A guide to the Swiss-cut style of diamond cut.
Swiss-cut diamonds appear from time to time in second-hand jewellery. In addition, through our work at Serendipity Diamonds, we occasionally see Swiss cuts in antique jewellery items submitted for repair, ring remodelling and refinishing.
In yesterday’s blog, we talked about single-cut diamonds, compared to full-cut diamonds. Think of a Swiss-cut as a hybrid between both of these.
The following facet diagram shows the arrangements of facets on a Swiss-cut and reveals the similarity between single-cut diamonds and modern round brilliant-cut diamonds.
The evolution of the Swiss-cut
The Swiss cut evolved from double-cut diamonds originating in the early 1600s. Most double-cut diamonds have 34 facets: 16 facets on the crown and 16 facets on the pavilion in addition to the table and culet. The Swiss-cut evolved with a shallower pavilion. As a result, internal reflection improved, and the culet size reduced.
Replacing a Swiss-cut diamond in jewellery
Missing diamonds of this cut are tough to replace. Most jewellers add a modern brilliant-cut or an 8-cut diamond in place. But, the brilliance does not match the existing diamonds. Therefore, swiss-cut diamonds can be tough to replace. For this reason, I advised the owner of the ring in the main image to be very careful. Set with 3 diamonds of this design, it would be near impossible to source matching diamonds if one became lost.
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About Mark Johnson
Mark attended Liverpool University and went on to pursue a career in the diamond industry. After more than a decade working in polished diamonds, Mark moved to the Isle of Wight where he launched Serendipity Diamonds. He works most days from their busy Ryde showroom, photographing jewellery and writing for the Serendipity Diamonds website.
