asterismdispersion
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2020
- Messages
- 134
PS made me do it: I built up a collection of old cut diamonds, and I still desired another ring, with an old mine cut in a diamond encrusted setting. More diamonds are just what everyone needs, right? I am a male human, so I most often do custom work since estate buys with my specifications are few and far between. A few months ago, Sako posted an old mine cut I liked, an 0.68 carat that met my minimum threshold of 5mm diameter in its shorter direction, for decent visibility as a center stone. I bought it and started envisioning a companion ring to an original Art Deco brooch I have that is set with old mine cut stones (it's in the last photo).
I switched up some features of an original Art Deco piece to give it a bit more of an edge than I typically see in an engagement ring. The geometric Greek key motif from the brooch was incorporated into the gallery. Center stone was nestled in a hexagonal bright cut pave, like the brooch, to break up the texture of melee and milgrain. Sako and I decided an additional row of stones above the gallery and some tiny pairs nestled in the corner to transition between the engraved shank and gallery should be added as well to complete the design. That brought the single cut melee up to 36 pieces (!) and 0.49 ct tw. I was pleased to see the melee, represented as G color and SI clarity, did not have transparency issues or any surface chips, dents, or flaws as far as I can tell. The center stone is an I color, and although slight tint is visible to me in some circumstances, I don't detect a meaningful color difference versus the melee. This piece is platinum.
I'm pleased enough with the end result to make collages and a little video in drugstore lighting to show this ring in motion. The old mine cut is appropriately brilliant, if sensitive to obstruction, and it has different moods depending on the lighting situation. Frequently the stone displays mostly white light return, and in early morning the facets reflect ambient light in a slow haze of pastel colors. In a low lighting situation, this stone ignites with continuous pops of both colored and white light, especially when viewed from a bit of a distance...so I can see why old mine brilliants were favored for, say, brooches or necklaces in the era of candlelight. Enough text, pictures.
I found it difficult to capture the Old Mine Brilliants in photography so here is a video of me being ridiculous at the drugstore under bright lighting.
A special thank you to everyone who posted about their experiences with old mine cut diamonds and single cut melee in the past for me to obsessively read on here while I anticipated the completion of this ring.
I switched up some features of an original Art Deco piece to give it a bit more of an edge than I typically see in an engagement ring. The geometric Greek key motif from the brooch was incorporated into the gallery. Center stone was nestled in a hexagonal bright cut pave, like the brooch, to break up the texture of melee and milgrain. Sako and I decided an additional row of stones above the gallery and some tiny pairs nestled in the corner to transition between the engraved shank and gallery should be added as well to complete the design. That brought the single cut melee up to 36 pieces (!) and 0.49 ct tw. I was pleased to see the melee, represented as G color and SI clarity, did not have transparency issues or any surface chips, dents, or flaws as far as I can tell. The center stone is an I color, and although slight tint is visible to me in some circumstances, I don't detect a meaningful color difference versus the melee. This piece is platinum.
I'm pleased enough with the end result to make collages and a little video in drugstore lighting to show this ring in motion. The old mine cut is appropriately brilliant, if sensitive to obstruction, and it has different moods depending on the lighting situation. Frequently the stone displays mostly white light return, and in early morning the facets reflect ambient light in a slow haze of pastel colors. In a low lighting situation, this stone ignites with continuous pops of both colored and white light, especially when viewed from a bit of a distance...so I can see why old mine brilliants were favored for, say, brooches or necklaces in the era of candlelight. Enough text, pictures.
I found it difficult to capture the Old Mine Brilliants in photography so here is a video of me being ridiculous at the drugstore under bright lighting.
A special thank you to everyone who posted about their experiences with old mine cut diamonds and single cut melee in the past for me to obsessively read on here while I anticipated the completion of this ring.
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