What’s the Story Behind the Rose-Cut Diamond?
For those of you who have been following my work for some time, you have seen me use a lot of rosecut diamonds. Not only are they popular in personal jewelry, they are actually “old-fashioned” and one of the original diamond cuts of Heirloom and Antique jewelry.
The “rose cut” diamond dates all the way back to the early 1500s.
The stones resemble the petals of a rose by trying to imitate the narrowing spiral of the petals; hence the name: rose cut diamond. In general, they are flat at the bottom and creating a larger surface area for the stone’s brilliance. By the 1900s advanced cutting technology made the rose cut unfashionable (only temporarily), replacing it with the brilliant cut. As the traditional cut used for most engagement rings these days, brilliant cut diamonds do “own” their sparkle, however there is nothing quite like a rose cut diamond.
A little history: The engagement tradition dates back to the 13th century. The ring was worn on the third finger of the left hand because the vein of the “ring finger” is called “vena amoris,” and was thought to run directly to the heart….more on this in another story though.
“Love” came to be symbolized by a rose cut diamond wrapped around the part of the body that connected directly to the heart.
The brilliant cut diamond eventually took its place because of its rounder shape: a symbol of unending love.
Rose cut diamonds have come a long way since then. Tiffany around a hundred years ago came up with a rose cut solitaire setting. It was made of an ‘open’ mount so the light could shine through the stone giving it an enhanced dazzle effect. Years later more Jewelry Innovators and rose cut diamond lovers have found ways to add more sparkle to the rose cut by baking thin layers of silver or gold with the diamond. The precious metal helps reflect light without having to alter the original cut.
Rose cut diamonds = super popular these days
I started using them back in about 2006 and today we see more celebs picking up pieces with rose-cuts in it. A perfect example is Camilla McConaughey and her gorgeous Cathy Waterman Rose cut engagement ring.
Colored diamonds (as seen in the rose gold and rose cut diamond ring above) have made also made comeback. I adore this ring that featured champagne, yellow and pink diamond details. What about you?
So the question remains:
Which do you prefer, the rose cut diamond or a traditional brilliant cut? I want to hear from you so leave a comment below the post. Also, share this on Facebook so your friends can join the debate!
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The rose cut diamond… gone then back again! http://bit.ly/Qx0uc1 via @tracymatthewsny
love your article and the rose cut is my favourite of all the stone cuts !
My boyfriend and I recently went ring shopping at a shop across the US from us while on vacation. Well the diamond we fell in love with took us by surprise because it was not the traditional brilliant cut, but a very unique champagne cushion rose cut diamond! Its absolutely one of a kind and perfect! Im so happy with our find and even more thrilled since he just bought it yesterday (1 month after our trip, it was still there!!) and now we are designing the ring around it…every little fine detail, which to me makes this engagement ring so special. So my vote…rose cut!!!
LOVE HEARING THAT CHRISTINA
I love diamonds and i thought i knew all the cuts. Yesterday I was in a jewelry store and I’m always looking for unique pieces, well I found a rose diamond ring with 3 large rose cut clear diamonds and I fell in love with the way the sneaky brilliant diamonds reflects light!
The shop owner says that it probably from 1940, s- 50’s. He was not so precise or confident about the age of the ring. But it is very vintage looking and I believe it is vintage.
I paided only €250,00 and I love it and wear it on the left hand, I feel it in my heart.
Nice blog
I found a three stone rose cut band about 13 years ago at an estate sale, on first glance I thought it was
a brilliant cut band, it does have small brilliant cut stones on the sides of the band and down the sides
of the band. But when I really looked, the three larger stones didn’t flash the same as the smaller ones
all around them, in fact they seemed to have more flash and glistened so under a magnifying glass
then a jewelers loop I could see the points in the stones on the top. Even then I did not realize they were
“rose cut” stones but I loved the way they were so different and unique I bought the ring, later to find out
they were a “true antique” cut and it has been my wedding band ever since, I LOVE IT. I have even had
people ask about it after seeing the ring and it’s show case sparkle in sunlight, I think it shines and glows
and has more fire than a more “normal” brilliant cut stone.