Still often seen in Georgian era jewellery and in later jewels when recycled, in 1730 lexicographer Nathan Bailey defines a rose (cut) Diamond as
“..one that is quite flat underneath; but whose upper part is cut in divers little faces, usually triangles, the uppermost of which terminates in a point.” An early description of a rose cut Diamond specifically named as such dates to 1611, when James I of England purchased a “fair rose diamond set in a ring” from London goldsmith John Harris. These Diamonds would have been mined in India and exported to Europe by the Portuguese from their colony in Goa. 

The starting point for a Diamond cutter making a Rose Cut would be to cleave off a fragment of the Diamond to make a flat base. There are generally between three and twenty-four facets on a rose cut, usually triangular in shape, but the majority of rose cuts have between ten and twelve facets, older rose-cuts will generally sit up higher and have fewer facets. These twinkly Diamonds have a unique and gentle gleam which speaks of candlelight and is more subtle than its more brilliantly cut descendants.