Gail,
Yes, Scott and I have discussed this many times. Scott’s replica research comes from many sources, mostly old images, one line diagrams, and whenever possible, actual inspection of the gems. Rarely are full designs available, and his replica techniques are amazingly complex, in order to get exact facet layouts. There are many old gems, but old designs are very rare. We still have not found an actual design with diagram, index settings and angles over 100 years old. This is mostly because complete designs evolved along with technology, and faceting technology is relatively recent. Have you, or anyone else, found anything earlier. If so, I would love to know about it.
I do encourage everyone to visit Scott’s websites at
http://www.museumdiamonds.com
and his new site at
http://www.scottthestonecutter.com
There is so much to learn from Scott’s efforts!