For the first time in over 130 years the classic diamond design has been reinvented – and it was done right here in New Zealand.

Master jeweller Ian Douglas, of The Village Goldsmith, worked for over a decade to create the diamond design he is calling The Floeting Diamond.

This design has no claws, clasps or enveloping metal and Douglas is the world’s first jeweller to achieve this feat.

The Floeting Diamond is created using a special laser cutter made specially for this design, producing a precise, laser-cut “micro-groove”, allowing the diamond to be secured from the underside.

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Inspired by the large amounts of clients requesting jewellery with a diamond that did not showcase the claw over his 50 years in the profession, Douglas says it became a norm to reject the request because it was impossible.

It was because of this that he embarked on a journey of “research and discovery” 20 years ago when he had the first initial idea to create the diamond to meet the demand.

“The technology did not exist 20 years ago, and it just did not match my idea,” he says.

He originally trialled the idea with an international diamond company but was unable to achieve the “redesign of the diamond” and resulted in the experimentation on many diamonds.

Douglas says over the past decade a lot of work went into making the idea come to life which eventually led him to collaborate with internationally renowned master diamond cutter Mike Botha.

Botha, Douglas and a team worked with an international university to develop the new and advanced laser cutting machine to create the look of a “floating diamond”.

Douglas adds that with the creation of The Floeting Diamond marks a “whole new segment in the diamond market”.

“This is the biggest change since 1886 when Tiffany and Co created the solitaire diamond, a ring that is still being sold today,” he says.

Since then, there has been nothing, prompting Douglas to say the creation of the diamond is “revolutionary” despite it being “crazily simple”.

Seeing the diamond come to life and receive a number of accolades, Douglas says he is “really proud” of what has been created.

“It has been a bit of a roller coaster but has been a heck of a lot of fun.”

The Floeting Diamond launched in late 2021 and can be purchased as rings, studs and pendants, with prices starting at $2,400. The Village Goldsmith is working on new iterations of the diamond and different styles can be expected in the future.