Diamond tools through the centuries

‍The machine depicted here is an old diamond saw, used since the Industrial Revolution around 1760. A rough diamond is held between two copper rods against a fast-rotating copper plate coated with diamond powder, effectively sawing the diamond. This sawing process could take up to several hours for a single cut!

The use of this device required the expertise and experience of a seasoned craftsman, who generally had several saws under his supervision at the same time. This method is opposed to modern sawing and cutting techniques, which mostly run automatically. The position of the brass ball on the other side of the lever is used to adjust the pressure of the diamond against the rotating blade.

It is because of this manual labour that older cut diamonds aren’t always as perfectly symmetrical as their modern cut counterparts. To us, the standards of cutting that apply to modern cut diamonds are in no way transferable to old cuts. Moreover, at Adin, we find that it is exactly these little "flaws" (by modern standards) that remind us of the artisanal way of the old days and what gives antique jewellery its charm.

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Click here to get to our antique and estate diamond jewellery.

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