THE SCIENCE OF SPARKLE

26th June 2018

Unlocking the true beauty of a diamond, Crisscut® engagement rings are increasing in popularity for those looking for a ring as unique as their love story. Laura McCreddie- Doak discovers more about the unique cut.

There really is nothing more captivating than seeing light ripple through a diamond; the interplay of facets making this inanimate object seem momentarily alive.

Diamond aficionado Avraham Siman Tov and former electrical engineer turned jewellery designer Christopher Slowinski were so taken with the subtle ways in which you can make these precious stones sparkle that they set out on a mission to discover if they could devise a new cut to make things even brighter.

“I have always been intrigued with taking something established and making it even more beautiful,” Slowinski says and why he believes “the technological side of jewellery making has always been as important as the aesthetic.”

Deploying all the most modern technology at their disposal, Siman Tov and Slowinski jointly came up with the one-of-a-kind Crisscut® diamond in 1996; a patented, specialised way of cutting the stone in order to maximise the stone’s brilliance. The key to this is the “crisscrossed” facets that allow more light to be reflected, which makes the diamond appear whiter and brighter.

Emerald Cut
What you get with a step cut is flashes of light, known as the “hall of mirrors” effect, rather than a rippling shimmer.

Crisscut®
“Crisscrossed” facets that allow more light to be reflected, which makes the diamond appear whiter and brighter.

The starting point for this variant is the emerald cut. The emerald cut is defined by its elongated octagon shape. It is the cut most likely to show its flaws and, because it is step cut, rather than brilliant cut like most diamonds, it doesn’t sparkle as much. What you get with a step cut is flashes of light, known as the “hall of mirrors” effect, rather than a rippling shimmer.

With that in mind, the pair decided to take this cut and up the number of facets and then, instead of just leaving them as steps, they made them criss-cross each other. They achieved this by applying triangular facets to the steps in the pavilion of the diamond – the lower pointed portion of the stone. These added facets cause the light bounce between them meaning it stays in the stone longer before leaving, which gives it its extra sparkle.

The diamond duo also decided to make the stone shallower that regular emerald cut diamonds. This means that if compared to another cut of the same weight, the Crisscut® stone will have a larger surface area, when viewed from above, because it’s not hiding all its weight below the setting, which is often the case with other cuts.

All of which seems even more incredible when you consider that this all came about by mistake.

“Crisscut® was a happy accident. I was faceting a diamond and slipped at the cutting wheel,” Slowinski told US website Chic Metropolitan. “What I saw intrigued me, it was interesting and different. I decided to continue the pattern the same way and Crisscut® was born. Years of trial and error followed until the angles were perfected to maximise the brilliance of the stone.”

Siman Tov and Slowinski may have been awarded their patent for the diamond in the 1990s but it has taken until now for these stones to be available in the UK thanks to ROX, which is the only British jeweller to work with the diamonds.

The result is a collection of engagement rings, along with necklaces and bracelets, which showcase this unusual cut in all its fiery beauty. Given that it is so unique, it is the perfect choice for a proposal. As Slowinski himself says: “After all, [if] she is the one your heart chose, [and] she is the one, doesn’t she deserve a stone as unique as she is?”

Crisscut® is available online and in ROX Argyll Arcade, Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle boutiques.

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