Question about rosecut diamonds

[innerkitten]

I visited an appraiser the other day to have her look at my craigslist diamond. Of course we wound up talking about diamonds gemstones jewelry etc. You know how diamonds come out of the ground in a diamond crystal shape? They look like the diamond in a pack of cards. She pointed out how the old mine cuts and old european cuts were cut directly from these crytals which is why they sort retain the high small crown and longer profile. They wanted to keep as much stone as possible. Then she said when they invented the diamond saw they were able to cut these in half and that developed into the new modern brilliant cuts. Anyway this has all left me wondering where the rosecut fits into the time line and how they wound up with that shape? Isn''t it older than the OEC and OMC?

 

[MonkeyPie]

Check this out! It has a chart of the progression of cuts.

About the middle of the 16th century, the rose or rosette was introduced in Antwerp: it also consisted of triangular facets arranged in a symmetrical radiating pattern, but with the bottom of the stone left flat—essentially a crown without a pavilion. Many large, famous Indian diamonds of old (such as the Orloff and Sancy) also feature a rose-like cut; there is some suggestion that Western cutters were influenced by Indian stones, because some of these diamonds may predate the Western adoption of the rose cut. However, Indian "rose cuts" were far less symmetrical as their cutters had the primary interest of conserving carat weight, due to the divine status of diamond in India. In either event, the rose cut continued to evolve, with its depth, number and arrangements of facets being tweaked.
The first brilliant cuts were introduced in the middle of the 17th century.

 

[Skippy123]

Great info MonkeyPie and Innerkitten. How exciting to be able to spend time with an appraiser and talk diamonds!!

 

[innerkitten]

Cool link! Thanks MonkeyPie. I haven''t even heard of some of those cuts.

Skippy, it was so much fun. I got to see how she uses all her tools too.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 7/9/2008 12:26:04 PM
Author: innerkitten
Cool link! Thanks MonkeyPie. I haven''t even heard of some of those cuts.

Skippy, it was so much fun. I got to see how she uses all her tools too.

Awesome I bet you felt like you could have stayed there all day soaking up all that fascinating information; I know I would have felt that way! Your daughter in your avie, is darling!!

 

[oldminer]

Before diamonds were to be discovered in volcanic pipes, they were earlier discovered in riverbeds. These alluviual diamonds often are fragments of whole rough diamonds and when diamonds separate they tend to separate along cleaveage planes gaining a broad flat surface on one side. These are the diamonds generally cut into rose cuts and often are used for thin make triangles, etc. The name of thin segment rough is "macle". Nature sometimes provided for flat diamonds, macles, and cleaveages from alluvial sources also provides a source of thin rough. Most rose cuts are quite thin, but on occasion you get one with pretty good depth and more facets on the top dome. These can be called "crown rose cut" by some people.

 

[innerkitten]

Thanks Skippy! She''s growing fast.

Old Miner, Thanks for that info! I couldn''t understand why they would waste so much material to get that shape. But now it makes sense.

 

[glitterata]

Don''t forget to give us the scoop on your craigslist diamond!

 

[MonkeyPie]

OldMiner, I always wondered why they shaved so much rough diamond off to make rose cuts, but your comment makes much more sense. I once read that they cut them that way to sparkle in candlelight more - is that true?

I would kill to have a humongous rose cut, like in the DeBeers Secret Kiss of the Rose ring. I have actually been keeping an eye out for a really big clear piece of quartz to recreate that setting as a necklace, with a spinel instead of a pink diamond behind it.

Hm...maybe I could email Jeff...

 

[oldminer]

You get large reflections from the surface, but little from inside when it comes to a rose cut.

 

[innerkitten]

and romanticI know there is something really beautiful about them even if they don''t give off the same type of sparkle. You can still find antique items complete with the original stones. I''ve seen rose cut garnets too.

Oh yeah, my diamond! I''ll add a comment to my craigslist diamond post about it.

 

[glitterata]

Slightly o.t., but here are some Victorian rose cut garnets, a close up of one of my favorite necklaces. (That circular center drop is clearly the wrong shape, though. I need to find a pear-shaped drop to replace it.)

 

[innerkitten]

Not really OT since we are talking about rose cuts. Thats exactly what I meant by rose cut garnets BTW. It''s a very nice piece. A pear shape would look great but I like it as is too.

 

[glitterata]

Thanks, innerkitten. (The round drop is replacing a missing original drop, and while it looks nice, I think something closer to the original would look nicer.)

These rose cut garnets, like most from the period, are set in closed settings with foil behind them to reflect light through them and brighten them up. Old rose-cut diamonds were set the same way, with closed silver backs to reflect the light.

 

[glitterata]

And here''s my new sapphire cabochon ring with a rose-cut diamond halo (I posted this in the colored stones forum, but it seems relevant here too):

It''s from the early to mid-19th century, perhaps French; no markings. I''m not sure whether you can tell from the picture, but the setting is gold--that color that''s not quite rose gold, but pinker than modern yellow gold--with the diamonds in closed settings backed with silver.

 

[innerkitten]

I saw that one last week in the colored gemstone forum. It''s really stunning. Can you imagine cutting those tiny stones way back when Although I''m sure tiny stone aren''t easy to cut these days either but they have better tools to work with.