Something Old, Something New - Antique Cut Diamond Rings

Antique Cut Diamond Rings are treasured for their vintage look and scarcity. Though many authentic antique cut diamonds are no longer in existence, some antique cut diamond rings are still created to recapture eras gone by. Antique Cut Diamond Rings are fashioned from one of four standard antique cuts: Single, Rose, Old Mine and the Old European.

Single cuts have an octagonal or round girdle and consists of between 17 and 18 facets. The table on this diamond is large and the culet may be pointed, flat or non-existent. Many of the first stones did not have a culet until the mid-15th century, when its importance was realized. This cut originated in the 1300s and was valued as a stone for its luster and hardness, not for the fire and brilliance diamonds are prized for now. These diamonds often appeared black to the eye and were represented as such in many paintings of the era.

The Rose was truly a unique shape, with a flat bottom and crown that was dome-shaped. This stone, with between 3 and 24 triangular facets resembles the shape of a rose bud. The Rose does not have a pavilion and the facets rise to form an apex point on the crown. This cut was common during the Georgian and Victorian eras and remained popular up until the early 1900s.

The Old Mine, also referred to as the “Antique Cushion”, has gently rounded corners and a quadrilateral girdle. The table on this cut is small and the culet is large and flat. This profile is heavy on the crown and the bottom. This stone has 58 “chunky” looking facets and was a prevalent diamond cut during the Georgian and Victorian eras. Many of these diamonds followed the rough stones octahedral shape and resulted in a square or rectangular shape that were not uniform.

The predecessor to the modern Round Brilliant, the Old European returned to a circular girdle on a 58-facet stone. The table was small with a substantial crown and great overall depth for the time. The cut was much more even on the pavilion facets than the Old Mine. The light dispersion in this diamond cut was more even when radiating off the culet. This gave the Old European quite a sparkle. This shape was prevalent from the 1800s until the Art Deco Period.

Mark Broumand recaptures the beauty of these vintage stones in the Antique Cut Engagement Rings he has selected. It is important to note that these antique beauties cannot be compared to any of the modern cuts available today. These rings are truly a different cut of diamond than contemporary cuts. Wear a piece of the past from Mark’s unique selection of Antique Cushion Cut and Antique European Cut Diamond Rings.