Engagement Ring Season: Antique Diamond Cuts
It sounds like a marketing term, doesn't it? "Engagement ring season" . . . as if your heart is in league with thousands of others, all at the same moment, deciding Forever is Now. As if your engagement was a romantic version of an NBA draft pick.
But the holidays and engagements have so much in common: both are times of closeness and celebration, of surprise and wonder, of Time standing still just for a moment as we hold each other near, laughing with those we love.
All of that warmth and joy . . . perhaps that's why modern jewelry stores leave me cold. Row after row of whatever is in fashion or considered "classic"--those diamonds shine, but I can feel the machine behind the cut, calling to mind the countless other ways in which the holidays can feel empty, opportunities for consumerism to replace connection. Moreover, it's hard to ignore the environmental impacts of today's diamond industry, and the unethical practices besmirching the trade in the twentieth century.
Part of what I loved about shopping for my own engagement ring with my husband-to-be was he took me straight to Isadora's. He knew I never looked at others' rings and commented on the brand or carat size, had never said "I want a ring like So and So's." Instead I asked "what's the story behind your ring?"
I didn't know about old-mine diamonds at the time; I only knew there were rings with so much LIFE in them, twinkling like light on water. We could sense the humanity of the maker, understand how once, someone had to figure out for themselves the way to cut a diamond to release its light.
Antique diamond cuts, to me, are more like marriages themselves: made beautiful through trial and error, defined both by big flashes of light and by slightly different shapes that respond to the color and clarity of the stone or the temperaments of the people. And they're diamonds that have been through a life already--just like our own hearts. You, your love, these diamonds: this what "sustainable" can look like.
As you search for the engagement ring that speaks to you and the "facets" of your own relationship, Isadora's offers you this key for understanding antique diamonds. We hope it shines a gentle light on these beautiful cuts, so you won't feel blinded by the shimmer of so many rings, with the many abbreviations on their tags:
OM: Old mine-cut diamonds. These are squarish with rounded edges and a larger open culet (the bottom point of a diamond's pyramid) and are called “Old Mine” because they were generally from Indian or Brazilian mines of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. With a high crown and a small table, old mine-cut diamonds were hand-cut to sparkle in candlelight and have lots of fire, since the cut honored the unique shape of each diamond.
Victorian Diamond and Enamel Ring
RC: Rose-cut diamonds. The rose cut diamond, in which the facets resemble the petals of a rose unfolding, flowered in the candlelight of the 16th century and continued to be popular through Victorian era. The flat bottom, lack of table, and lots of triangular facets created a domed crown, making the diamond look bigger than its carat size. The soft shimmer of rose-cut diamonds is so perfectly antique; nothing today really compares.
OEC: Old European-cut diamonds. These diamonds, like the old mine-cut diamonds, have a small table and large facets, making the diamond appear larger and producing larger flashes of light; they are also marked by a higher crown. Still hand-cut but more refined, old European cut diamonds have a softer glow than modern diamonds. They are the first round-cut stones, with an open culet--if you look, you can see a tiny dot where the light streams in that open space.
No matter the cut, we encourage all customers to try on whatever speaks to them. Antique diamonds have a way of calling out to you in their own manner and once on your finger, they let you know if you're right for them, in the same way you knew your partner was right for you: the light changes, a comfort comes upon you, and it's as if it's always been a part of your life.
