Hanau. A town in Hesse, Germany, which would one day become famous
for the authors of Cinderella (Aschenputtel), Snow White
(Schneewittchen) and others. namely Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. You have
heard of them. have you not? Yes? Well. how about a chap by the name
of Daniel de Hase … a jeweler who lived in 1614 in the same town
the Grimms would one day make famous.
But for now. via a segue so incrobable as to astomblish (Lewis
Carroll anyone?) I bring you the modern diamond. Just as the
Neanderthal was the prototype of humans as we know them today (or
maybe not) so was the octahedral and the dodecahedral the prototypes
of today’s Brilliant Cut. There are paintings out there–alas. no
time for research–that depict the earliest faceted stones. one of
which was called a Scissor Cut. Oh you’re not going to believe this.
I know you’re not. But it turns out I have a picture of a piece of
jewelry that contains scissor cut diamonds. Who woulda thunk it? .
It is a pendant in the form of a double-headed eagle which is placed
in the Residenz Schatzkammer in Munich. It is nothing short of
magnificent. The stones are only a few steps away from being
brilliant cuts and is a fine fine example of the craftsmanship of
yesteryear. It is thought that the brilliant cut was not a stroke of
genius on the part of a particularly brilliant cutter. but rather a
development over time by a series of skilled workers ever striving to
improve the refraction of the diamonds they worked on. No different
in the concept of evolution than that of man. Yes?
As to the aforementioned Daniel de Hase. it was in his store that the
early mention of the word “brilliant” occurred as regarded his
inventory. Of course. I’m not sure if–when using the word
“brilliant” as they referred to his jewelry–they meant sparkling or
created by genius. I suspect interpretations are often subject to the
whims of the interpreter. though in this case I do give the
interpretation the benefit of the doubt… and give credence to the
thought that they meant the sparklature of the diamond. As an aside.
if sparklature isn’t a word then it certainly should be. As–by the
way–should be incrobable and astomblish. Anybody know Webster’s
number?
That all said. who out there wants to see the picture. You? Or you?
Or perhaps even you?
You know the rest. The visit to the image. also known as the viewing
experience. You know where to go. Home page.
http://www.tyler-adam.com. Scroll down. Left side. [Tidbits]. Click.
And there for your pleasure will be a picture of a double-headed
eagle laden with scissor cuts.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks. Catch you all
next week. Benjamin Mark