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European Cut or Boston Cut?

Early in 1860, Mr. Henry D. Morse, a native Bostonian and son of a banknote engraver, started the first diamond cutting factory in America., The Morse Diamond Cutting Company.

Working with his crew, Mr. Morse was constantly building, rebuilding and perfecting his diamond cutting machinery and also became an expert cutter and polisher in his own right. In or around 1875, Mr. Morse invented a sort of double lathe, which enabled two diamonds to cut each other by attrition produced by rapidly revolving machinery. Mr. Morse also invented the "Morse" gauge, an instrument for regulating all the angles to be cut on a stone.

After much study, Mr. Morse discovered that the proper proportion for a diamond's profile is one-third above the girdle and two-thirds below it . The Morse-cut diamonds, with their round outline girdles and perfect profile proportions, were called "Boston Cuts".

The European cutters adopted Mr. Morse's machinery, gauges and system of cutting round diamonds and for some reason, named them "European Cuts". Call them what you like, but some believe old cut round diamonds should be named "Boston Cuts".