Old Miner Cut — A Synonym for Old Mine Cut
Old Miner Cut — A Synonym for Old Mine Cut
A phonetic variant of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century cushion brilliant
Old miner cut is a phonetic variant of old mine cut, used interchangeably in the antique jewellery trade to describe the cushion-outlined, hand-fashioned brilliant cut that dominated the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The two terms refer to the same cut and the same range of physical stones; the only difference is the additional r at the end of mine. The variant likely originated in spoken usage and has carried through into written trade descriptions, though old mine cut is the more common form in scholarly and laboratory writing.
What the cut is
The old miner cut, like the old mine cut, is a 58-facet brilliant cut with a cushion outline (square or rectangular with strongly rounded corners), a high crown, a small table, an open culet, and the handworked facet placement of pre-mechanised cutting practice. It was fashioned predominantly from rough originating in the Indian Golconda mines and the Brazilian deposits of Minas Gerais, with later production from South African rough as the cut was being superseded by the round outline of the old European cut. The optical character is broad, slow, chunky scintillation rather than the rapid sharp scintillation of modern brilliants.
Position in the contemporary trade
Loose old miner cuts trade at the standard old-cut discount to modern brilliants of equivalent weight, colour, and clarity, with the same considerations as old mine cuts: 10 to 30 per cent discount depending on cut quality within the historic style, narrowing for well-cut examples and deepening for stones with conspicuous condition issues. In original Georgian or Victorian settings, old miner cuts command the antique-jewellery premium that applies to all period jewellery. The same care considerations apply: the open culet and high crown leave the stone slightly more vulnerable to chipping than a modern brilliant, and original settings need conservative handling.
For full reference, see old mine cut.