Object Description
An old cut diamond and platinum band set ring by Hancocks. The ring is set in the centre with an old European cut diamond weighing 0.45ct set flush in a gypsy-style setting within a handcrafted platinum band with a brushed satin finish that tapers towards the back and has a softly rounded profile.
Maker
Hancocks
Period
Contemporary
Origin
London
Gemstones
0.45ct I SI1 Old European cut diamond – with GIA certificate
Setting
Platinum with maker’s mark and London assay marks
Weight
15.3 grams
Dimensions
UK finger size S 1/2, US finger size 9.25 (Can be adjusted to any size)
Front centre: 7.9mm
Back centre: 4mm
Condition
New
Directors Notes
The old European brilliant cut is the forefather of today’s modern round brilliant cut diamond. It was developed towards the end of the 19th Century when new machinery was invented, in particular the motor-driven saw, which allowed diamonds to be cut in attractive, symmetrical round shapes without wasting the excess rough crystal that was cut off. This revolutionised the industry and gradually, through a process of trial and error, cutters discovered which proportions produced the finest balance of brilliance and fire within these new round stones. Diamonds were now able to dazzle even in the dimly candle-lit rooms of the turn of the century. Along with their characteristic polished culet facet, finely cut old European brilliants can be distinguished from their modern counterparts by their higher crowns and smaller table facets. These features combine to create a greater amount of fire (the coloured flashes of light you see in a diamond) from inside the stone than we typically see in modern cut diamonds. During the 1900s and 1910s the profile of these old European cut stones slowly starts to flatten out and later stones lose the depth of the older stones.