| Cutting
Styles
The two concepts of shape and cutting style are often described
by one term in the jewelry trade. For example, when a jeweler
uses the term baguette, he's referring to a square¬ cornered,
rectangular-shaped diamond with rows of step-like facets .
If the two long sides of the baguette taper inward, it is
called a tapered baguette An emerald cut is a rectangular
stone with step-like facets that looks like its corners were
clipped off Usually emerald cuts have more facets or steps
than baguettes.
The GIA
(Gemological Institute of America) has simplified the description
of cutting styles by limiting them to three basic types:
Step Cut Has rows of facets that resemble the steps of a staircase
and are usually four-sided and elongated. The emerald and
baguette cuts are examples of the step cut. Sometimes the
term e»Terald cut is used as a synonym for step cut.
For example, jewelers sometimes ask for an emerald-cut triangle,
meaning step-cut triangle . Nor¬mally, an emerald cut
is rectangular or square. The step cut is fre¬quently
used for colored transparent gemstones.
Brilliant Cut Has triangular-, kite-, or lozenge-shaped facets
that radiate outward around the stone. Examples of these are
the pear, oval, heart, and marquise and the standard round
brilliant Three other modifications of the brilliant-cut style
are the old mine cut, the old European cut and the single
cut The old mine and old European cuts, often seen in antique
jewelry, have 58 facets and are characterized by a high crown,
a small table, and a large culet. Old mine cuts, however,
are squarish, whereas old European cuts are round.
The single
cut, which has 17 or 18 facets, is used on very small diamonds.
The jewelry trade generally refers to round diamonds with
18 facets as single cuts and to those with 58 facets as full
cuts.
Mixed Cut Has both step- and brilliant-cut facets. The pavilion,
for example, can be step cut and the crown can be brilliant
cut, but the step- and brilliant-cut facets can also be scattered
over the diamond. This cut is occasionally used on diamonds
and often used on colored trans¬parent gemstones.
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