POINT-CUT DIAMOND : The First Diamond Cut?

The point-cut diamond is the first ever shape that diamonds were cut into, perfectly embodying the symbol of the suit of diamonds in a playing card. There is doubt, however, whether the point cut does qualify as a cut, since the point diamond did not actually require shaping, but a mere polish.

Origin of the Point-Cut Diamond

The first polished diamonds did not receive a complete polish, but only partial. In this case, the four faces of the octahedral crystal exposed in the setting received a polish, while those hidden beneath the mounting remained rough.  The smooth pyramid bore the earliest form of polished diamonds in Europe, and was the only known method prior to the latter half of the 15th century.

The first of diamonds known to have been entirely polished into a definite shape was a point-cut diamond. This belonged to Charles the Bold, who entrusted Berken with three large diamonds. The inventor of the diamond-cutting wheel tried his discovery on the Duke of Burgundy’s diamonds in 1476. The first and most famous of the three thus became known as Charles the Bold’s Diamond. This famed gem, as King relates, “was of a deep form, and was cut into a pyramid.”

Creation of A Point-Cut Diamond

There was in fact not much cutting to do in a point. Where the first polished diamonds only had half their faces worked upon, here the procedure consisted simply of polishing all the natural faces of the octahedral crystal. The result is a similarly deep gem, yet of quite a regular shape, cleanly resembling two symmetrical pyramids joined at the base.

Popularity of the Point-Cut Diamond

In the centuries that followed, the octahedral shape was one of only two cuts known of diamonds. Thus, up to the 1600s, if diamonds did not take the shape of tables, they took the form of point diamond, known in German as demant-punkt. Consequently, this shape figured in numerous pieces of antique jewelry, particularly those from the 1500s.  Even when adorned with intricate designs such as ships complete with masts and yards, antique necklaces featured diamonds of nearly the same shape as they had in the rough. Such gems were in fact the most common of polished diamonds in antiquity.

There was good reason why the point diamond achieved such prevalence among gemstone’s old forms. The precious stone was a rare importation then, and Europeans were consequently quite concerned over the size of their gems. As a result, jewelers were content in polishing diamonds into the same shape as the natural crystals.  It was only when diamonds came plenty enough that lapidaries forsook economy for beauty,  even if it meant sacrificing so much of a stone’s precious weight.

Lapse from Use

Eventually, Europeans favored beauty over weight. Thus, in the 1600s, even though the point appeared most frequently, the table was more valuable. By the 1800s, the point went completely out of fashion. Since then, diamonds scarcely ever received this shape.

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About the Author

Jomar Pandan

Jomar ‘Deomar’ Pandan is the author of Power Birthstone. He’s on the fourth draft of a high-fantasy novel, Cybelym, and the first of a historical fiction, Gem Faerie. He hopes to release a nonfiction book about diamond soon. Follow him for updates. Or see his jewelry and designs.