When the sunlight catches brilliant cut diamonds, a burst of fiery light is produced; but this was not always the case. Diamonds have developed over the centuries, from rough cut stones to the polished brilliants in many diamond engagement rings. The development of the shapes and cuts of diamonds has a lot to do with technology but also, with light. The tools and lighting now available to modern diamond cutters, enabling finer cuts, are far advanced to those used by Antwerp diamond cutters in their workshops a couple of centuries ago.
It is only in the past hundred years or so that we have had bright electric light. Until then it was rush tapers and candles, a very soft glow. The first diamonds in Europe in early Medieval times came from India and were simply cut into symmetrical facets to make best use of the original shapes of the rough diamonds. The cushion cut, sometimes called the Old Mine cut, was developed in the Seventeenth Century to make better use of candle light at night when diamonds were increasingly worn at social events. It is a square cut, with brilliant facets, resulting in diamonds that catch the available low light. Since then, the brilliant cut has been refined with the best cut, the 58 faceted modern Round Brilliant cut, developed in the early Twentieth Century by Marcel Tolkowsky.
At Marlows, we are proud to supply exquisite loose cut diamonds to make up diamond engagement rings and jewellery to sparkle on any occasion and in every kind of light.
