked clean to me*, G-H color, But the jeweler called them european cut. Tempted because the price is very good but still, I have to admit I'm ignorant in the term.

So would OEC and European cut be considered the same or is this not true? I'm running searches through google and I'm coming up empty.

Help appreciated!

 

[kelpie]

Re: Old European cut versus European cut; whats the differen

When they were newly minted, no one would refer to them as "old" so I'd say people use the terms pretty interchangeably, although I have heard references to if the table was sawn and not ground then it's a european cut and not an "old" european cut. I don't think even speciality antique jewelers would make this distinction. This is a good discourse of the various cutting styles you encounter. http://tofeljewelers.com/pics_large/oldminecuts.html

 

[Arcadian]

Re: Old European cut versus European cut; whats the differen

Kelpie, thanks I'll take a look at this.

 

[ChristineRose]

Re: Old European cut versus European cut; whats the differen

Terms like cushion, old mine cut, European cut, transitional cut, and OEC are used inconsistently and are not always all that useful. For example, the term "old mine cut" appears to refer to the practice of some stones being cut in the country where they were mined, and some stones being sent to Amsterdam. But there are cutters of all degrees of competency in all countries, and lots of countries have tariffs on rough export to encourage hiring of local workers. If your stones are actually antiques, the cutter probably referred to them as round brilliants.

Wikipedia actually has a pretty decent article on the history of diamond cutting, and how shapes changed with the inventions of cleaving, saws, scaifs, diamond lathes, and ray tracing for light performance. Nowadays the best cuts use computer models to optimize different kinds of light return and you get even more confusing names like "August Vintage Cushion" which are anything but antique.

 

[sharonyanddave]

Re: Old European cut versus European cut; whats the differen

I may know colored stones but fall pitifully far in the world of diamonds.

A bit of history; I'm looking to replace some diamond studs. The current ones I have will be given to my niece...they're basic, .90tcw and about M color with a brown tint. I'm dark so they look white enough, BUT, I always wanted to go to a higher color/better cut if opportunity arose.

Anyway, I found a pair I like, a bit over 1tcw, nice cut, VS2/SI clarity *looked clean to me*, G-H color, But the jeweler called them european cut. Tempted because the price is very good but still, I have to admit I'm ignorant in the term.

So would OEC and European cut be considered the same or is this not true? I'm running searches through google and I'm coming up empty.

Help appreciated!

European cut as the vendor is using it could mean many things. The best reference that I have read on the subject is here http://www.amazon.com/American-Cut-The-First-Years/dp/0873110595

But just to answer your basic question I would ask the vendor.