Wow! That's an interesting trip down memory lane! The Soukup and Hoffman books were at our starting point. We began getting the Lapidary Journal early in 1966. Looking forward to your next segment in this history of American faceting.
@@JustinKPrim I still pour over those books, and have favorite cuts from them that I know by heart, like the French or Calibre cut, on page 26 of the Soukup book. That is a great, easy and brilliant cut for small stones. These days, when I have time to facet, I use the Meet-point books.
Interesting video and subject Justin. I have pondered the same questions as you have about this subject. It may be worth researching the influence that the progression of modern diamond cutting had on the development of American faceting in general. Marcel Tolkowski published his paper on cutting the ideal proportioned diamond in 1919. This then developed to be the standard by which diamonds were cut. Remember during the first half of the 20th century America was the focus of selling diamonds in the World. Huge amounts of diamond advertisement money, and effort was focused in America. At that time the cutting of colored stones was primarily done in primitive workshops in and around the stone's sources. Or in cutting houses of Europe using very imprecise traditional machines. The faceting style of the American faceters seems to have followed the style of Diamonds, rather than the traditional colored stone styles and methods. It seems to me that the machines and methods being developed in America were designed to allow people to achieve the style and precision that the American consumer was being trained to expect by the Diamond industry. The center culet style of diamond cutting dominates American cutting style. The rest of the World seem to favor keels. As was typical for the American culture in most activities the American faceters were not the children of families long in the business who served decades of apprenticeships as was done overseas. They were new to the endeavor of stone cutting. The mast machines with fine toothed indexes, and protractors, made it possible for a person to be quickly trained to cut very precision stones from a simple cutting diagram using the meet point method. This is very much in alignment with the way large factories with big workforces operated in order to get high production from their workers with the least amount of training. It is American culture. I think the timing and style of American faceting is no coincidence. It is a development of expectations set by the heavy influence of the diamond industry here in America. -Steve-
Yes I totally agree with you. I don’t touch on that in this video because I don’t think the actual techniques of diamond cutter affected the cutting style of Americans but as for style influence it’s definite. The battle for the round brilliant happened in the first 20 years of the 1900s and the marketing of this new style as the American cut and the Scientific cut would have surely pushed all the right buttons for budding rock hounds and lapidaries. I’m actually working on a book about this right now. The influence of the diamond industry is something I’m still research but Al Gilbertsons book The American Cut is a great reference. Thanks for the great comment!!
@@JustinKPrim Agree. The technical difference in equipment really lies in the fact that because diamonds are so hard, generate so much heat in cutting, and have directional hardness that there must be an additional direction of rotation available when cutting diamond. Other than that the diamond cutting machines are very much like the hand piece style machines used in cutting colored stones. Also worth noting that with white diamonds the primary optimizations (excluding yield) are focused on brilliance, and dispersion. But in fancy colored diamonds the cutting style begins to more closely resemble colored stone cutting styles.
@@1bwana120 are you in America? I would very much like to have a long chat about cutting over dinner next year. I’m doing a road trip all over the country for research so maybe I can find you along the way! Would be a pleasure for me.
@@JustinKPrim Justin, Yes I live in La Jolla California. It would be a pleasure to see you. We have spoken in person a couple of time in Tucson. I would be happy to have a Zoom chat as well if you like.
@@1bwana120 interesting. I only know you by this screen name and I’m not sure who you are in real life. 😂 what if you were my old boss or teaching this entire time and I never knew. That’s actually happened once before. I had a 2 hour text conversation with this French cutter only to find out at the end that he was my wife’s old coworker that I had met and talked to several times in France but didn’t know it was him. More funny that embarrassing I think.
Hobby cutters will maintain the use of the American style due to it's ease to learn. Equipment is getting better allowing it do do more of the work. More a sterile engineering style rather than a warm artistic style.
excellent video looking forward to the next one
Good job, very interesting.
Some cool history, much appreciated!
Great video. All the research payed off! Very informative. Always learn something new from your videos. Ready for part #2.
