Round Diamonds
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Although diamonds has been used in jewelry for thousands of years, if you looked
at a typical diamond piece of 2000 years ago, you’d probably have been disappointed.
Round diamonds do not exist in nature; when first extracted from the ground, they
look like rough, dirty, octagonally-shaped pieces of ice (imagine two pyramids joined
at the base). It was not until the 1300s that artisans learned to cut diamonds properly,
and classic round cut diamonds weren’t created until at least a century after that.
Today of course, round diamonds are the most popular of all cuts; round cut diamond
rings easily outsell all other kinds.
History of Round Diamonds
The earliest diamond cuts were simple and followed the stone’s natural octagonal
shape (which results from the arrangement of the carbon molecules). By the time
of King Henry VIII and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, the most elaborate cut was
the single cut, which had seventeen facets; it would appear rather dull to modern
eyes.
It was not until around 1650 that the brilliant cut appeared. Brilliant cuts were
the forerunners of today’s loose round diamonds. It was Vincente Peruzzi (veen-CHEN-tay
pay-ROOT-see) Venice, Italy who was the first to improve on this early brilliant
cut, known as the Mazarin. With virtually double the number of cuts, the “Peruzzi
cut” was the first to show the kind of sparkle and brilliance that jewelers call
fire – and were the first truly round diamonds.
Math and Science
While most think of jewel cutting as an “art,” the fact is that it is nearly as
much science – and the exquisite and popular gems that are mounted in round diamond
rings are the result a great deal of careful mathematical calculations.
It took until the dawn of the twentieth century for technology to catch up to jeweler’s
imaginations; by that time, diamond saws and jewelry lathes had advanced to a point
at which the brilliant round cut was made possible. This cut, easily the most popular
today, has been analyzed geometrically using complex mathematical formulae in order
to optimize a diamond’s fire and brilliance.
The Timeless Fashion of Round Cut Diamond Rings
Today, the men who propose marriage to their girlfriends are most likely to offer
them round diamond engagement rings; such round diamond rings are easily the best
selling of all nuptial and pre-nuptial jewelry today, and exquisite necklaces, bracelets
and even tiaras a most often mounted with round diamonds.
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