Lapidary and bespoke jewellers Hatton Garden, London
We cut, recut and set stones by hand in a loft workshop off Hatton Garden. Scroll, and watch one come alive on the machine.
Scroll to start the lap
01 The cutting
The rough
Most rough looks like a sugar lump left out in the rain. This one came from a dealer in Antwerp, wrapped in tissue. We turn it under a loupe for an hour before the first cut, finding where the colour runs and which flaws we must cut around.
The preform
On a coarse lap, with a dop stick and a steady wrist, the rough is ground to a blank close to its final outline. No facets yet: a girdle, and a shallow cone above and below.
The facets
Pavilion first, then the crown. Every facet is set by angle and by index on the machine, then cut flat against a spinning lap. A degree out and the light leaks away through the bottom of the stone.
The polish
Each facet goes onto a polishing lap with diamond finer than flour. The frost clears one face at a time until the stone stops looking like a stone and starts looking like light.
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02 Your stone
Pick a gem and a cut. The planes of the stone slide to their new positions and the light inside it is traced again, live. Drag to turn it.
Gem
Cut
Colourless, and the most fire of any stone. Light bounces inside until it finds the table.
Drag the stone to turn it
03 The setting
The head
Platinum, because it does not wear away: it only moves. We draw the head from a single billet, four claws and a gallery to carry the stone, then fix it to a hand-forged band in 18 carat yellow gold.
The seat
A tiny seat is cut into each claw so the girdle lies level and cannot rock. This is where poor settings fail: a stone seated a hair high works loose within a year.
The claws
Each claw is pushed over the girdle with a pusher and filed to a bead, one at a time, checking the stone has not shifted. There is a small click when it is right.
The finish
Polished, signed inside the band with our mark and the date, and handed over with a certificate and a free first service. Most rings take six to eight weeks from the first drawing.
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04 Work
from
£2,400
Drawn with you, made in the loft. Bring a stone or let us find one.
from
£180
Chipped, dull or cut for a fashion that has passed. Most stones lose under 8 per cent.
from
£150
We buy from dealers we have known for years, and we show you the stone before you pay.
05 The small print
06 Visit
An hour with a cutter and a bench of stones. Bring something to recut, or come with nothing but an idea.
Thank you. We will check the bench diary and write back within a day. Ring the bell twice, the stair is steep.