All cuts that existed before the now popular brilliant cut , which was developed in 1910, are considered old cuts.
The development of the old cut has its origins in the 14th century - before that, diamonds only existed in their natural octahedral shape. The first actual old cut shape was the pointed stone, which limited itself to optimizing the optical effect of the natural octahedral sides through polishing.
Historical Development of the Old Cut Diamond
A continuation of the pointed stone was the table stone in the 15th century, in which the upper and lower tips of the octahedron were removed, creating flat surfaces.
As time went on, the square girdle of this old cut was replaced by an octagonal one and additional ground surfaces (facets) were added. This new achievement was thanks to the use of grinding wheels. The old cut Rose Cut was also first developed during this period, which was characterized by the fact that it had no lower part.
A further step towards the modern brilliant cut was made with the old cut in the 17th century. The double cut was created - also called the Mazarin cut in reference to the minister under Louis XIII - in which the girdle already had 12 facets and the upper part 16.
The Old Cut – from the 18th to the 20th Century
The 18th century was probably the most important year for the creation of the brilliant cut, when Vincent Peruzzi developed a shape that is now known as the old cut diamond. The girdle consists of a rounded square - there are 32 facets on the top and 24 on the bottom, as well as a flattened tip. Alternative names for this are Peruzzi cut, triple good or baroque diamond. This old cut diamond was further refined around 1900, with the girdle with 58 facets becoming increasingly closer to the circular shape.
This Art Nouveau brilliant differs from today's brilliant cut in that the symmetries and proportions of that time were not yet optimized to increase brilliance, as is the case with brilliants today.
The final refinement of the old cut diamond to today's brilliant cut took place at the beginning of the 20th century during the Art Deco period. In the following period, numerous further studies were carried out to research the ideal dimensions of a brilliant.
The old cut in the narrower sense
Today, the name old cut is mainly used on the jewelry market for diamonds that date from the period immediately before the invention of the brilliant cut. They can be recognized by the fact that the girdle is usually not perfectly round and the original octahedral shape can still be guessed at. Since the type of faceting was not as sophisticated at that time, old cut diamonds have a darker appearance than brilliant cut diamonds. In terms of their optical effect, they can be compared more with the emerald cut or the baguette cut, where the focus is more on the surface shine of the diamond.
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