Marcel Tolkowsky

Marcel Tolkowsky (born  December 5, 1898 in Antwerp , †  February 10, 1991 in New York City ) was a Belgian mathematician and renowned gemologist . On the basis of scientific studies of the brilliance and play of colors of diamonds, he established a cut for brilliant-cut diamonds , which is still the standard in North America to this day.

Life

Marcel Tolkowsky was born in Antwerp in 1898 , his ancestors had been involved in the processing and trading of diamonds for several generations . He completed an engineering degree at the University of London and published in 1919 as part of his doctorate in mathematics with the book "Diamond Design. A Study of the Reflection and Refraction of Light in a Diamond “a mathematical-optical analysis of the brilliance and the play of colors of diamonds, which is considered the first scientific study in this area. In doing so, he laid the foundations for a brilliant shape that, as the Tolkowsky diamond or ideal cut , has been the standard in cutting technology , especially in North America, to the present day . In 1940 he emigrated to the United States , where he worked as a diamond designer and dealer until 1975. He died in New York City in 1991 .

literature

• Barak Green, Al Gilbertson, Ilene Reinitz, Mary Johnson, James Shigley: What did Marcel Tolkowsky Really Say? In: GIA on Diamond Cut. Gemological Institute of America, published August 17, 2001 ( PDF file , approx. 1.1 MB)
• Marcel Tolkowsky, 92, A Retired Gemologist . Obituary in: The New York Times . Edition of February 15, 1991, p. D16
• Rayner W. Hesse: Jewelrymaking Through History: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport 2007, ISBN 0-31-333507-9 , pp. 76/77

Web links

• Marcel Tolkowsky: Diamond Design. A Study of the Reflection and Refraction of Light in a Diamond London and New York 1919 (online version)
• Tolkowsky Diamonds (English)