European cut diamond

European cut diamond

Weight; 3.02 ct

Color; I

Clarity Si1

Sometimes known as the transitional cut – was first developed by Henry Morse, an artist and diamantaire from Boston who battled his employees for beauty over preservation of carat weight in the 1860s. It was the cut that came after the old mine and before the modern brilliant cut. A rounder more symmetrically proportioned make – the European cut is one of my personal favorites; with 58 facets it has a small table, a high crown and an open culet at the bottom of a deep pavilion. Diamonds cut in this style are particularly rare in colors above J (near colorless) and clarities better than Si2 (slightly included, eye clean), because they were often removed from their original settings and re cut into the contemporary cut of today, the brilliant cut, making them much rarer and much more unique.

Extracts taken From ; The American cut by Al Gilbertson