Arete Diamond × iDNES.cz

Diamond Trophy

1,264 natural diamonds. Set by hand under a microscope. Valued at CZK 1,000,000.

Explore the Process

1 264

natural diamonds

14K

gold

working days

1 000 000 Kč

trophy value

The Finished Piece

“For the prize, we didn’t choose a single diamond — there are 1,264 of them. All natural, set under a microscope. It took considerable effort, both in design and in the actual production, to create this stunning artifact.”

— Vladimír Kondratěnko, Arete Diamond

Step 1 of 5

3D Design

Using a specialized CAD program, we design the piece with micrometer precision. The software helps plan the position of each stone — it won’t allow placement where they wouldn’t fit.

Step 2 of 5

Wax Prototype

We print a wax prototype on a 3D printer accurate to thousandths of a millimeter. The process takes 56 hours — machine-level precision that replaces weeks of manual work.

Step 3 of 5

Casting in Gold

The wax model is used to cast the form in 14-karat gold. We carefully inspect each casting — if it doesn’t succeed on the first attempt, we create a new one.

Step 4 of 5

Setting the Diamonds

Stone by stone, under a microscope. 1,264 natural brilliant-cut diamonds, each with 57 individual facets. The setting process alone took over three days.