Background
The diamond has seen many changes since people first discovered
how to cut and polish it in the 15th century. Cutting techniques
reached their peak in 1919 with the Brillant cut diamond and
its 57 facets. It reflects the Baroque era at its best: opulence
and ostentation.
With the new millennium in sight, the time had come for
a new and innovative approach.
In 1990 a collaboration was
initiated between the gem cutter Bernd Munsteiner and Dr
Ulrich Freiesleben. Bernd Munsteiner had the idea to preserve
the original (crystalline) shape of a stone while cutting
it. This new way of thinking led to the most exciting
development since 1919 - two new diamond cuts - which were
later introduced by Dr
Freiesleben to the world as the Context Diamond and
Spirit Diamond.
Marion Autrum trained and worked as a goldsmith in Germany,
maintaining close working contact with Dr Freiesleben. After
her move to London, she continued to work with these exciting
new diamonds, introducing them to the UK market. Today Marion
Autrum is recognized as a specialist in Context and Spirit
Diamond jewellery, offering an extensive range of these
diamonds in her collection.
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Prize-winning
diamond cuts
In 1997, the Context Diamond received
the Red
Dot Highest Design Quality award – a German accolade
from one of the largest design competitions worldwide (it
attracts over 4000 entries from 40 countries annually).
In the following year, 1998, the Spirit Diamond was also
awarded the Red Dot High Design Quality award.
‘Europa Star’, the international jewellery magazine,
called the Spirit Diamond “a real sensation in
the development of diamond cuts.”
Context
Diamond and Spirit Diamond
reflect more light
A scientific investigation by the renowned Fraunhofer Institute
in Jena, Germany compared the relative intensity of light
reflection from different diamond cuts.
Reflection Intensity
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1. Brillant, HRD -
100.0%
2. Brillant, Ideal Cut -
104.9%
3. Context Diamond -
115.4%
4. Spirit Diamond -
117.3%
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The Context Diamond has a degree of reflection
significantly higher than the best Brillant cut diamond.
The Spirit Diamond rates the brightest,
even surpassing the Context Diamond.
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