Cutting gives the stones a specific shape and enables the true colour and brilliance of the gem to emerge. Gemstones may come in a variety of shapes, such as pear, round, emerald, square, heart, oval and triangular, among many others.
Baguette
These rectangular and long shape cut gemstones are a popular choice for accent stones in jewelry. The term Baguette originated from the French and Italian words “bacchetta” or “baguette” meaning little stick or rod. The cut was created in the 1920-1930’s during the Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements. Because of its clean lines and a geometric modern look, which deviated sharply from the traditional Round cut, it became instantly popular. Crafted in a “step cut” fashion, its 14 facets have been cut in steps along the edges, resembling a pyramid without its top. They may not be as fiery and brilliant as a round cut, but these stones are cut to maximize clarity. Since crafting Baguettes requires fewer cuts than other gemstone shapes, it is extremely important to cut them properly, since there are much fewer facets to hide any imperfections. Baguette cut stones can be regular or “tapered”, meaning two sides are tapered inward, resembling a trapezoid. The tapered variation works particularly well as side stones to a round center piece. Baguette cut stones are usually less than one carat.
Briolette
The Briolette cut is a drop or pear-shaped semi precious stone with 84 triangular facets covering its entire surface. There is no table, crown, or pavilion. Because of this intense amount of facets only about 5 to 10 briolettes can be cut per day. Its many angles, like tiny chandeliers, contribute to a wonderful display of color and radiance. Briolettes are a perfect choice for dangling earrings, because as they dangle and move, they capture the most light. Briolettes usually are not mounted into heavy settings, and because of that, more of the gemstone is exposed to be visible. Most loose briolettes are drilled with a hole through the top, allowing jewelers to insert a hanging wire for earrings so the gem can dangle freely.
Cabachon
A cabochon, alternatively known as “cab”, is simply a polished gemstone without any facets. It typically has a flat bottom and a slightly rounded top. The traditional Cabochon cut is the oval shape, but most shapes can be cut Cabochon style. The term originates from the French “caboche”, meaning head. Gemstones shaped and polished “en cabochon” date back to early Judaic, Greek and Roman time periods. Cabochons surged in popularity in the late 13th – early 14th century in Europe, well before the advent of modern cutting technology and knowledge of faceting. In fact, this was the only gem fashioning available for a long time other than using gems in their natural crystal shape. Even though today most jewellers prefer faceted styles, certain gemstones are still cut “en cabochon”.
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Chequerboard
A style of faceting the table and crown of a gemstone that often increases the surface sparkle of the gem. The best way to visualize this style of cutting is like seeing a rotated chess board and the individual black and white shapes are no longer square, but Diamond-like in appearance. The cut is normally applied to larger coloured gemstones and is popular on cushion shaped gems.
It is normally applied to translucent and opaque gems, although occasionally it is used for transparent gems that are lighter in hue. A well-cut checkerboard, will display incredible surface lustre. Tilt the stone backwards and forwards slightly and you should see facets light up: this effect is known as scintillation.
Cushion
Once referred to as “Old Mine Cut” or “Old European Cut”, this cut presents with approximately 64 facets and offers a basic square shape with gently rounded corners, making it look like a couch cushion. It may also be referred as a “Pillow Cut”. Just like a Princess cut, this cut maximizes utilizing the raw gem in the best way possible to avoid waste while simultaneously maintaining fabulous gem luster and brilliance. This traditional cut has been around for 200 years, and has been the industry standard before the start of 20th century. Some cushion cuts may appear slightly oval in their shape.
Emerald
The Emerald Cut is shaped like a rectangle from the top, with trimmed corners. This particular cut has fewer facets than Round or Square cuts. The emphasis here is not so much on the sparkle, but on the gem’s clarity and colour. Colour shows very vividly in Emerald cut gemstones. In lighter coloured gemstones, this cut can be quite dazzling with broader and more striking flashes of light, with the light bouncing between the light and dark surfaces of the gem, as if looking into a hall of mirrors. This cut was originally designed for cutting emeralds. Since emeralds occur in nature with numerous inclusions, cutting them is especially difficult due to potential chipping. The Emerald cut addressed those issues by decreasing the amount of force applied during cutting and protecting the stone from breakage. This cut is now used for diamonds and other gemstones as well.
