The Burgundian Point Cut

(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:

A Refined Dodecahedron
In the days when superstition prevailed, a cutter could evade the strict rules which controlled the shapes of fashioned diamonds if he had a particularly well developed dodecahedron at his disposal. The four rhombic faces of such a crystal, chosen to face the viewer, could be smoothed and polished at a minimal angle of inclination, thus preserving the shape of a natural crystal.

Crystals fashioned in this way, side by side with Pyramidal Points and Table Cuts, were entirely acceptable and considered ideal as talismans. The Court Goblet of the Duchy of Burgundy in the Vienna Hofburg, with its numerous early and mid-fifteenth century diamonds, is our foremost source of information on cuts of the period. It also indicates that fashioning had been fully mastered by then.

The majority of the larger diamonds display brilliance in the modern sense of the term. This means that by the early fifteenth century cutters had discovered the property inherent in diamonds of reflecting the rays of light from pavilion facets set at correct angles of inclination. Fortunately for posterity, princes of refined taste appreciated these sparkling qualities of diamonds, although at the time fashion still demanded pyramidal shapes and Table Cuts, disapproving of brilliance.

The Burgundian is also exceptional in that it became a prototype which could, simply by means of additional faceting, be transformed into a number of other patterns: the Pointed Star, the Taille en Seize, and finally the Baroque type of Brilliant cut. It was also economical, since it could be fashioned on the wheel alone, and therefore with comparatively little loss of weight.

At first, the pavilion did not differ very much from the crown, but when strictly crystal-like shapes were no longer challenged, the cutters were free to fashion the pavilions differently—depending, of course, on the symmetry of the crystal and the presence of disturbing inclusions in the lower part of the gem.

As a rule, natural dodecahedrons have distinctly rounded faces and sharp, curved edges. Symmetrization of these faces presented no problems to the cutters. The corners were frequently left blunt and were partly hidden by the setting, so that regular crystals could be made to appear almost perfectly round or oval or lozenge-shaped. They were about 25 per cent lower than Pyramidal Point Cuts, but looked lower still because of their semi-spherical appearance. In addition to an amazing amount of brilliance, many of the fashioned gems also displayed fire. Easily identified in contemporary inventories, they are frequently described as having four main lozenge-shaped facets in the center, surrounded by eight semi-lozenges—i.e. Lozenges split into two triangles. In many cases they are described simply as faceted diamonds with an adjective indicating the outline.

As the fashion for Table Cuts (both traditional and more exotically faceted) grew, the apexes of many Burgundian Cuts were ground down. Later, most of the remaining stones of this type were re-cut, the larger sizes into Baroque Brilliants and some smaller ones into matching complementary Double Cuts. This explains why so few Burgundian Point Cuts have survived in their original form.

Fortunately, there are two on the Burgundian Court Goblet. The larger gem, which is about 8.7 mm in diameter, is in a separate setting. In 1621 it was described as ‘Ain Diamant spitzig sternweiss geschnitten (a pointed diamond cut like a star)’. The smaller gem, about 5 x 3 mm in size, forms part of a fleur-de-lis.

An illustration by an artist from Basel, drawn in about 1500, shows a Burgandian Cut on another famous jewel belonging to Charles the Bold, the Feather, thought to have been made in the 1460s. The stone, which must have been about 12.5 mm in diameter, with a weight of about 6 ct, can be seen very clearly in the sales document drawn up between the City of Basel and Fugger’s, and was described as ‘ein demant mit faceten, gutt wasser, nit rein, vol swartzer bunten’.

There is one other illustration of a jewel covered with diamonds of this type. This is a sketch drawn, according to Erna von Watzdorf, by G.C Dinglinger, the less talented brother of the famous Johann Melchior Dinglinger. The drawing is said to date from as late as 1719, when this type of cut was already out of fashion.