Diamonds are the most wanted precious stones in the world. If you don’t believe us, step outside and look around; you’ll see at least a few individuals wearing some kind of jewelry. And the chances are that at least a few of them will have a piece embedded with diamonds.
With so many stories behind diamonds, we should take a moment and appreciate some stories that usually play out behind the big curtain. What are we referring to here?
Well, if someone asked you on the streets, “Who is the best diamond cutter in the world?” would you know how to answer that question?
Now, one way to answer that – without potentially embarrassing yourself – would be to tell them that there are several world-class diamond cutters out there.
Still, if they insist on knowing which one you admire the most, feel free to mention the name Gabi Tolkowsky – and you’ll probably be fine.
Who is that man – and why is he regarded as one of the best diamond cutters in the world? Are there any others that qualify for that spot besides Gabi? And if so, why are they as important and famous as him?
Don’t worry; all your questions will be answered below – but only if you decide to commit to reading this article. What are you waiting for? Start scrolling!
Stuff You Need To Know Before You Buy Diamonds
When you decide to treat yourself – or your significant other – with a new piece of jewelry, the chances are that you’ll head to your local jewelry shop. And there, sitting behind thick glass, you’ll find a range of options, from basic-looking to glamorous pieces of jewelry.
Regardless of which jewelry shop you decide to pay a visit to, in most cases, the materials that will be the most common choice for making jewelry are gold and diamonds. To be more specific, diamonds are embedded in jewelry made from gold.
Seriously, though: Whenever you gaze upon the jewelry displayed in the jewelry shop, more often than not, you’ll be looking at jewelry crafted from diamonds and gold. It’s not that difficult to understand why; gold – and especially diamonds – are some of the most sought-after materials in this world.
But, before we decide to buy a piece of jewelry that’s embedded with diamonds, it might be good to know a thing or two about the process of making diamonds.
Just to be clear: Real diamonds are not made per se; they are found in several specific locations scattered worldwide.
On the other hand, fake diamonds are those diamonds that were made artificially inside special laboratories by experts that possess vast expertise and knowledge in chemistry.
When we discuss the process of making diamonds, what we refer to here is the process that all diamonds need to go through – being rated based on the 4 C’s of diamonds.
Before we put a price tag on a diamond, it needs to be evaluated by experts according to these four factors. The criteria that experts use to determine the value of all diamonds are based on the color, carats, clarity, and the diamonds’ cut quality.
Today, we will primarily look at the cut of diamonds. We believe that a high-quality cut diamond will generally be considered more valuable than any other diamond, where the emphasis might be on clarity or color.
Don’t get us wrong: Clarity and color are extremely valuable when determining the value of a diamond. However, these characteristics are often ignored by the general public – even more so if the cut is poorly done.
Without a good and appealing cut, most diamonds will get overlooked by the public eye. Most people tend to search for quality-grade cut diamonds rather than ones that are transparent or ones that don’t have any impurities inside them.
With all of this in mind, we can agree that searching for quality-grade cut diamonds is extremely important. The overall price of all diamonds is mainly measured by the 4 C’s of a diamond. But the cut of a diamond is what puts the cherry on the cake.
So, who are those people that take care of diamonds?
Oddly enough, most people nowadays don’t care about that. As long as their diamonds are all shiny and pretty, people will be pleased.
But if you desire to learn more about famous diamond cutters, we suggest that you pay close attention to the following section.
Are All People Capable Of Cutting Diamonds?
Despite what most people might believe, cutting diamonds isn’t a straightforward task – and it’s not exactly a job for your average Joe.
Why can’t all people cut diamonds? Well, firstly, let’s state the obvious:
If you’re going to cut diamonds, you’ll need to – well, possess diamonds in the first place. We all know that diamonds don’t fall from the sky; they’re extremely rare and, quite frankly, impossible to come by if you aren’t part of the diamond-making industry.
That being said, natural diamonds can only be found in highly-guarded areas that most people are prohibited from entering, anyway. For someone to gain access to those places, they need to either be an employee that works directly on that excavation point or be a security guard on that location.
Either way, if you aren’t one of those people, don’t count on making direct contact with natural diamonds any time soon.
There’s another issue worth mentioning: Even if you have natural diamonds at your disposal, the chances of you having the necessary equipment to cut diamonds are extremely slim.
Diamond-cutting machines and tools are expensive and can’t be bought on the free market that easily. Only individuals with enough resources and those that are deemed to be trustworthy can buy and possess such tools.
Not to mention that you need to have the necessary knowledge and training on how to cut diamonds properly.
That alone is maybe the most difficult thing on this list of requirements, as it could take several years before you can become a professional diamond cutter.
We don’t intend to frighten you, but if you wish to enter the diamond-making industry, you’ll need to put a lot of time and money into it. With that in mind, could the average human become a professional diamond-cutter?
We believe that anyone can become a diamond-cutter. If you can meet the criteria listed above, it’s safe to say that you have a shot at working in the industry as a diamond-cutter.
The only problem is that there are already more than enough people in charge of polishing and cutting diamonds. There are plenty of other positions in the diamond-making industry – diamond-cutters aren’t the only job available.
