At present, many people favor the modern bright cut diamond, because it is bright enough, but the soft and elegant of the old mine cut is still loved by some people, which will bring a kind of literary atmosphere. This article will show its charm by exploring the historical background and cutting process of the old mine cut.

What is old mine cut?

Old mine cutting is a type of diamond cutting prevalent from the early 18th century to the late 19th century, and is the most common type of diamond cutting used in Georgian and Victorian jewelry. It tends to have 58 facets, most of which are square, with a smaller countertop, a larger tip base, and a higher crown. At the same time, it also has a shorter lower half facet and a very thin waist edge. Overall, the old mine cut diamond has a very unique appearance.

Early diamond cutters shaped old-style cut diamonds according to the octahedral shape of the diamond crystal, labouring two diamonds together to obtain the desired shape, and then polishing the facets with a diamond polisher. Since the shape of the diamond is cut by hand and the size varies from rough stone to rough stone, this makes each old mine cut diamond unique, or rather, has its own personality.

Why are they called old mine cut？

In the 18th century, most diamonds only came from mines in Brazil and India, and this cutting method was called miner's cut, but in the late 19th century, with the influx of African diamonds, the mines in Brazil and India became "old mines", so, This cutting method is also known as the old mine cutting.

Why can the old mine cut popular to today?

The charm of the old mine cut diamond lies in the "pure hand", each diamond is unique, and for the collector who loves it, it has an "imperfect" perfection. The full face of the old mine cut diamond contrasts sharply with the sharp face of the modern bright cut, giving the diamond a softer, more magical glow. Old mine cut diamonds always seem to have a sense of mystery, because their internal light reflection is more mysterious, hand-cut "imprecision" but bring unpredictable. We like to use old mine cut diamonds in contemporary design to give it a sense of contrast, a dialogue between the modern and the past. Old mine cut diamonds can also add some extra history, story and personality to the jewelry, and of course more collectible value

The characteristic features of the old mine cut diamond

The characteristic features of the old mine cut diamond can be summarized as follows: Firstly, it has a small table, large culet, and relatively large facets. Secondly, it has a large crown height, a deep pavilion, short pavilion facets, and incomplete symmetry in the facets. Thirdly, it has a nearly square shape with rounded corners.

The differences between the old mine cut diamond and the modern brilliant cut diamond

Let's take the old mine cut and cushion brilliant cut as examples. Firstly, the old mine cut has a culet, and the culet is relatively large, while the cushion cut does not have one. Secondly, the facets of the old mine cut are generally larger, especially the pavilion facets, which are particularly prominent, but its table is smaller. The facets of the cushion cut are smaller and more delicate, but it has a larger table. Thirdly, the crown of the old mine cut is very high, while the crown of the cushion cut is lower.

Apart from the classic cushion old mine cut, people nowadays are also gradually customizing and creating fancy variations of the old mine cut based on its preferences. For example, elongated cushion old mine cut, elongated oval old mine cut, old mine cut with lower crown, old mine cut with thick girdle, old mine cut with thin girdle, slender and linear culet, and oval shaped culet that resembles a track and field track, among others.

How to find a favorite old mine cut diamond

When choosing an old mine cut diamond, there is no need to judge the quality of the diamond based on the 4C grading, as each old mine cut diamond is unique and cannot be completely replicated in terms of its cut. Moreover, the rough diamonds used for old mine-style cutting are not overly white in color; they are selected with a slight yellowish hue, often with brown or gray tones. If sent to a gemological laboratory for a grading certificate, it would be considered normal for them to be graded as M or N in color.

The above is all about the introduction of old mine cut diamonds, I hope to help you deepen your understanding of old mine cut diamonds, if you want to further understand, you can contact Fiorese jewelry company, do our best to answer all the questions of old mine cut diamonds!