Hancocks

4.52ct Old European Cut Diamond 'Eclipse' Drop Earrings

A pair of old cut diamond, yellow gold and black rhodium drop 'Eclipse' earrings by Hancocks. The earrings are set with old European cut diamonds, one weighing 2.32cts and the other of 2.20cts. The diamonds are bezel set with a black rhodium finish and encircled with a row of inverted round brilliant cut diamonds channel set in 18ct yellow gold and suspended from articulated 18ct yellow gold earring hooks.
£35,000.00
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Information

Maker
Hancocks
Origin
London
Period
Contemporary
Period
Contemporary
Gemstone
2.32ct L SI2 Old European cut diamond - with GIA certificate 2.20ct L SI1 Old European cut diamond - with GIA certificate 42 x round brilliant cut diamonds around circumference total: 0.42cts
Setting
18ct yellow gold and platinum
Dimensions
Length: 2cm/0.7 inch Diameter: 1.2cm/0.4 inch
Weight Description
5.8 grams
REF
128480

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 facets, 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.