So, don’t lose hope.
You can become a diamond-cutter – the only problem is that it’s highly complicated, and most of the time, not rewarding enough. Although the average diamond-cutter makes a decent amount of money, they are primarily located in India, South Africa, and Israel.
In these countries, the balance between the free market and the workers isn’t particularly great, as they are underpaid for most jobs – even those that are usually highly paid in other countries.
With that in mind, why would you even want to become a diamond cutter? Most of you probably landed here by trying to expand your knowledge on the diamond-making industry – or you’re simply interested in working with diamonds.
But, again, working with diamonds is extremely difficult. And because of that, there are only a few internationally recognized diamond-cutters.
Let’s get this thing straight: There isn’t a human being that’s regarded as the best diamond cutter in the world. Rather, there are a couple of them that are so good that it’s hard to pinpoint one of them as the best.
Each one has a unique set of diamond-cutting techniques that were carefully polished to perfection over the years.
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Without further ado, these are some of the best diamond cutters in the world:
Gabi Tolkowsky
As the descendant of Marcel Tolkowsky, Gaby Tolkowsky is the inventor of the modern round brilliant diamond cut. What does that mean?
You see, before you think about buying a piece of jewelry, you should know which diamond-cut type you are looking to get. The ten most popular diamond cuts are as follows:
Learn More: Diamond Shapes: All Different Types of Diamond Shapes
Choosing any one of these cuts is fine for your diamond. But, you should dig more deeply into this, as every type of cut has its backstory and determines a variety of diamonds’ properties.
We can’t even count the number of times we asked diamond owners to tell us more about their gem, just to hear that they don’t know anything about it. And sure, it’s not that big of a deal, but it’s nice to know a thing or two about that precious stone you’re wearing.
On that note, here’s an interesting fact: If you own a diamond that has a round shape, the first thing that you should remember is that the round-shaped diamond cut was invented and established by Gabi Tolkowsky.
During his learning path, he trained closely under Marcel and his father, Jean. Gabi was so good at diamond cutting that he soon became the Managing Director and Chairman of Diatrada, a division of De Beers.
The De Beers is an international corporation that works with diamonds – from mining to retail and trading. Being chosen for such a crucial function speaks volumes about how great of a diamond cutter Gabi Tolkowsky is.
The most notable thing that Gabi accomplished was working on the Centenary diamond and the Golden Jubilee diamond. In fact, Gabi was the master cutter who worked on the Centenary diamond for three whole years.
With that said, cutting the Golden Jubilee diamond is probably the best accomplishment of Gaby Tolkowsky. If you work in the diamond industry, you probably know what we’re talking about – a 545.67-carat diamond that was chosen as a gift to the King of Thailand.
We could go on and on about Gaby, but we believe that you get the point. In the diamond-making industry, everyone knows and respects Gaby’s work with diamonds, as he was the one that invented the round-cut diamond technique.
Learn More: Which Diamond Shape Is Best? Guide To Popular Diamond Shapes
Lazare Kaplan
You’ve probably heard of the Jonker diamond.
Well, the interesting thing about the absolute beauty of that gem is that we couldn’t enjoy the cut or the craftsmanship put into it if it wasn’t for Lazare Kaplan.
Although he was born in Russia, he practiced cutting diamonds in Belgium. By the time Lazare turned 20, he already mastered the art of cutting diamonds to such a degree that he regularly began to cut and polish diamonds for several royal families.
It is believed that he was the founder of the oval diamond-cut technique, too.
Today, one of the largest diamond manufacturing and distribution companies is called Lazare Kaplan International Inc. It was founded in 1903 by Lazare himself. And in the eyes of many, this has been the best diamond manufacturing company – or, at least, one of the best – in the world.
What’s funny is that Lazare Kaplan was closely related to Marcel Tolkowsky, a name that’s probably familiar to all of you by now – if you paid attention, that is.
If we had the time and space to write more about them – and the others – this article would have turned into a full-blown research paper. But we don’t.
So, when we say “others,” we primarily think about Brian Gavin, Joseph Asscher – and Marcel Tolkowsky himself.
Related Read: An In-Depth Guide on Diamond Cutting: How Are Diamonds Cut?
To Sum Up
Okay, if you reached this point, the answer should be blatantly obvious.
For all of you that didn’t pay close attention and still don’t know who is the best diamond cutter in the world – a safe answer would be that several people qualify for that title.
Still, if you wish to enter the diamond-making industry, it’s essential to expand your knowledge on the matter at hand. There’s no correct answer to that question.
But if you say that Gabi Tolkowsky is the best diamond cutter in the world, technically speaking, you’d be right.
Of course, there can only be one on the top of the world. But when it comes to diamond cutting, there were several people that, throughout history, contributed to the cause by inventing a range of different diamond cuts we know and love today.
The ten most popular and famous diamond cuts are listed above. But several other types exist – and they’re all implemented regularly in the diamond-cutting industry.
Next time someone asks you about the cut of your diamond – be prepared to tell them the exact name of the cut and, better yet, the name of the person who invented it!
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