Read all about The History of Diamond Cuts and Cutting with this Infographic

The modern diamond ring isn't just a thing of exceptional beauty. It’s the end result of thousands of years of development in technology and artistry and can only exist after the exhausting labors of countless individuals who dedicated their lives to work with nature’s strongest material. No other precious gem has inspired humanity to strive for such perfection, and so the history of diamonds and how they were cut is one that should be enjoyed as well as deeply respected.

Originally known only in India before eventually being brought to Europe by Alexander the Great sometime after 325BCE, diamonds were used in religious ceremonies in their natural rough and non-too pretty state. To alter the gem any further was thought to bring bad luck - presumably because it was practically impossible and so would anger the gods by mocking their supremacy. However, the ancients were perfectly aware that nothing scratches a diamond except for another diamond and so a process known as ‘bruting’ was often used to clean a stone to make it more desirable, but in a subtle rather than extravagant way.

Once Christianity dominated Europe such superstitions began to fade, and so diamond cutting was approached without any fear of reprisal from angry deities and the history of diamond cutting could truly begin.