Brian Gavin

Brian Gavin (born 14 November 1957) is a fifth-generation diamond cutter from South Africa. Referred to as “Brian the Cutter,” Gavin is best known for establishing a quality benchmark and grading system for hearts and arrows diamonds, a specialized precision-cut form of the round brilliant diamond.

Renowned for strictness, Gavin’s system for the grading of hearts and arrows diamonds was first presented at the 2004 International Diamond Cut Conference (IDCC) in Moscow Russia. Available free of charge, his system is in-use by credentialed diamond appraisers and consumer-protection laboratories .

Brian is the son of Ben Gavin (1929-2009), master diamond cutter, and Femma Gavin, well known South African artist featured in the Smithsonian Libraries’ Collection (1935-2006). He is the grandson of Esther Alida (Stella) Aronson (1915-1980) and Barend Deutz (1911-1987) master diamond cutter from the well known Deutz family in Amsterdam. In the late 1930s Deutz was brought to South Africa to teach diamond cutting along with his brother-in-law, Solly Neuwit, at Majestic Diamond Cutting Works in Johannesburg. By the early 1950s Majestic was made a DeBeers sightholder and continued to flourish into the 1980s.

With research starting in 2009, Brian developed and patented a cushion cut diamond with Hearts and Arrows