Plain Stellar Cuts

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

Originally the de Guise Brilliant was a Table Cut. In the 1740s it was refashioned into a Stellar Cut Brilliant identical to the so-called Brazilian Cut. This term was originally used in the trade to describe diamonds fashioned in the eighteenth century from Brazilian rough as opposed to the modern round cuts produced from South African rough. However, few, if any, of these diamonds had short, pentagonal culet facets of this sort. In the case of the de Guise, it was simply that, after the small facets had already been applied, the culet was enlarged for some reason and consequently the inner ends of the originally slim culet facets were removed. However, a Stellar Cut, no matter what the size of its culet, should no more be called Brazilian.

When, in 1888, the de Guise was put up for sale with the rest of the French Crown Jewels, its past history was ignored and the entry in the catalogue described it simply as ‘un gros brilliant carré étendu, 29 7/16 ct.’ Tiffany’s of New York acquired it for a mere 155,000 francs.

I have examined three Stellar Cut Brilliants in Dresden. It is almost circular in shape and extremely well made. It compares favorably, in fact, with the best London cuts of the early eighteenth century. With its slight but pleasing lack of rigid symmetry, one could describe it as an excellent Baroque Cut. The only rather interesting factor is that the stone was fashioned with present-day ideal proportions! The second Stellar Cut in the Treasury is unusual in that its eight culet faces, looked at through the table, appear to be doubled, thus possibly increasing the brilliance of the gem. The stone weighs 9 13/16 ct. The smallest of the three stones weighs 6¼ ct and is the only Stellar Cut I have ever come across with a pear-shaped outline. It is flat, but nevertheless very attractive.