Gemstone encyclopedia
Diamond — meaning, history and vintage jewelry
Diamond is crystalline carbon, the hardest natural material at 10 on the Mohs scale. In antique jewelry what matters most is not the grading report but the cut: rose, old mine and old European cuts were made by hand for candlelight, with small tables, high crowns and open culets. They return light in broad, slow flashes rather than the rapid sparkle of a modern brilliant, and that difference is the reason people fall for antique diamonds.
What diamond is
Rose cuts, flat backed with a domed field of triangular facets, dominate seventeenth and eighteenth century work and reappear throughout the nineteenth. Old mine cuts, cushion shaped with a high crown, follow the shape of the rough. Old European cuts round the outline out toward the end of the nineteenth century and lead into the modern brilliant of the 1930s onward.
Antique diamonds are rarely graded to modern standards, and colorless perfection was never the goal. A warm tint and a visible culet are period correct, not defects. Face up beauty and the life of the cut matter more than a letter on a certificate.
Color and hardness
- Species
- Diamond, crystalline carbon
- Color
- Colorless through to yellow and brown; rarely blue, pink and green
- Mohs hardness
- 10
- What that means in wear
- The hardest natural material, but it has perfect cleavage in four directions, so a sharp blow at the wrong angle can still split it.
How to care for diamond
- Warm soapy water and a soft brush lift the film that dulls a diamond fastest.
- Ultrasonic cleaning is generally safe for a sound modern setting but should be avoided on antique closed back or foiled settings, where water must never get behind the stone.
- Check claws periodically. Antique settings are worn as well as beautiful.
Our full house rules, including what the one year warranty does and does not cover, are in the care & warranty guide.
History and symbolism
Indian diamonds reached Europe through Venice and Antwerp from the Middle Ages. Brazilian finds in the 1720s and the South African discoveries of the late 1860s changed the supply and the design of jewelry entirely, making the diamond rivieres and cluster rings of the late Victorian period possible.
Constancy and endurance, from the Greek adamas, unconquerable. Its role as the engagement stone is a modern convention layered on a much older status.
Diamond in vintage and antique jewelry
Georgian silver topped gold with foiled rose cuts and closed backs; Victorian old mine cut clusters; Edwardian platinum lace with old European cuts and single cuts; Art Deco geometry using baguettes, trapezes and calibre cut accents.
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Diamond pieces in our collection
Every curated vintage, antique and estate piece is one of a kind and checked by our jewelry specialists in the Netherlands. If nothing is right today, we will look for it.
Frequently asked questions
- Are antique cut diamonds less brilliant than modern ones?
- They behave differently rather than worse. Old cuts were optimized for candle and lamp light, returning broader, slower flashes of light and more visible fire. Under modern lighting a good old cut has real presence, just not the fast white sparkle of a modern brilliant.
- Should an antique diamond have a modern grading report?
- It is useful for a significant unmounted stone, but old cuts do not fit modern cut grading well and a report says nothing about the beauty of the mount. We describe what we can verify and never guess a grade.
- Can a diamond really chip?
- Yes. Hardness resists scratching, but diamond has perfect cleavage, so a hard knock along the wrong plane can chip or split it. Old cuts with thin, unfaceted girdles are especially worth protecting.
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