If you were to transport an 18th century jewellery maker to the present day, they would have the shock of their life when they see the many machine cuts we now use for shaping diamonds. In their time, diamonds were cut and polished by hand, which is known as the ‘Mine Cut’. Everything was done by hand prior to the Industrial Revolution, and shaping diamonds was a long and tedious affair that was entrusted to only the best stone cutters of the time.
Almost all diamonds that were Mine Cut were square in appearance, with a total of 58 facets, much like the Brilliant Round Cut of today. The early diamond cutters were known as ‘bruters’, and they laboriously ground two diamonds together to produce the desired shape, then the stone would be handed to the diamond polisher, another skilled trade in those days. There are a lot of superb antique engagement rings Sydney shop Kalmar Antiques has in its collection, and Mine Cut diamond rings are among those readily available.
Visual Characteristics
A keen eye can spot the difference between a diamond cut by hand and one cut with a machine, and here are a few of the characteristics that a Mine Cut diamond would possess.
- Small Table – Compared to a machine cut stone, the Mine Cut diamond has a smaller table.
- Large Culet – The culet is the point at the bottom of the diamond, and Mine Cut stones have a more prominent culet.
- High Crown – The crown is higher with a Mine Cut diamond, the top part of the stone to the girdle.
- Imperfect Symmetry – This actually adds a touch of glamour to the stone, rather than taking anything away from the diamond, something you would expect when the process is done by eye.
History
The Mine Cut was named so because up until the early 20th century, the stones were actually cut at the mine, which was the norm in those times, as the mine owner would make more money selling a cut stone than if it was in its raw condition. You might be thinking that a Mine Cut diamond would be worth less than a machine cut stone, yet the hand cut diamond is worth about the same, as the rarity comes into play. The diamond cutters and polishers were truly skilled at their work, and while you can see there is not 100% symmetry, the old hand cut diamonds possess a charm all of their own.
If you are looking to purchase an antique diamond engagement ring for your partner, you can view many fine examples of Mine Cut diamonds set into a ring from the online antique dealer. The fact that the diamonds were hand cut and polished adds to the attraction, and you can imagine just how difficult it must have been to shape diamonds and polish them by hand.
This article is published in partnership with Mediabuzzer.
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