The De Beers’ Central Selling Organization recently developed five new diamond cuts named after flowers: the Fire Rose, Marigold, Sunflower, Dahlia and Zinnia.

            Using unconventional facet angles in a combination of brilliant and step-cut designs, the Flower Cuts increase the sparkle, luster, life and fire of a polished diamond. Brilliance and color consistency have been increased throughout the stone, with added facets being positioned beneath the girdle. These innovations have helped increase the weight of the final polished diamond.

            Three of the new cuts, the Fire Rose, Marigold and Sunflower, may be fashioned into different shapes, according to the original crystal structures of the rough diamond. Depending on the shape selected for their fashioning—hexagonal, square or oblong—the number of facets to be polished on to the stone will vary.

            The Fire Rose and Zinnia cuts are ideal for rough diamonds which posses great depths and volume, while the Marigold was created to overcome problems normally encountered with flatter-shaped crystals. The SunFlower and Dahlia, however, lend themselves admirably and efficiently to rough diamonds of regular shape and crystal structure.

            The inspiration behind the Flower Cuts lies with Antwerp-based Gabi Tolkowsky, whose family interest in the diamond business extends over several generations. In 1919, Marcel Tolkowsky calculated the dimensions for the ideal brilliant cut and published a thesis, setting out the precise angles needed to gain maximum light refraction and reflection from the diamond.

            The design and use of the new Flower Cuts have been made freely available to the diamond industry by De Beers and are now manufactured by companies in Antwerp and elsewhere in the world. They include the specialist fancy cut manufacturer and exporter Kurt Einhorn, whose assistance and continuing support for this project are gratefully acknowledge by De Beers.