Oval Shaped Diamonds

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Diamonds in the rough don’t look very interesting; in fact, if you dug one out of the ground, you might think it was a lumpy piece of dirty ice (except it wouldn’t feel cold or wet). It was only after men had learned how to carve them into various diamond shapes that the true beauty of these exquisite gemstones became truly apparent.

Prior to the Middle Ages, diamond was valued primarily for its hardness and luster, not for attractive diamond shapes that had yet to be created. Diamond shapes that are seen in jewelry today (most of which are round or oval diamonds) are what cause the stones to sparkle and shine, displaying what is called “brilliance” and “fire.”

Geology 101

Diamonds are incredibly old; some date back well over three billion years. They are formed from carbon molecules that have been subject to extraordinary levels of hat and pressure under the planet’s crust (in fact, on a molecular level, diamond is similar to coal). Because the carbon molecules are arranged in a tetrahedron, diamonds are roughly octagonal (like two pyramids joined at the base). This in fact was the earliest of all cut diamond shapes: a simple octagon, known as the point cut.

The Diamond Cutters of Nuremburg

The craft of diamond cutting got started in the mid-1300s; in 1375, the first diamond-cutters’ guild was formed in the city of Nuremburg, in present-day Germany.

As the diamond cutter’s tools improved and technology advanced over the centuries, it was discovered that by chipping away at the natural corners and creating tables and facets, the stone would catch and reflect the light in very attractive ways.

Brilliant cuts that were the earliest predecessors of today’s oval diamonds did not appear until around 1650, and even these would have appeared dull and lifeless to modern eyes. It was not until the dawn of the twentieth century that diamond saws and jewelry lathes had enough precision to allow diamond cutters to bring out the exquisite sparkle that is associated with the brilliant diamond shapes of today.

The Shape of Diamonds Today

Oval diamonds are only one of many diamond shapes, or cuts, each of which accentuates a different specific quality of the gem. Rings with oval diamonds mounted can compliment a lady who has long, slender fingers and delicate hands. These diamond shapes accentuates what jewelers refer to as the gem’s fire and brilliance, basically meaning that it sparkles in the light.

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