My journey into creating famous diamond replicas began back around 1978 and continues today. I’ve done research all over the world, met some very interesting and helpful people along the way, and read many books anywhere from the Library of Congress to the library at the British Museum. My best reference concerning diamond cutting was Herbert Tillander’s “Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewellery 1381-1910” printed in 1995. The research that went into it was extensive as he had access to many historic diamond collections and he wrote exhaustively on the evolution of diamond cutting. This was instrumental in helping me understand how diamond cutters of yore did their work, mentally understanding the optics, using the tools of the time, and physically cutting the diamonds.
Imagine my surprise when I received an email in May from his daughter, Ulla, asking if I had any photos of some famous diamonds. She needed them to add to a second edition of her fathers book that she was in the process of creating. This book was something the diamond world had been asking and waiting for many years. I did not have photos of the actual diamonds, which she really wanted but was unsuccessful as the current owners were either unable or unwilling to provide them. So she settled on the next best possibility – inserting pictures of replicas. Of the two she wanted, I had only created one. After a bit of email back and forth, I provided a picture of my Idol’s Eye replica.
So, out of the entire book, my favorite page is p.187 where my replica is shown. The original book was so extremely important to my understanding of the historic diamond world that there was no way I can properly articulate it. And to have my work in the second edition is an honor beyond belief. I am so extremely grateful to Ulla to be asked, and humbled to be included.
Ulla sent me an invitation to come to the grand unveiling in London in September, but Karen and I had just gotten back from Africa in August and another trip across the Atlantic so soon was not something we were willing or able to do. Still, it was a remarkably nice gesture and I hope Ulla and I can continue future collaborations.
