Gem Cutting - Facets
One of the most appealing details of all precious stones is the way they sparkle brilliantly under light. When it comes to gem cutting, it seems like facets require a very skilled and highly patient person to apply such precision on a precious gem to bring out its best form for all to enjoy.
Purpose of Facets
The gem cutting term for a flat face on a precious stone is a facet. To make a stone shine by reflecting light from many different angles requires gem cutting of many facets around the entire stone. This seems like a very difficult task, considering the number of small facets are included on one stone but there are several tools that help produce an accurate cut every time.
Benefit of Facets
The main reason for cuts like facets is to show off the true shape and enhance the natural beauty of the stone. By cutting facets, the underlying symmetry of the stone's makeup reflects light easily, showing off the beauty and worth from within.
Facet Styles
There are different types of facet styles that gem cutting produces for a different look and structure of the natural stones. Most facet styles are chosen depending on the gem strength and durability, the colour and even the overall structure.
The more popular gem cutting facet styles are the €brilliant cut€, which is what most diamonds are cut as, and the beautiful step cut, which is the chosen style for emeralds.
Today, there are over a dozen different styles that show off a brilliant look and feel each time. One of the newest facet styles is known as the €concave facet€. This style was created about 20 years ago and has since been picking up in popularity. It's a conical-shaped facet that refracts more light than some of the other facet styles. The end result is astunning gem display with a truly brilliant shine.
How Facets are Cut
The three main things to look at before placing a stone on a faceting machine is the brilliance, fire and scintillation. The brilliance refers to the internal reflections of light, the €fire€ is the dispersion of the colours and the scintillation refers to the different flashes of colour when the stone is reflected in light.
Those three points help gem cutters determine which facet will work best.
Once the stone is mounted on a flat disc that's on the faceting machine and water is typically used to cut precious stones while water and oil are used to polish them up. To ensure the proper angle is applied to cutting and polish each time, there is a special gauge that measures the component and gem angles throughout the entire process.
The next time a sparkling gem catches your eye, consider the number of facets it must have to reflect so much light and admire the complex cuts to achieve such beauty of colours and shapes.
Purpose of Facets
The gem cutting term for a flat face on a precious stone is a facet. To make a stone shine by reflecting light from many different angles requires gem cutting of many facets around the entire stone. This seems like a very difficult task, considering the number of small facets are included on one stone but there are several tools that help produce an accurate cut every time.
Benefit of Facets
The main reason for cuts like facets is to show off the true shape and enhance the natural beauty of the stone. By cutting facets, the underlying symmetry of the stone's makeup reflects light easily, showing off the beauty and worth from within.
Facet Styles
There are different types of facet styles that gem cutting produces for a different look and structure of the natural stones. Most facet styles are chosen depending on the gem strength and durability, the colour and even the overall structure.
The more popular gem cutting facet styles are the €brilliant cut€, which is what most diamonds are cut as, and the beautiful step cut, which is the chosen style for emeralds.
Today, there are over a dozen different styles that show off a brilliant look and feel each time. One of the newest facet styles is known as the €concave facet€. This style was created about 20 years ago and has since been picking up in popularity. It's a conical-shaped facet that refracts more light than some of the other facet styles. The end result is astunning gem display with a truly brilliant shine.
How Facets are Cut
The three main things to look at before placing a stone on a faceting machine is the brilliance, fire and scintillation. The brilliance refers to the internal reflections of light, the €fire€ is the dispersion of the colours and the scintillation refers to the different flashes of colour when the stone is reflected in light.
Those three points help gem cutters determine which facet will work best.
Once the stone is mounted on a flat disc that's on the faceting machine and water is typically used to cut precious stones while water and oil are used to polish them up. To ensure the proper angle is applied to cutting and polish each time, there is a special gauge that measures the component and gem angles throughout the entire process.
The next time a sparkling gem catches your eye, consider the number of facets it must have to reflect so much light and admire the complex cuts to achieve such beauty of colours and shapes.
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