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Lodewyk van Bercken (also known in French as Louis de Berquem) [1] was a mid- to late-15th century Flemish [2] jeweller and diamond cutter, renowned in the industry for inventing the scaif. The device revolutionized the diamond cutting industry and contributed to increased popularity of diamonds. [3]
Van Bercken was born in Bruges. [2] He is credited with inventing the scaif, a polishing wheel infused with a mixture of olive oil and diamond dust. With the scaif, it became possible to polish all the facets of the diamond symmetrically at angles that best reflected the light. [2] [3]
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy became the patron of van Bercken and in the 1470s commissioned him to cut a 137 carat (27.4 g) stone that later became known as the Florentine Diamond. Van Bercken experimented with three diamonds belonging to Charles the Bold. [4] One stone was the Beau Sancy, another became the property of Pope Sixtus V, and the third was given by Charles to Louis XI. Later Charles the Bold also sent one of his favorite jewels to be recut, which is now known as the Sancy Diamond.
Diamonds became popular as ornaments in jewelry in the 1400s and the different techniques and styles of diamond cuts were gradually developed over many years. [4]
Lodewyk van Bercken was a Flemish diamond polisher who invented the scaif. This ingenious polishing wheel enabled him to quickly cut facets into diamonds with precision. The scaif transformed the diamond trade. It opened the doors to the creation of complex diamond cuts which otherwise would have never been possible. [3] The scaif is still used today as an essential tool for the diamond industry in order to create facets on diamonds. [5] In 1475, Lodewyk van Bercken invented the world's first briolette cut diamond. He introduced the concept of absolute symmetry in the placement of facets on the stone. His meticulous and precisely studied advancements resulted in the first pear shaped briolette cut, a revolutionary breakthrough on shape, design and cutting excellence.
A bronze statue in commemoration of Lodewyk Van Bercken's contributions to the diamond industry, can be seen at the beginning of Meir Street in Antwerp, Belgium. [6] The statue depicts Lodewyk Van Bercken holding a diamond in his hand with a baby angel floating above. Meir Street is one of the major shopping arteries in Antwerp Belgium, equivalent to New York's 5th Avenue, located a few blocks from Antwerp's famous Diamond District. [6]
A gemstone is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Certain rocks and occasionally organic materials that are not minerals may also be used for jewelry and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some softer minerals such as brazilianite may be used in jewelry because of their color or luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. However, generally speaking, soft minerals are not typically used as gemstones by virtue of their brittleness and lack of durability.
Lapidary is the practice of shaping stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems, and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary techniques of cutting, grinding, and polishing is known as a lapidary or lapidarist. Hardstone carving requires specialized carving techniques.
Diamond cutting is the practice of shaping a diamond from a rough stone into a faceted gem. Cutting diamonds requires specialized knowledge, tools, equipment, and techniques because of its extreme difficulty.
Facets are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cut into them in order to improve their appearance by allowing them to reflect light.
The Sancy, a pale yellow diamond of 55.23 carats (11.046 g), was once reputed to have belonged to the Mughals of antiquity, but it is more likely of Indian origin owing to its cut, which is unusual by Western standards. The stone has been owned by a number of important figures in European history, such as Charles the Bold, James VI and I, and the Astor family.
A brilliant is a diamond or other gemstone cut in a particular form with 57-58 facets so as to have exceptional brilliance. The word 'brilliant' is also used for a diamond cut in this fashion. The underside is conical, a shape that provides maximal light return through the top of the diamond. Even with modern techniques, the cutting and polishing of a diamond crystal always results in a dramatic loss of weight; rarely is this loss less than 50%. The round brilliant cut is preferred when the crystal is an octahedron, as often two stones may be cut from one such crystal. Oddly-shaped crystals such as macles are more likely to be cut in a fancy cut—that is, a cut other than the round brilliant—which the particular crystal shape lends itself to.
A diamond cut is a style or design guide used when shaping a diamond for polishing such as the brilliant cut. Cut refers to shape, and also the symmetry, proportioning and polish of a diamond. The cut of a diamond greatly affects a diamond's brilliance—a poorly-cut diamond is less luminous.
The Florentine Diamond is a lost diamond of Indian origin. It is light yellow in colour with very slight green overtones. It is cut in the form of an irregular nine-sided 126-facet double rose cut, with a weight of 137.27 carats. The stone is also known as the Tuscan, the Tuscany Diamond, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Austrian Diamond, Austrian Yellow Diamond, and the Dufner Diamond.
