Traditional shapes

[MamaBear]

Hey there people..... got a question...... maybe you can help me out!!!

Do old miner's cut diamonds come in various shapes and are they more or less valuable than manyof these modern cuts?

[Yosef]

From my experience, the old miner's and old europeans trade roughly at par on price with the larger/rare diamonds (1+ct, S1+, G+) if they are in good condition and well made. Poor makes or stones that are not as rare trade at a discount based on modern cuts.

[timsharpe]

The old miner was the first diamond cut that had all the facets of the present round brilliant cut: the bezel, the star, pavilion mains, etc.

[MamaBear]

Is there a reason for them not being as popular today?

[Yosef]

Well they're not as popular because they're not as efficient. It's like putting a 1950 chevy V8 engine in your 2008 chevrolet V8 truck. they're both V8's, both chevy engines, but one is much more efficient.

Same goes for diamond cuts, the new round brilliant is much more efficient then the old european cut. if X amount of light shines back from a round brilliant diamond cut to perfect ideal standards, only say 3/4 of X will shine from a well cut old european round. The round brilliant is just more efficient at returning more light.

Old european cuts have less facets as well, this is part of their charm however. The facets on the old european are bigger, chunkier and when you see the flashes from an old european they will also seem bigger as well, where as the round brilliant may have have more overall white light return and higher brilliance but not the same large chunky facets and flashes of light as an old european cut.

Go back to the V8 engine comparison, some prefer the 1950 model because it's beauty is in it's simplicity, less complicated and is a classic, where as the 2008 model engine is more efficient. Which is best for you? It's a personal preference.

[Mervyn L. Cohn ASA]

Originally Posted by MamaBear

Hey there people..... got a question...... maybe you can help me out!!!

Do old miner's cut diamonds come in various shapes and are they more or less valuable than manyof these modern cuts?

by definition an "Old Mine Cut" diamond has a basic rectangular cushion shape outline from above. The prices of these poorly cut diamonds are or should be commensurate with their weight and cut proportions. Since they have recently gained some notoriety they have also gained some price increase that as far as I'm concerned is not justified. However they don't measure up in beauty or quality usually (most larger ones have been recut to modern shapes) to the newer cuts.