gems, lapidary arts, faceting, rose cuts

Schmetzer examines the development and variety of rose cuts used for colored gemstones through the gem-set magnificent monstrance made in 1657/58 by the Cologne goldsmith Christian Schweling. The monstrance contains rose-cut blue sapphires, pyrope-almandine garnets, rock crystal, citrine, and amethyst, with garnets occurring throughout the object in particularly diverse forms. The cuts are classified into nine groups according principally to the symmetry and form of their central “star” facets, including arrangements of triangular, rhombic, kite-shaped, and other facets. Many are substantially more complex than the standard Antwerp, half-Dutch, and Dutch rose cuts familiar from diamonds. The larger size of available colored-stone rough, especially quartz and garnet, allowed cutters to produce elaborate patterns that were impractical in diamond, and the precision and symmetry of these cuts demonstrate a high degree of craftsmanship. The monstrance was stolen and largely destroyed in 1975, but about 85% of its gemstones were recovered and it was reconstructed between 1978 and 1987. Investigation of records concerning the restoration confirms that the colored stones with unusual rose cuts are original 17th-century material rather than modern replacements. Schmetzer concludes that the great diversity of such cuts demonstrates that the second half of the 17th century represented a flowering of rose cutting for colored gemstones; as diamond cutting evolved toward the brilliant cut, this diversity declined and many of the more complex rose cuts eventually fell into obscurity.