(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
It is not known for certain to what extend normal Rose Cuts were fastened base to base for a specific purpose; perhaps this was merely an attempt to increase the light effects of thin Roses. One striking example is to be found in the crown made in 1722 for the coronation of Louis XV. The famous Grand Sancy diamond formed the head of the fleur-de-lis on the top of the crown. Six pairs of Roses represented the petals of the emblem, which was three-dimensional. In order to balance the heavy Grand Sancy, each pair of flat Roses was assembled and mounted together with an intervening plate (possibly a flat diamond), the three parts forming a triplet. The eight triplets were then thick enough to match the weight of the Sancy.
By 1729 the crown (now in the Musée du Louvre) had been stripped of all its gems, which were returned to the French Treasury and reset in their original jewels. However, they were replaced with cleverly fashioned paste replicas which, most fortunately, show the exact faceting of the original gems in the crown.
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