The Story of a Gem Cutter. Remembering Bernd Munsteiner, who died at the age of 81

Tragedy and sadness has once again befallen on the house of Munsteiner as their patriarch Bernd has passed. Bernd Munsteiner, the father of the “Fantasy Cut”, died on Thursday, June 6th, surrounded by his family, his wife Hanne, daughter-in-law Jutta, and grandson, Philipp, in Stipshausen, Germany. He was 81 years old.

Brave New World

Bernd Munsteiner was the determined young gem cutter who, after graduating from the school for art & design in Pforzheim, instead of going back to cutting traditional shapes with his father, took the rough gem materials, polished a top window, and then carved polished wedges into the girdles and pavilions, creating multiple displays of light within the gem, offering the world a new vision, the art of a gem – the Fantasy Cut. After decades of accolades, and becoming a gem industry icon, this style of cutting is now appropriately called “a Munsteiner Cut”.

At first, his countrymen shunned the design. But this did not deter Munsteiner from looking to the rest of the world, where open minds could appreciate his gem art. And the rest, as they say, is history.

There have been multitudes of awards, museum exhibitions and installations, several books, and hundreds of trade news articles written about him, his art, and the family members who were destined to carry on the new gem cutting tradition.

Read the full article on Roskin Gem News Report

Read the full article on Roskin Gem News Report

Article by Gary Roskin, published on Roskin Gem News Report