Hancocks

2.50ct Old European Cut Diamond Stud Earrings in Platinum

A pair of old cut diamond and platinum ear studs by Hancocks. Each earring is set with an old European cut diamond, one weighing 1.26ct and the other 1.24ct, both claw set in platinum with post and butterfly fittings.
£29,500.00
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Information

Maker
Hancocks
Origin
London
Period
Contemporary
Period
Contemporary
Gemstone
1.26ct E VS2 Old European cut diamond - with GIA certificate 1.24ct E VS2 Old European cut diamond - with GIA certificate
Setting
Platinum with maker's mark and London assay marks
Dimensions
Stud diameter: 7.45mm
REF
128224

Director’s Notes

The old European brilliant cut is the forefather of today’s modern round brilliant cut diamond. It was developed towards the end of the 19th Century when new machinery was invented, in particular the motor-driven saw, which allowed diamonds to be cut in attractive, symmetrical round shapes without wasting the excess rough crystal that was cut off. This revolutionised the industry and gradually, through a process of trial and error, cutters discovered which proportions produced the finest balance of brilliance and fire within these new round stones. Diamonds were now able to dazzle even in the dimly candle-lit rooms of the turn of the century. Along with their characteristic polished culet facet, finely cut old European brilliants can be distinguished from their modern counterparts by their higher crowns and smaller table facets. These features combine to create a greater amount of fire (the coloured flashes of light you see in a diamond) from inside the stone than we typically see in modern cut diamonds. During the 1900s and 1910s the profile of these old European cut stones slowly starts to flatten out and later stones lose the depth of the older stones.

About The Maker

Hancocks

Within the archives of the London jewellers Hancocks, there exists the most extraordinary book.  Large, heavy and showing distinct signs of age it is filled with page after page of diary entries documenting almost one hundred and twenty years of not only company history but social history as well.