Heart
The heart shaped cut is in basically a pear shaped cut with a slit at the top. With 59 facets, this cut can be very fiery and offer superb sparkle. Symmetry is very important in selecting a good Heart Shaped cut gemstone. The two halves must be equal, and the slit at the top should be sharp and distinct and the sides should be proportionally rounded. They are not often seen in engagement rings but heart shaped gemstones remain a popular choice for pendants, earrings, and gemstone solitaire rings.
Marquise
This football shaped cut is also known as Navette Cut, and is crafted with 57 facets. It is a type of a modified brilliant cut, meaning it was cut to reflect the most light and offer maximum sparkle and colour. It’s important to note that if a gem is cut too shallow, the light will pass through the back of the gem thereby reducing its colour and sparkle. Striving for perfect symmetry is another important factor in crafting Marquise cut gemstones. The two end points must line up with each other precisely and the two halves of the stone should be perfect copies of each other. This will ensure that the stone sits properly in its setting, minimizing future chipping or breakage.
Oval
The Oval cut was created by Lazare Kaplan in the late 1950’s – early 1960’s. It presents with an elliptical shape when viewed from the top, and can be described as a hybrid between round and marquise shapes. Polished with 69 facets, it is a type of a modified brilliant cut, which offers its wearer the fire and brilliance of a round cut gemstone, in a more unique shape. Its elongated silhouette is an added advantage, because it creates the illusion of a larger gemstone, and allows a finger to look longer and slimmer when wearing it.
Pear
Fashioned in a shape of a gleaming teardrop, a Pear cut gemstone can be described as a hybrid between a Marquise and Oval cut with a tapered point on one end. It is one of the modified Round Brilliant cuts and with 71 facets which reflect light beautifully and allow colour to showcase dramatically. When crafting a Pear cut gemstone perfect symmetry is vital. The point should align with the peak of the rounded end. Pear cut gemstones require a special 5 to 7 prong setting, with a prong to maintain support for its fragile point. Most women wear the pointed end of the Pear cut gemstone in the direction of the fingernail, although that largely depends on the wearer’s choice. The elongated silhouette of a Pear cut ring slims and lengthens its wearer’s finger, making it an attractive choice not only for earrings and pendants, but for rings as well.
Princess
Princess cut is the second most popular cut besides the Round Brilliant cut. Actually, it is technically known as “Square modified brilliant”, since it is basically a square version of the Round Brilliant cut. It boasts between 58 to 76 facets that bounce light off its surface beautifully, making it a shape with the most sparkle. Its positive attributes are best brought out by light, transparent gemstones. It is a fairly recent cut, having been created in the 1979 by Ygal Perlman, Betzalel Ambar and Israel Itzkowitz of Israel. However, the Princess cut precursor, or the Profile cut was created by Arpad Nagy of London, in 1961. A princess cut gem with the same measurements as a round cut gem will actually have a higher carat weight, because the round cut gem would have had its four corners cut off to make it round.
Round
With 58 facets, this cut is the most efficient in capturing a stone’s brilliance and sparkle because of its perfect symmetry. The round cut has undergone many, many transformations over the years in an effort to manipulate the facets in the best way possible to optimize the dispersion of light in a stone. Some of the most notable round cuts include an the Old Mine cut, Old Single Cut, Rounded Single Cut, Jubilee Cut and Old European Cut. The modern Round Brilliant cut was initially developed for diamond but is now widely used for gemstones as well.
Trillion / Trilliant
Trilliant cut gemstones are triangular in shape. The edges may be slightly rounded or cropped straight in triangular step cuts along its 3 sides. The curved variation of it is usually used for single, solitaire stones, and is also known as trillion, while the uncurved variation, or Trilliant, is better suited for side stones. The Trilliant is a type of a round brilliant, and its equilateral form with 31 to 43 sparkly facets is known to maximize brilliance and gemstone color. Symmetry, angles and proportions remain critical to the proper dispersion of light. If set as a solitaire, the Trilliant cut gemstone will require a specialized setting designed to protect its delicate corners. Furthermore, due to the shallow nature of this cut, it will generally show more dust and dirt on its surface than any other cut and any jewellery set with Trilliants will require extra cleaning. Because they are cut shallow, they tend to create the illusion of appearing larger than their given weight. In addition, Trilliant cut is known to minimize waste of the rough gemstone during the cutting process. These features, along with a truly sophisticated and unique shape, make Trilliants an excellent value, whether set as a solitaire or used as side stones.
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