5.24ct Antique Mixed Cut Diamond and Platinum Ring

Literature & Exhibitions

Old mine brilliants or old miners are either square or rectangular cushion shaped diamonds with clearly rounded corners and sides.  The style developed after the discovery of diamonds in Brazil in about 1725 which facilitated experiments in cutting due to the large increase in available stones.  Eager as ever to retain as much weight as possible, cutters still followed the shape of the rough crystals but now corners became more rounded and the number of facets increased.  The discovery of diamonds in South Africa during the late 1860’s coincided with revolutionised mechanical cutting methods. This saw the fashion for new round cut diamonds replace these cushion shaped stones which then became known as ‘old mine’ diamonds. Today the name old mine brilliant still describes a cushion shaped diamond with a small table facet, high crown and polished culet. These features allow old mine cuts to have a huge amount of fire and life, even in dimly-lit environments.