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Once there was a dream – to produce a more brilliant diamond than
had ever been seen before...And we’ve done it!
The
History of the 144-Facet® Diamond
History lessons which are based on complex mathematical formulae are
not the most exciting topics! But, to understand what the
differences are between a 144-Facet Diamond and everyone else’s
diamonds, a little background is helpful. This web page attempts to
explain in the most succinct way possible what a 144-Facet Diamond
is, how it came about, and why it is the “World’s Most Brilliant
Diamond”®. For more information, feel free to come in to our store
and one of our diamond experts will be happy to explain everything
in more detail. And while you’re here, take a look at the 144-Facet
Diamond in person and see for yourself the brilliant difference!
Diamond Cutting Evolution
Diamonds have long been coveted for their impressive hardness and
resistance to scratching, and their incomparable property of
producing brilliance as light travels around and inside the stone. A
diamond’s ability to produce brilliance has to do with its
transparency, its ability to bend light, and its ability to be
faceted and polished to an extreme, unsurpassed by any other gem.
In the early days of diamond cutting, both the cutting equipment and
optical science were far less sophisticated than they are today. It
was the customary and accepted practice to save as much of the
precious diamond crystal as possible. As a result, most diamonds cut
before 1900 were deliberately irregular in shape and often poorly
faceted, in an effort to save weight. For many years, the standard
way of faceting a diamond was to use a general pattern called the
Old Mine Cut. This very old design had wide parameters, very
little accuracy, and no standard proportions. The shapes and
faceting were irregular, and produced stones that were not very
brilliant. In time, the European Cut was developed. This
facet pattern was produced with slightly more regularity, and was
brighter than the Old Mine Cut. It also had more facets, 58,
although this number often varied due to lack of modern cutting
equipment and capabilities. Then, in 1919, a European mathematician
looked at the diagram for the European Cut and refined it. His
design called for more exact angles, with a more triangular and
cone-shaped Pavilion (bottom part), and a more shallow Crown (top
part) with a wider Table (top) facet, as well as a thinner and more
uniform Girdle (central band). His diagram of this 58 facet stone
was based on mathematical calculations of where light rays hit the
diamond, and thus, where facets should be placed to help reflect
that light. Improved techniques in cutting and polishing were also
developed, and the modern-day 58 facet diamond, the Round
Brilliant Cut or ideal cut diamond was produced. This is the
same diamond facet pattern which is the basis for all diamonds
produced today, other than the 144-Facet Diamond.
The Birth of the 144-Facet Diamond
Some fifty years after the 58 facet pattern was standardized, thanks
to a greater understanding of optics, light refraction (how light
behaves once inside a diamond), and light wave analysis, and thanks
to the advent of newer and more accurate microscopes, testing
equipment, recording devices, and computer simulation, an even
more brilliant diamond pattern was created! This pattern had
the narrowest tolerances yet, and completely re-engineered the
middle and bottom portions of the diamond. The Girdle was polished
and completely faceted, and the Pavilion was reshaped to be more
parabolic than cone-shaped, as in satellite dishes and car
headlights, in order to increase internal light reflection
(brilliance!). The number of facets was tripled on the
Pavilion, and the diamond now had 144-Facets instead of 58. The
result was the production of the 144-Facet Diamond, or
Modified Brilliant, a diamond pattern that took into account how
light rays behaved inside the diamond rather than just how
they bounced off of the surface facets. Through precise
proportioning, extra faceting, and changes in facet angles, this new
design captured and held in more light, and increased brilliance by
causing more internal reflections. The internal light rays bounced
off of several facets inside the diamond before exiting the stone,
and the exiting light rays were refocused into a more compact zone.
This exceptional combination of discovery and creation led to the
very first ever patented diamond facet pattern, and the 144-Facet
Diamond was born! For nearly five decades the 144-Facet diamond has
remained the ultimate achievement in the art of diamond cutting. The
144 has been granted over 20 international patents and trademarks,
acknowledging its superiority. Among the many awards and acclaims
received, perhaps the proudest achievement of recognition came
when the Carl Zeiss Optical Laboratory independently tested the
144-Facet Diamond and found it to be 32% more brilliant than the 58
facet diamond. Zeiss, the creator of the first moon camera
lenses and the world-renown name in ultra high-grade precision
optical lenses, determined that due to the 144’s unique ability to
lock in light, prevent it from escaping out the sides and bottom of
the stone, and refocus it out through the top of the diamond, nearly
one-third more visible light is reflected out of the 144! Regardless
of what other diamond dealers or jewelry stores claim, NO OTHER
DIAMOND has ever been OPTICALLY TESTED AND PROVEN to be as brilliant
as the 144-Facet Diamond. And the GIA, Gemological Institute of
America, the world leader in teaching, technology, and diamond
grading uses the 144-Facet Diamond diagram on all diamond grading
report plots of our diamonds, an acknowledgement of its uniqueness.
In recent years, a myriad of trademarked and patented facet patterns
have been developed. But, these newer cuts were created primarily to
enhance retail sales and marketing ability, rather than to maximize
brilliance. No diamond pattern has ever been tested and proven to
be as brilliant as the 144-Facet Diamond. D & M Perlman is
exceptionally proud to be the only cutters of this diamond in the
world, and we can’t wait to show you our diamonds!
Click here to see an amazing video of the 144-Facet Diamond!
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