Diamond cuts have evolved through many stages before the ultimate cut – the Brilliant was developed.
The first known diamond cut was the Point Cut, and it remained popular into the 15th century thanks to its natural octahedral crystal shape. The cutter simply polishes the rough spots on the diamond's surface.
The second type is table cut. To create the table cut, the cutter flattens the top tip of the octahedral diamond crystal. This cut was popular from the early 1400s to the early 1600s.
Next is the Single Cut, developed from the tabletop cut, with 8 crown faces, 8 bottom tip faces and a top flat surface. This cut was developed in the mid-1600s and is the basis of the modern Briliant cut, and even today some small diamonds are still cut in a single cut.
Another type of diamond cut is the rose cut. Rose cut diamonds look like half of a diamond. It has from 3 to 24 faces concentrated to a point in the middle. But the most prominent surface is the bottom plane. It is essentially a crown diamond with no crown or base.
The Mazarin cut was developed in the early 1600s for Jules Mazarin, Pope of France. The Mazarin cut has 17 faces on the crown. It is a rounded rectangle and has 34 faces.
The Old Mine cut was one of the dominant circular cuts of the 1700s. It has a rounded rectangular shape with a top tip, a deep base tip, and 58 faces including a large octagonal base.
The European cut is also an early round cut. Compared to the beak cut, its appearance is more similar to today's Briliant cut, however the crown is usually much higher and the front is much smaller than the Briliant cut.
The formation of the modern Briliant cut can actually be traced back to the late 1800s. Henry Morse, a Boston diamond cutter, attempted to achieve an optically efficient cut design. After many tries, Morse discovered the ratio that produced the optical effect he was looking for. But the mill rejected Morse's idea in favor of beaked and European cuts.
We are now in the final stages of perfecting the diamond cut. Marcel Tolkowsky's calculations served as the basis for the Briliant circular cutoff. The Briliant cut has a circular outline, symmetrically placed triangular and kite-shaped faces, a flat top surface 50% larger than the diameter of the outline, and may have a small octagonal base.
Tolkowsky's recommendations regarding the best angles and proportions of a Briliant cut diamond influenced diamond manufacturers, especially those producing large, high-quality roughs.