The Mirror-Cut Warrior
He’s a soldier. He’s a swordsman. He’s a brave and bold and mighty
man. In olden day he wielded a sword. “…One two one two/and through
and through/the vorpal blade went snicker snack…” That’s who our
friend the warrior is… and was…as with its head he goes galumphing
back.
The mirror-cut diamond is an ancient cut. It is a variety of the
table-cut diamond and it appears in the names of some historic
stones…such as the Mirror of Portugal and the Mirror of France. It
was…at times…referred to as the “Thin Stone” and was considered
inferior to the table-cut. All this for those of you fascinated by
diamond trivia…and also for those of you who can find nothing
fascinating on Telly–I know this is for all intents and purposes
practically inconceivable–and so choose to read this instead.
Our warrior can be benevolent or malevolent…real or fictional…and
each time reach the heights of eternal fame. Ghengis Kahn for the real
and malevolent. Don Quixote for the fictional and benevolent.
And…of course… many many in between. We cherish our warriors…our
mighty characters who grace the pages of literature and…yes…even
our comic books. For me… the great warrior of the comics was The
Submariner. Anyone remember him? He was also known as Prince Namor.
He had a bit of good in him…and more than a touch of evil. My kinda
guy. Anyone out there see a connection in the name? Hmmm?
The mirror-cut diamond was an early 16th century phenomenon. It had
an extraordinarily large table consisting of as much as 90 percent of
the width of the stone. This made the gem highly refractive and
literally gave it the properties of a mirror. Hence the name.
Quaint…wouldn’t you say? This cut often allowed the preservation of
most of the weight of the stone in the rough. Less losses…more
profits. Imagine…even back then…money talked and warriors walked.
And so we come to our brooch of the day. A warrior…made of what I
believe is gold…and mirror-cut diamonds. A stunning sight…ready
to do battle…ready perhaps to defend the mines from whence his
creation came. One can only guess what our armored man of diamonds is
thinking with his sword poised at the ready above his head…his
glittering image reflecting his enemies fears into their own eyes. By
jove…the man is to be feared…or at least…minimally…respected
and admired. For he is a beauty and a vision to behold.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the table menu till you get to the box that says
Tidbits…and inside the box where it says Tidbit Graphics…click on
the link that says: Mirror…where you will see a graphic of our
Warrior Brooch
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com