Vintage Ring with an Antique 1.49 ct Old Mine Cut Diamond in White

In ancient times, diamonds were valued primarily for their unparalleled hardness. As symbols of invincible strength, their beauty was, at best, secondary. In fact, early diamonds do not appear attractive at all to the modern eye. Medieval cutting techniques also did not allow for spectacular light reflections, and the widespread table cuts merely highlighted the stones’ brightness and colour. All that changed during the 17th century. The nobility of the Baroque era developed a preference for sparkling gemstones. Rose cut diamonds were particularly popular, as their numerous facets beautifully reflected candlelight. In the middle of the century, an early form of the brilliant cut emerged, named the Mazarin cut after the influential Cardinal Jules Mazarin and characterized by a crown with 17 facets. By the end of the century, the crown of the diamonds had already been expanded with additional facets to a total of 33, which greatly enhanced the stones’ fire. New diamond deposits in Brazil led to a new cut in the second half of the 18th century, which became known as the Old Mine Cut. These diamonds already closely resemble today’s round brilliant-cut diamonds, but it would take several more generations of steady improvements in cutting techniques before the “Old Mine Cut” evolved first into the diamond and finally, in the 1940s, into the modern round brilliant cut. The solitaire ring presented here features precisely such a “Old Mine Cut” diamond from the mid-19th century set in a crown-shaped setting. The diamond weighs 1.49 ct and has a slightly warm tinted colour (I); inside, a small, elongated graphite inclusion (P1) attests to the stone’s natural origin. On the right and left, two small diamonds each on the ring’s shoulders accompany the solitaire. These, too, are historic stones. They are cut in the so-called Peruzzi cut and were cut as early as the 18th century. The ring, crafted from high-karat white gold, was made in the 1960s and is thus more than 100 years younger than the antique diamond with its distinctive cut.

Estimation:€5,490

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