A gemstone desired to be used in jewelry is cut depending on the size and shape of the rough stone, as well as the desired piece of jewelry to be made. As a general rule, a cut gemstone will reduce the mass by about 50%.
A diamond tool is a cutting tool with diamond grains fixed on the functional parts of the tool via a bonding material or another method. As diamond is a superhard material, diamond tools have many advantages as compared with tools made with common abrasives such as corundum and silicon carbide.
A scaif is a polishing wheel infused with a mixture of olive oil and diamond dust used in the diamond cutting industry. It was invented in the late 15th century by Lodewyk van Bercken in Antwerp.
The Tiffany Yellow Diamond is one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered. Its carat weight was originally 287.42 carats in the rough when discovered in 1878 in the Kimberley mine in South Africa. It was cut into a cushion shape of 128.54 carats with 82 facets—24 more than a traditional round brilliant—to maximize its brilliance. The facet pattern features eight needle-like facets pointing outward from the culet (bottom) facet. Jewelry and diamond historian Herbert Tillander refers to this as a "stellar brilliant cut", and lists the gem in his book, Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry – 1381 to 1910 (1995), among other such diamonds: the Cullinan Diamond, the Koh-i-Noor, the Polar Star, the Wittelsbach, and others.
Gabriel S. Tolkowsky was a Belgian-Israeli diamond cutter, best known for cutting the Centenary Diamond. He was the great nephew of Marcel Tolkowsky, father of the modern round brilliant diamond cut. He is the sixth generation in his family to become well-known in the diamond cutting trade.
A faceting machine is broadly defined as any device that allows the user to place and polish facets onto a mineral specimen. Machines can range in sophistication from primitive jamb-peg machines to highly refined, and highly expensive, commercially available machines. A major division among machines is found between those that facet diamonds and those that do not. Specialized equipment is required for diamond faceting, and faceting as an occupation rarely bridges the gap between diamond and non-diamond workmanship. A second division can be made between industrial faceting and custom/hobby faceting. The vast majority of jewelry-store gemstones are faceted either abroad in factories or entirely by machines. Custom jewelry is still commonly made of custom metalwork and mass-produced gemstones, but unusual cuts or particularly valuable gemstone material will likely be faceted on a personal faceting machine.
A bezel is a wider and usually thicker section of the hoop of a ring, which may contain a gem or a flat surface. Rings are normally worn to display bezels on the upper or outer side of the finger. In gem-cutting the term bezel is used for those sloping facets of a cut stone that surround the flat table face, which is the large, horizontal facet on the top.
Diamond is a gemstone formed by cutting a raw diamond. Diamonds are one of the best-known and most sought-after gems, and they have been used as decorative items since ancient times.
A briolette is a style of gemstone cut. It is an elongated, mostly symmetrical along the main axel, pear shape covered with angular facets usually with a pointed end and no girdle. It is often drilled to hang as a bead. The name is also sometimes erroneously used for pendeloque cut gems. While the briolette is a symmetrical drop shape, the pendeloque cut is flatter and has two different sides: one with a large table facet and one with a point or ridge. The top of a briolette is attached to the piece of jewelry, usually by a hole drilled in the stone, and a pendeloque cut stone needs to be mounted in a prong setting. The briolette is one of the drop cuts for gemstones.
A pendeloque cut is a pear-shaped modification of the round brilliant cut used for diamonds and other gemstones. The pendeloque cut is sometimes erroneously called briolette cut, another drop-shaped cutting design. While the briolette is a symmetrical drop shape, the pendeloque cut is flatter and has two different sides: one with a large table facet and one with a point or ridge. The top of a briolette is attached to the piece of jewelry, usually by a hole drilled in the stone, and a pendeloque cut stone needs to be mounted in a prong setting. The pendeloque is one of the drop cuts for gemstones.
Antwerp's diamond district, also known as the Diamond Quarter (Diamantkwartier), and dubbed the Square Mile, is an area within the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It consists of several square blocks covering an area of about one square mile. While as of 2012, much of the gem cutting and polishing work historically done in the neighborhood had moved to low wage centers elsewhere, about 84% of the world's rough diamonds passed through the district, making it the largest diamond district in the world with a turnover of 54 billion dollars. Each year, approximately 50% of the rough diamonds return to Antwerp for cutting and polishing.
Larisa Popova is an Italian gemologist, appraiser and jeweler.