Old European cut

It is a round diamond cut in the style that came before today's standard, found mostly in antique and vintage jewellery. GIA describes a round outline, a high crown, a relatively small table, a deep pavilion, 58 facets and a medium to large culet you can see when you look straight down through the stone.

That last feature is the easiest to spot. In a modern round brilliant, the culet is a tiny flat facet at the bottom. In an old European the culet is large enough to see from above. Together with the small table and tall crown, it sets the stone apart from a modern round at a glance.

The old European cut dominated round diamond cutting from the late 19th century through the early 20th century, which covers the late Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco periods. It dates mechanized bruting, the machine shaping of the girdle and round outline, to 1872 and says it let cutters make even more consistent round shapes. The older old mine cut, which GIA places in the 18th and 19th centuries, was squarer and cushion-like.

In GIA's comparison, the old European looks rounder and more balanced than the old mine cut, with greater symmetry. The modern round brilliant replaced it as the standard, so when a jeweller says a ring holds an old European, it points to that earlier era, though a stone's exact date cannot be told from its cut alone.

The differences come down to proportions and finish. A modern round brilliant is cut to a standard that GIA can grade, with brightness, fire and scintillation weighed together. An old European was cut before that standard existed, so do not assume two of them will look alike.

That has a practical effect. GIA assigns cut grades only to round brilliants, because they are the only cut with standardized facets, and the grade assesses standard round brilliants in the D-to-Z colour range. An antique round is not a standard one, so do not expect to compare it with a modern stone on a cut-grade scale. A grading report still tells you colour, clarity and weight, but it does not determine the diamond's age or when it was cut.

Judge the stone with your eyes first. Hold it in light that resembles where you will wear it, because the broad, soft flashes of fire of old mine and old European cuts suit candlelit environments. Note how large the culet is, whether the outline is even, and how the stone looks side-on.

Then compare colour and clarity on paper, and treat the report as a description of those, not the cut. GIA suggests working with a reputable jeweller or retailer experienced in antique and vintage diamond jewellery. These stones often appear in platinum settings that highlight their refined proportions. A prong setting is one way to hold them, and a bezel setting is another way to hold a round. For the metal itself, see platinum.

Choose one if you prefer a softer, more characterful sparkle and an antique look over crisp, high-contrast brilliance. Choose a modern round if you want a stone that can be compared like for like on a cut-grade scale and a bright, even sparkle.

The diamond shapes guide puts both in context, and the engagement ring collection shows current styles. If you want to describe a vintage look for a new ring, the design studio is a place to note it, and Diamond Bros offers custom engagement rings by showroom or video appointment, and the showrooms page lists locations.