David So (Solasfera diamond creator) is proud to have the endorsement of famous master diamond cutter Hy Kessler for our Solasfera diamond.

Known for his impeccable cutting of the world-renowned “Incomparable” diamond, Kessler has observed the Solasfera and offered us his expert opinion.

Hy Kessler
In memory and respect – 2009

Below is a letter he wrote to David So regarding the Solasfera diamond:

We are pleased to present here a brief profile of his distinguished career.

The Incomparable Art of Diamond Cutting – Hy Kessler, Master Cutter, Earns a Flawless Reputation Cutting a 407ct, World Largest Flawless Fancy Yellow Natural Diamond

The History

If you owned a five carat raw diamond that was worth $10,000, you would seek out a professional diamond cutter to transform it into a beautiful brilliant stone. What if your rough cut diamond was 100 carats had the potential to be a $1 million dollar stone? Or better yet, an 850+ carat stone potentially worth $25 million. Knowing that one false move during the cutting process could cause your diamond to shatter, you would search the world over to find only the very best.
In 1984, Marvin Samuels, one of the owners of the “Incomparable”, the fourth largest rough diamond on record was looking for someone to bring this stone to its full potential. This natural fancy yellow, found in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), weighed in at 890 carats, and was in need of the expert of all experts to cut it. Mr. Samuels called Hy Kessler, who transformed it into a 407 carat flawless beauty.
To appreciate Mr. Kessler’s extraordinary work and skill, one must take a look at how rare and how demanding polishing large priceless diamonds is. In the entire history of diamonds, there have only been a handful of rough diamonds over 500 carats, and only three of those have been over 900 carats. Most cutters have never even seen, nor held in their hands stones this large, let alone worked on them .

The art of cutting a diamond

Knowing what to do in theory is one thing. Actually placing the diamond on a wheel rotating at 3000 or more RPM and letting the wheel eat away material to get to the desire facet size and angle is an entirely different story. There are no second chances in diamond cutting – no come from behind victories or rematches. Therefore, every turn, every tilt, every stop, every placement of the stone on the moving wheel is critical.
Very few in the business will even dream of such an undertaking because of the commitment to the project, which is to work until its completion. In Mr. Kessler’s case it was three years.
How does someone become such a prolific cutter that can be trusted with transforming highly prized rough diamonds into their polished and priceless counterparts? It is a combination of extraordinary talent, including being able to “hear” what a diamond is revealing as it is being worked on. It is also a desire for nothing less than perfection in your work, and submission to the idea of one being a life-long student of the craft.
According to Kessler the diamond polishing business is not a glamorous one, but one requiring long and often stressful hours. He recalls many sleepless nights pacing the floor, contemplating scenarios of grinding sequences on priceless stones.

A history of Mr. Kessler’s experience

Mr. Kessler’s earliest practical experience in the diamond business came after his return to the U.S. from service in the Navy during WWII. He was taught by his brother, who, also serving in Europe, learned diamond cutting there, following a medical discharge after the D-Day invasion.
After working for his brother for a number of months, and realizing that he wanted to learn more than his brother had the time to teach him, he sought out other opportunities.
Kessler learned quickly that experienced diamond cutters were very secretive about their craft. Many of the diamond cutters in New York at the time were Jewish immigrants fleeing the Nazi regime, and regarded their trade secrets as job security. His responsibilities working for these employers were minimal, limited to tasks such as placing facets onto a rough diamond.
His desire to learn to cut a diamond in its entirety and properly led him absorb everything he could find on the subject, including reading old books on diamond cutting, and making diamond mock-ups. He used play-dough type material to shape 2-3ct diamond replicas to help him visualize diamond cuts in 3D in order figure out how to cut them properly.
On one occasion he was given the opportunity to cut a fancy shape Marquise diamond, which he had never done before. To prepare for this, he borrowed a sample stone, studied it for about two hours, made a mock-up. By the end of the day was able to cut the entire stone.
It was not long until Kessler mastered cutting all diamond shapes. His talent, mental dexterity, steady hands and aesthetic acumen enabled him not only to master existing diamond cutting tools, but to create new ones as well. Kessler was perhaps one of the pioneers, having introduced the faceting of the diamond girdle to add strength and beauty to a polished diamond.
In 1950, after several years of working for firms in the diamond industry, Kessler decided that was time to go out on his own. He opened a shop on West 47th street in New York, and the rest is history.
Mr. Kessler’s reputation grew as his work became known throughout the industry. Owners of large rough 10 to 20ct stones sought out Kessler to transform them into beautiful diamonds. As time passed, the size of the stones that Kessler worked on grew, as did their value, and the stress of cutting them..
Throughout his evolution, one attribute that has set Kessler apart from other cutters was his confidence. It takes a lot of courage and confidence to put a million dollar diamond on the cutting wheel that spins at 3,300 RPM, then grind it just right. These are the traits that led to Kessler being selected to cut the “Incomparable”.
Kessler says that cutting the “Incomparable” gave him great satisfaction, because he knew this was truly a once in a lifetime experience and he will go down in history as doing something truly special within his industry.

Mr. Kessler today

Although doing less of the spectacular grinding work that had made him famous, these days Mr. Kessler is still very active in managing a high caliber diamond polishing operation, and still makes critical decisions on transforming rough diamonds into beautiful polished ones.
Having worked on so many magnificent diamonds and having seen just about everything out there, one might think it would be hard to impress a true expert like Mr. Kessler. In June of 2004, however, at the unveiling of the Solasfera Round Brilliant Cut diamond, designer David So did just that.
Upon thoroughly examining the Solasfera, Kessler congratulated David with a handshake on designing such an incredibly beautiful stone. Kessler told So that the Solasfera “sang to him” and was amazed by how much more brilliant and beautiful the Solasfera diamond was than any round diamond that he has ever come across. Kessler also noted that he is optimistic about the evolution of the art of cutting diamonds, as science and technology progress.

For all his hard work and accomplishments Mr. Kessler is well respected and cherished within the diamond industry. We believe that he is the best kept secret in the diamond world, but its time that the rest of the world knew of these accomplishments.

So the next time you encounter the Incomparable and bask in its brilliant rays, remember the man that committed three years of his life and his humanity to make it happen – Hy Kessler.

In memory and respect – 2009

Mr. Kessler’s thoughts on the future

June 23, 2004

Dear David So (Solasfera Diamond Creator),

In more than fifty years of cutting some of the world’s largest diamonds, I have seen many, many beautiful diamonds, but I have never seen anything like your Solasfera diamond. It is the most brilliant round diamond that I have ever seen, your Solasfera is so beautiful it sings to me. You’ve brought much more “life” to the round diamond than anyone can ever imagine, and you took away the dark spots as well. What else can you say about a diamond that speaks so well for itself? You have created something that is truly unbelievable. This is the future of round diamonds. You have topped them all!

I applaud you on your efforts and congratulate you on designing such a beautiful diamond.

Best wishes,

Hy Kessler

Click here for more information on The Incomparable Diamond.