A friend of a friend says the ring their fiancee is giving them is quite expensive because it has "miner" cut diamonds. Is this true?
It's "old mine cut."
This cut of diamond was prevalent in the 1800's up until the time in which the Old European cut diamond took over. Vintage stones can be worth more that modern cuts--not so much because of the cut as it is because of the quality of the stone. A very well cut Old Mine Cut stone is quite brilliant. Lots of diamonds that are faceted and set these days would have been put in drill bits years ago. The modern cuts have been developed to take full advantage of the diamond's natural refractive characteristics.
Vintage cuts used to be a disadvantage (and sometimes still is) when valuing a diamond, but in recent years, antique cuts and ring mounts have become a popular choice for engagement rings. This new market drives the pricing of old diamond rings. Your friend's ring is probably comparable in price to a modern ring with the same diamond weight.
There are some beautiful old mine cut on eBay right now. Have a look:
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 old miner 1.75 ct. cut loose diamond old mine new $7,870.00 Time Remaining: 59m Buy It Now for only: $7,870.00 |
 Old miner old mine cut loose diamond 2.51 carat diamond $12,500.00 Time Remaining: 4h 25m Buy It Now for only: $12,500.00 |
 2.25 carat old miner old mine cut loose diamond H/I VS1 $10,750.00 Time Remaining: 4h 59m Buy It Now for only: $10,750.00 |
 Big 2.51 carats old mine cut loose diamond new $12,500.00 Time Remaining: 1d 1h 18m Buy It Now for only: $12,500.00 |
 1.25 carat old mine cut loose diamond sparkling $4,575.00 Time Remaining: 1d 13h 29m Buy It Now for only: $4,575.00 |
 3.01 Ct. H/I VS1 loose diamond old miner old mine cut $16,750.00 Time Remaining: 1d 21h 54m Buy It Now for only: $16,750.00 |
 1.25 carat old mine cut loose diamond sparkling $4,575.00 Time Remaining: 2d 22h 56m Buy It Now for only: $4,575.00 |
 Old mine 2 carat loose diamond old miner cut new $8,475.00 Time Remaining: 3d 44m Buy It Now for only: $8,475.00 |
 2.01 carat old miner old mine cut loose diamond new $8,975.00 Time Remaining: 4d 1h 34m Buy It Now for only: $8,975.00 |
 1.75 carat H/I VS1 old miner old mine cut loose diamond $7,875.00 Time Remaining: 4d 8h 25m Buy It Now for only: $7,875.00 |
 1.01 carat old miner old mine cut loose diamond new $2,850.00 Time Remaining: 4d 9h 43m Buy It Now for only: $2,850.00 |
 Old miner old mine cut loose diamond H/I VS1 2.01 carat $8,475.00 Time Remaining: 4d 12h 31m Buy It Now for only: $8,475.00 |
 1.51 carat old miner old mine cut loose diamond new $5,350.00 Time Remaining: 4d 12h 37m Buy It Now for only: $5,350.00 |
 2 carat old miner cut diamond old mine natural loose diamond $8,975.00 Time Remaining: 4d 13h 7m Buy It Now for only: $8,975.00 |
 1.25 ct. G/H VS1 old miner old mine cut loose diamond $4,585.00 Time Remaining: 4d 16h 55m Buy It Now for only: $4,585.00 |
 Big 2.51 carats old mine cut loose diamond new $12,500.00 Time Remaining: 4d 21h 8m Buy It Now for only: $12,500.00 |
 old miner 1.75 ct. cut loose diamond old mine new $7,870.00 Time Remaining: 4d 23h 4m Buy It Now for only: $7,870.00 |
 Stunning Antique 0.55 carat OLD MINE CUT Diamond K SI-1 $1,092.26 Time Remaining: 8d 22h 18m Buy It Now for only: $1,092.26 |
 IGI Certified & Sealed I VS2 0.56ct Natural White Diamond, Old European Mine Cut $1,633.00 Time Remaining: 13d 21h Buy It Now for only: $1,633.00 |
 HKD Certified & Sealed H I2 1.04ct Natural White Diamond, Old European Mine Cut $1,690.00 Time Remaining: 13d 21h Buy It Now for only: $1,690.00 |
 0.30ct 4.4mm J I1 Natural White Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut, Germany $1,050.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $1,050.00 |
 0.19ct 3.4mm M I1 Loose Natural Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut, Germany $750.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $750.00 |
 RARE 0.12ct G SI2 Natural White Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut, Germany $900.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $900.00 |
 RARE 0.35ct M SI1 Natural Brown Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut, Germany $900.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $900.00 |
 0.06ct 2.5mm G SI2 Natural White Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut, Germany $240.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $240.00 |
 0.07ct 2.4mm G SI2 Natural White Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut, Germany $450.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $450.00 |
 0.055ct 2.2mm H VS1 Natural White Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut Germany $360.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $360.00 |
 0.03ct 2.2mm G SI2 Natural White Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut, Germany $210.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $210.00 |
 0.04ct 2.2mm G SI1 Natural White Diamond, Antique Old European Mine Cut, Germany $270.00 Time Remaining: 14d 18h 11m Buy It Now for only: $270.00 |
 1.67 ct Old Mine Cut Fancy Color Yellow VVS2 GIA Certified Loose Diamond $10,020.00 Time Remaining: 14d 19h 44m Buy It Now for only: $10,020.00 |
 GIA Cert 0.77ct antique OLD MINE CUT cut Diamond I SI-1 Really Nice example. $2,035.22 Time Remaining: 14d 22h 3m Buy It Now for only: $2,035.22 |
 3.07 ct Old Mine Cut Fancy Faint Color GREENISH YELLOW Yellow SI2 GIA Diamond $17,775.30 Time Remaining: 17d 23m Buy It Now for only: $17,775.30 |
 Certed ANTIQUE 0.293 OLD MINE CUT fancy lt. yellow SI-1 $565.78 Time Remaining: 25d 23h 32m Buy It Now for only: $565.78 |
 1.03ct Old Mine Brilliant Cut J/VS1 GIA Uber Solitaire R4323 Diamonds by Lauren $6,995.00 Time Remaining: 26d 21h 27m Buy It Now for only: $6,995.00 |
 GIA .72ct Old Mine Cut Round Loose Diamond M, SI1 $1,049.00 Time Remaining: 26d 22h 39m Buy It Now for only: $1,049.00 |