Wow! That's an interesting trip down memory lane! The Soukup and Hoffman books were at our starting point. We began getting the Lapidary Journal early in 1966. Looking forward to your next segment in this history of American faceting.
It was really fun to go deep into these books. I have skimmed them before but never in exactly this way.
@@JustinKPrim I still pour over those books, and have favorite cuts from them that I know by heart, like the French or Calibre cut, on page 26 of the Soukup book. That is a great, easy and brilliant cut for small stones. These days, when I have time to facet, I use the Meet-point books.
Show,thanks.
Interesting video and subject Justin. I have pondered the same questions as you have about this subject.
It may be worth researching the influence that the progression of modern diamond cutting had on the development of American faceting in general.
Marcel Tolkowski published his paper on cutting the ideal proportioned diamond in 1919. This then developed to be the standard by which diamonds were cut. Remember during the first half of the 20th century America was the focus of selling diamonds in the World. Huge amounts of diamond advertisement money, and effort was focused in America.
At that time the cutting of colored stones was primarily done in primitive workshops in and around the stone's sources. Or in cutting houses of Europe using very imprecise traditional machines. The faceting style of the American faceters seems to have followed the style of Diamonds, rather than the traditional colored stone styles and methods.
It seems to me that the machines and methods being developed in America were designed to allow people to achieve the style and precision that the American consumer was being trained to expect by the Diamond industry. The center culet style of diamond cutting dominates American cutting style. The rest of the World seem to favor keels.
As was typical for the American culture in most activities the American faceters were not the children of families long in the business who served decades of apprenticeships as was done overseas. They were new to the endeavor of stone cutting. The mast machines with fine toothed indexes, and protractors, made it possible for a person to be quickly trained to cut very precision stones from a simple cutting diagram using the meet point method. This is very much in alignment with the way large factories with big workforces operated in order to get high production from their workers with the least amount of training. It is American culture.
I think the timing and style of American faceting is no coincidence. It is a development of expectations set by the heavy influence of the diamond industry here in America.
-Steve-
Yes I totally agree with you. I don’t touch on that in this video because I don’t think the actual techniques of diamond cutter affected the cutting style of Americans but as for style influence it’s definite. The battle for the round brilliant happened in the first 20 years of the 1900s and the marketing of this new style as the American cut and the Scientific cut would have surely pushed all the right buttons for budding rock hounds and lapidaries. I’m actually working on a book about this right now. The influence of the diamond industry is something I’m still research but Al Gilbertsons book The American Cut is a great reference. Thanks for the great comment!!
@@JustinKPrim Agree. The technical difference in equipment really lies in the fact that because diamonds are so hard, generate so much heat in cutting, and have directional hardness that there must be an additional direction of rotation available when cutting diamond. Other than that the diamond cutting machines are very much like the hand piece style machines used in cutting colored stones.
Also worth noting that with white diamonds the primary optimizations (excluding yield) are focused on brilliance, and dispersion. But in fancy colored diamonds the cutting style begins to more closely resemble colored stone cutting styles.
@@1bwana120 are you in America? I would very much like to have a long chat about cutting over dinner next year. I’m doing a road trip all over the country for research so maybe I can find you along the way! Would be a pleasure for me.
@@JustinKPrim Justin, Yes I live in La Jolla California. It would be a pleasure to see you. We have spoken in person a couple of time in Tucson. I would be happy to have a Zoom chat as well if you like.
@@1bwana120 interesting. I only know you by this screen name and I’m not sure who you are in real life. 😂 what if you were my old boss or teaching this entire time and I never knew. That’s actually happened once before. I had a 2 hour text conversation with this French cutter only to find out at the end that he was my wife’s old coworker that I had met and talked to several times in France but didn’t know it was him. More funny that embarrassing I think.
thanks very interesting
That is super interesting
Hobby cutters will maintain the use of the American style due to it's ease to learn. Equipment is getting better allowing it do do more of the work. More a sterile engineering style rather than a warm artistic style.
Good job, very interesting.