It has been well said that a gift should be as genuine as the sentiment it expresses. To-day, as in past ages, they are still the favorite tokens of love and esteem. The very word jewel, derived from the French "joie," means "joy" and "gladness," and jewels have played an important part not only in the pleasure but in the art and history of mankind. When more attractive materials were not obtainable, the common objects of the wayside-shells or pebbles, berries or feathers-were put to service but whenever jewels could be secured they surpassed in favor all other articles of ornamentation. No tribe of savages, however rude, has failed to show a liking for some kind of decoration. Since the dawn of history personal adornment has been an object of interest to all races of mankind. Perhaps we no longer delight, as Aladdin did, in marble basins filled to overflowing with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds we recognize now that great quantities of gems are not of artistic importance, but that it is the individual stone, carefully selected, and appropriately mounted, which we rightly prize. This ametrine is an excellent example of a fantasy cut gem.A precious stone, a gem, a jewel-to-day as in the earliest times the words suggest at once beauty and color, something rare and greatly to be desired. Some simple grooves are used, which are mirrored throughout the pavilion. This technique uses large pavilion facets. Fantasy CutĪ fantasy cut is a popular style of faceting. Below is a Barion cut gem with a parallelogram outline.įlat facets aren’t the only gem cutting technique available to today’s lapidaries. Some new cuts are merging a variety of techniques. There’s no limit to shapes or the number and arrangements of facets. Indeed, there seems to be no end to the imagination of our lapidaries. While most newly named cuts are just variations on standard cuts, some are unique. What was once a “no name” cut that just worked for one stone can now become a “new name” cut that could work with other stones. They then have an established method for cutting it that can be referenced and used again. For example, someone may “design” the cut used on this red gem and save it with a computer program. Many of these newly named cuts are simply a means to standardize common techniques. Today, there are thousands of new designs. This made it easy for people to create new cuts. When the GemCad program was released in the 1980s, people were able to test their gem cutting designs on a computer before taking a stone to a lap. It’s a simple cut with a radiant pavilion. Sometimes, faceters simply use a cut that fits a piece of rough, something that just “works.” The red gem below is a good example of this. These factors, in addition to the fact that the rough must have greater than normal depth, ensure that you’ll only see this cut occasionally.ĭiaspore, 5-star Portuguese round, 10.90 cts, faceted by Stephen Kotlowski. As you can see from the photo below, the Portuguese requires many facets and considerable labor. It has more scintillation than almost any other cut. Portuguese CutĪ traditional named cut, the Portuguese cut has several tiers of facets, which create a wonderful display of light. As technology advances, the number of named cuts increases. The snowflake cut is another refreshingly beautiful new design.Īs a group, these creative but less frequently seen cuts are known as named cuts. The divine cut, a round cutting style, allegedly gives a gem more sparkle, a higher perceived color grade, and a larger face-up appearance than round brilliants. Typically, natural stones are polished into double cabochons to maximize weight.Ī colorless 1.41-ct Mexican opal with a checkerboard top displays its play of color effect when illuminated. Cabochons can be single cabs or double cabs. Sometimes, gem cutters may give them square or rectangular shapes. Softer gem materials may also receive cabochon cuts, since cabs don’t show scratches as easily as faceted gems do.Ĭabochons usually have circular or oval shapes. Cabbing these stones would emphasize their color and luster rather than brilliance. Some stones may be cut into cabochons because they’re lower quality or too opaque for faceting. In faceted gems, these effects would be less visible. Lapidaries cab certain gem species, such as opal and moonstone, to better display visual effects such as play of color, cat’s eye, and asterism. These types of gems date back to ancient times and have remained popular in the centuries since. Gems polished into domes are called cabochons or cabs. A modified princess cut (named PrincessPlus) compared to a standard princess cut.
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