Da Vinci's Golden Ratio Inspires New Diamond Cut

On the heels of the international success of the The Da Vinci Code, an Israeli diamond designer has released “The Vinci Diamond,” a 62-facet pentacle cut that incorporates the precise ratios of the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio, also known as the Divine Proportion, is a mathematical relationship described by Da Vinci and described in the best selling book.

The cut has been developed by Shlomo Cohen, who in 1982 was credited with developing the Princess Cut.

“I have been studying the geometric possibilities offered by the Golden Ratio since 2001,” Cohen explains. “Interestingly, like Dan Brown, I was inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s study of the human body, the Vitruvian Man, and discovered that the artist had adopted the Golden Ratio to emphasize the understanding that symmetry denotes beauty. I set out to create The Vinci Diamond on the assumption that it would be aesthetically more pleasing if it conforms to the ratios of the Golden Ratio.”

The Golden Ratio is based on the relationship of three lines, of which the longest is 1.618 times the length of second longest, which in turn is 1.618 times the length of the shortest line. The ratio is considered divine because it is repeated over and over in nature. For example, each section of the index finger, from the tip to the base of the wrist, is larger than the preceding one by the ratio of 1.618.

This also is the ratio of the forearm to the hand. It has also been used widely in art and architecture: the Egyptians used it in the construction of the pyramids; the ancient Mayan adopted it when building the Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacan; and the Greeks used it when constructing the Parthenon in Athens.

The pentacle that Cohen invokes in the Vinci Diamond conforms to the geometric proportions of the Golden Ratio. The distance of the central segment of each diagonal is related to the distance of either of the outer segments by a multiple of 1.618.

The new cut has three pentacle shapes conforming to the exact dimensions of the Divine Proportion. With its precise form, The Vinci Diamond reflects both a fire and brilliance that surpasses that of the standard 57-facet round diamond.

“The completion of my work at the same time as The Da Vinci Code has enjoyed such amazing international success is a happy coincidence,” Cohen says. “And the fact a major Hollywood movie by the same name will soon be released is an added bonus. As I speak, we are putting together our own marketing plan for the project.”

The Vinci Diamond has been patented in Japan, Israel, Belgium, and the United States.