Valentine’s Day! (Or a lesson in Old European v. Modern Round Brilliant)

I thought I’d share a very cliche story with you. It involves a proposal on…wait for it…Valentine’s Day 😉 Yes, I was proposed to on February 14th, 2004. In my husband’s defense, I am very hard to surprise (that is read as: control freak, nosy, have my hand in everything). It was the only night he thought I wouldn’t be expecting it and (UGH) he was right. I was in the other room getting ready for dinner when he set up a whole thing in the kitchen. He had Ghirardelli make my favorite chocolate treat, white chocolate raspberry truffles, and he asked me to come in the kitchen to have dessert before we went to dinner. This man knows me well. I live by one motto: Life is Short, Eat Dessert First. So clearly, getting me to have a special treat before dinner wasn’t going to be an issue. He set out champagne and the truffles. I thought the big surprise of the night was the truffles, as Ghirardelli had stopped making them years prior. But when I opened the package, I saw this sitting amongst them:

Admittedly, I couldn’t decide whether to go for the ring or the truffle first! Lol. He decided for me by taking the ring out (leaving me to grab a truffle real quick) and getting down on one knee. This was his great grandmother’s engagement ring. He and I had never gone ring shopping and it never occurred to me that he would already have a ring to present me…which also helped with the surprise factor. As someone who has a very hard time making decisions (yes, despite being a control freak), it worked out well that this was decided for me. Let me tell you a little about this ring!

This cut is traditionally called an Old European Cut. An Old European Cut (“OEC”, sometimes referred to as an Old Mine Cut), was a very popular cut for diamonds in the late 19th/early 20th centuries before more modern cutting technology and techniques were introduced to increase the brilliance of the diamond. OEC’s maximize the color and fire of the diamond by having a smaller table, higher crown, and larger culet (see diagram below). Today, round brilliant diamonds are cut with a larger table and smaller culet to maximize brilliance and increase the amount of light reflected back to the eye. OEC’s, while not the preferred cut today, do create a sparkle, warmth, charm and intrigue that can add some diversity to one’s collection.

Below is a side by side comparison of the two cuts discussed. If looked at quickly it’s hard to notice the difference in a picture. However, in person, the stone on the left would look very different to the eye than the one on the right.

OECvRB

I would love to hear any proposal stories you have that involve a story behind the ring! Unlike hearing about people’s dreams, I’m very interesting in hearing about proposals and engagement rings 😉

And in the meantime, here are some of my favorite Marshall Pierce picks for Valentine’s 2018 (all under $1000)! Click on image for description. Contact me for price. And Happy Valentine’s Day!