Perfect Symmetry
The most beautiful objects in art and nature are often symmetrical. And so it is with diamonds. The brilliance, the fire, the life inside a stone depends entirely on how light is reflected within and dispersed by the facets. For a diamond to reveal its true beauty, each facet must be cut so that it mirrors its opposite e xactly: only then will all the light entering the stone be reflected internally and dispersed through the top alone.
When the symmetry is truly perfect, a unique pattern is formed inside the stone. Look down through the crown with a special viewer and you can see eight arrows radiating outwards. Look up through the pavilion and you can see a circle of eight hearts. The slightest flaw in cutting spoils the 'hearts and arrows' effect, which is why this 'ideal cut' must always be performed to perfection. The skill and experience required to do this are extremely rare. It is, however, a speciality of Backes & Strauss, and all but our bespoke diamonds are cut this way.
The meaning of perfection
The hearts and arrows pattern is a potent symbol. In the west, these evocative shapes recall Cupid and his bow? a pleasing addition to a diamond's romantic associations. In the east, it is the number of hearts and arrows on each diamond that is significant: eight is considered the most auspicious number of all by the Chinese, because it sounds like the Cantonese word for prosperity.
Meeting of masters
There are many satisfying parallels between the master diamond cutter and the master watchmaker. Both are supreme craftsmen. Both share the same mathematical precision, the same combination of art and science, the same almost elemental understanding: one works with light, the other with time.
These parallels are apparent in our watches. On the outside, the face and case evoke the geometric symmetry of the ideal cut. On the inside, our handcrafted movements are often described as jewel-like. The simile is perfect. Not only do our movements have a jewel's brilliance and complex perfection, but their intricate workings and the interplay of one piece on the next are suggestive of the way light moves within our diamonds.
It is this meeting of masters of diamonds and watchmaking, this elemental genius for light and time, that makes a Backes & Strauss watch unique. It is a masterpiece, inside and out.
