Looking for info on when and why old diamonds were recut

[Upgradable]

It is a commonly accepted belief that the shortage of old mine or old european cut diamonds in high colors is because many of these diamonds were recut at some time into modern brilliants.

Does anyone have access to information (articles, links, publications) that talk about this trend? Was there a recutting "run"? I know about the development of each of the types of cuts, but not the evolution of a stone that may have been recut over the years.

 

[kelpie]

Singlestone offers a brief explanation:

http://www.singlestone.com/index.php?page=faq

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I just now saw this. Uppy, you're so great for asking that here!

 

[Upgradable]

Just looking under all the "rocks" for info.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Interesting. I was talking to a jeweler who said he has estate antique diamonds sent out to be recut because there is not a market for old cuts. So there is some evidence that they still are being recut. Personally I have a few old cut rings, one is a .85 OEC that is F in color and SI1 eye clean clarity. This ring was worn only 10 years from the 1916 date it was cut. It is my least favorite old cut because it is too white.

 

[Upgradable]

Interesting. I was talking to a jeweler who said he has estate antique diamonds sent out to be recut because there is not a market for old cuts. So there is some evidence that they still are being recut. Personally I have a few old cut rings, one is a .85 OEC that is F in color and SI1 eye clean clarity. This ring was worn only 10 years from the 1916 date it was cut. It is my least favorite old cut because it is too white.

A white stone in an antique cut!!!!! Oh, my gravy, girl..... do you know what some people would do for that stone????? (are you interested in either a very sweet 18 year old boy, or a very talented, sassy young 16 year old girl??)

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

[quote="Upgradable A white stone in an antique cut!!!!! Oh, my gravy, girl..... do you know what some people would do for that stone????? (are you interested in either a very sweet 18 year old boy, or a very talented, sassy young 16 year old girl??)[/quote]


Lol! Thanks. I read your reply and wore it today. Trying to love it. BTW- do the kids come with their college paid or do I need another job?

 

[Upgradable]

Well, I'll send you my address for those times when you just can't stand the blinding beauty!

 

[HeartingDiamonds]

Well, since Uppy put an offer in, I might as well throw mine in!

I have a 16yo girl who is fairly low maintenance but gets very very crabby when hungry and/or awoken from her nap.

I also have a very sweet (still!) 12yo girl who is a social butterfly, an excellent student but whose cleaning skills leave less than to be desired.

And just because I feel like throwing in the big guns, I have Luke, my 4 yo cocker-poodle mix - he's always happy to see me, never talks back, likes ALL my cooking, and generally a happy-go-lucky kind of a chap.

Please, take your pick!

 

[Upgradable]

No fair add the pup to the mix!! How am I supposed to compete with that?

 

[LGK]

I don't have anything concrete to add, but that won't stop me .

I can say that in the '60s (and somewhat in the '70s too) there was a positive hatred for all things Art Nouveau, Edwardian, and Art Deco. They were all considered passe and hideous, and you could find Lalique and Tiffany at garage sales through the '70s because it was so "ugly". (My FIL amassed an amazing, *huge* collection of Rene Lalique glass just by garage sale-ing pretty much.)

Consequently you see tons and tons of estate rings that at first glance are just really... very '60s looking yellow gold rings, but a closer looks shows that they're re-set OECs. I would bet that was the time period that most recutting happened, the '60s and '70s. All things modern and new were considered quite superior to "grandma's old ugly ring", and I would totally bet that as well as resetting, OECs and such were recut en masse as well. And with the spike in diamond prices in the '80s I bet that resulted in a lot of recuts then too. The '90s brought about a stronger appreciation for antiques so my guess would be that the recutting may have tapered off around then.

I have always wondered if it's true that it was the higher colors that were recut more frequently. Logically it seems likely if OECs were really utterly hard to sell and RBs still to this day command a premium in stones under 3 carats, and it's certainly repeated by any number of sources (I'm sure I have repeated it too, in fact). I mean, I know they did recut OECs but whether the whiter stones are rarer now because of that I don't know. I know the Cape mines did have a lot of lower colored stones just naturally, so it is possible that whiter stones were just all-around more of a rarity. I'm not sure if there's any way to know for certain, but it would be interesting if anyone has more info on the subject.

 

[coati]

Hey Uppy,

Great topic! Here's some info from Al Gilbertson. I showed him your thread, and this is what he wrote.

"The first large scale recutting was started by ads in trade magazines by Henry Morse (his first ads appeared in 1870). He wrote that he was now recutting 'imperfectly shaped stones into more brilliant and saleable form… many diamonds which lack luster from being too thick and clumsy, or too thin and lifeless, can be made, by varying the form, much more brilliant and saleable.' He provided a service to the trade that made diamonds look better and gave jewelers a new way to promote diamonds.

Years later, George Kunz (vice president of Tiffany &Co) writes 'The fact that so many fine stones were recut here after he (Henry Morse) started his wheel led to a great improvement abroad in cutting... and, as a result, the diamonds sold today are decidedly better than those of twenty years ago, before Mr. Morse turned his attention to the work.'

That new style of cut (from the 1870’s thru the 1910’s) was recut years later. Even the standard for the best cut during that first stage (not very many were really cut to a high standard for that time), were then recut—because the standard had always included a knife-edged girdle, which chipped very easily. As these stone have been brought in over the years, regardless of whether they are pre-Morse or post-Morse, cutters have suggested that this damaged stone simply be recut to the new standard of the day. Knife edged girdles were the norm until the 1930’s.

Even today, stones that may have been cut 20 years ago, when brought in for repair are recut to the new higher standards. Sometimes someone sees a new cut and wants their ring that they got from grandmas recut to that new look—there are many reasons."