May we see with new eyes, each old thing, each known thing.

Antique Hand Cut, Rose Cut Diamond Jewellery

Antique rose cut diamonds, specifically the Straits Chinese Asian hand cut diamonds, are not for everyone. 

Their primitive cuts are quite identical to Georgian rose cut diamonds, but not similar to Victorian diamonds.

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Art Deco Chinese Style, What Is It?

Art Deco Chinese Style, What Is It?

South-east Asia, and Singapore in particular, a small, multi-racial entrepot, enthused at the finer life of not just the British Isle or fashionable Paris, but at how Chinese in other places could be both Chinese and ‘Western’ at the same time. The lovingness at which overseas Chinese looked at Shanghai’s riot of life is surely reflected in their own adoption of art, fashion and jewellery.

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The Nonchalance of Chinese Jewellery

The Nonchalance of Chinese Jewellery

The beauty of Chinese jewellery is wearing them small and big. Some very small, some very ‘big’.For instance, I consider all jade bangles ‘big’. When someone wears a jade bangle, you cannot help but notice the bangle first, however common, or unique.

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Rose Cut Diamonds, Intan, and Antique Hand Cut Diamonds

Rose Cut Diamonds, Intan, and Antique Hand Cut Diamonds

There are two types of rose cut diamonds seen in much of the jewelry in this region, specifically South-east Asia. One is the ‘Western’ rose cut diamond and the other is the Straits Chinese rose cut diamond (intan). The Straits Chinese rose cut diamond is quite similar to the Indian polki diamond, which is an Indian cut diamond slice.

Historically the Western rose cut is hand cleaved, much like the Straits Chinese rose cut diamond. Hand cleaved diamonds reveal techniques of hand-cutting, with uneven facets at the crown of the diamond.

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