Podcast: A New Era for Old Cuts

Guy Burton, managing director of UK-based jeweler Hancocks London, explains the allure of vintage diamond shapes on the latest episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast.

Old-mine cushion cuts have seen particular popularity, receiving a boost from Taylor Swift’s engagement ring, Burton told Rapaport’s Joshua Freedman.

A decade and a half ago, “people would come in without a clue [about old cuts],” he elaborated. “They’d look at it, be like, ‘Wow, this is…different. It looks cushion-shaped or round, but I’m seeing something different to what I might see at other high-street brands.’”

In recent years, however, “people will come to us purely because of the old cuts.”

Burton noted three main reasons for the change. Consumers have seen the style on social media and have fallen in love with the stone’s life and character. They prefer the uniqueness of each old cut. And they are attracted to the fact that the stones are recycled and have history, he added.

Burton described how the commercialization and commoditization of the diamond market caused a shift away from these diamond cuts to more standard specimens. In addition, modern cuts generally, although not always, have a greater spread than vintage ones, meaning they appear larger from above relative to the carat weight.

Speaking on January 20, Burton also related how the recent holiday season went, and gave an update on the state of UK retail and the Hatton Garden diamond trade.

This was not his first appearance on a Rapaport show: He joined Sonia Esther Soltani on the Jewelry Connoisseur podcast’s inaugural episode in 2020 and again in 2024.

Listen to the episode here:

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