Top 10 Most Popular Cuts for Beautiful Gemstones

If you have ever heard of the term lapidary, then you already know more about gemstone cuts than I did before I starting writing this blog.  Lapidary is the art of working in stone but on a small scale such as feature and accent stones for jewellery.  It is a very clever skill that is needed to create the most popular cuts for beautiful gemstones – but what are these cuts and why do they make the best jewellery?

A little about lapidary

In fact, lapidary is about more than just cutting all those fancy little facets into high quality diamonds and such.  It is actually sorted into four basic styles – tumbling, cabbing, faceting and carving.  

Tumbling is one that we, as handmade jewellery makers, sometimes run into.  This is where rough stone is tumbled in a revolving barrel using special abrasives to create a rounded and polished stone.  These are the randomly shaped stones that are often a popular choice in beaded jewellery and are great for wire wrapping styles.  No two stones are ever exactly the same.

Cabbing is more commonly known for its most common form – cabochon cutting.  Those are the stones that are flat on one side and usually have a curved or domed top.  These stones are set in metal settings.

Faceting is the version that I most often think of when it comes to cutting stones – using all those delicate little cuts to create a fine gemstone such as a diamond for an engagement ring.  There are lots of different cuts, which we’ll look at in a moment but the overall point of the process is to bring out the shine of the stone, called the brilliance.  

Finally, there’s carving and this is the really delicate, expert stuff.  Cameos are a form of carving where a cabochon is taken and a beautiful, intricate pattern such as a human face or bust is carved into the stone.  

Most popular cuts for beautiful gemstones

So on to the faceted cuts and what those terms mean.  If you have ever looked at fine jewellery or even good quality faceted glass or crustal such as those made by Swarovski, you will be looking at the facets, those cuts in the stone that create the shape and the sparkle.

Round

Top of the list of the most popular cuts is round, also known as brilliant cuts.  Around 75% of all gems on the market today use this cut and it is the basis for all other styles.  It works for larger gemstones and smaller ones. 

Round cut diamonds in engagement rings are a famous example but there are thousands of ideas including almost all varieties of colored stones.  There are 58 facets in a round cut stone with the top being called the crown, the widest part known as the girdle and the base called the pavilion.

Cushion cut

The cushion cut has been used on famous stones such as the Cullinan diamond and the Hope Diamond.  It is a traditional cut that forms an almost square shape and is also known as the Old Mine or Pillow cut and is a square style with rounded corners.  It has 58 facets but they are often larger than on the round cut resulting in a stone that looks chunkier.

Oval cut

The oval cut is an adaption of the round cut and is flattering if you have small hands or short fingers.  It also uses 56 facets but the stone looks larger than with a round cut yet requires less work than the round so can actually be less expensive.  It was created in the 1950s and Princess Diana’s engagement ring is a famous example.

Marquise cut

The marquise cut has an elongated shape with pointed ends and makes a spectacular solitaire as well as pairing well with small, round cut stones.  It is also sometimes called a navette shape and this is a term used in crystal flat back stones of a similar shape. 

It uses 58 facets and was originally created for King Louis XV in the 18th century in a shape that was said to resemble his mistress’ lips!  It is often associated with love and is popular for engagement rings.

Pear or teardrop cut

The pear or drop-shaped stone is sometimes known as the teardrop cut is a mixture of the sharp point of the marquis with the rounded base of the oval and is an ideal stone for those with small or average length fingers as well as for pendants and earrings.  It also has 58 facets and is known as one of the most interesting of the fancy cuts – it actually dates back to the 1400s when a jeweller called Lodewyk van Bercken created it.

Heart shaped cut

As its name suggests, the heart shaped cut results in a stone that has a cleft in the top and looks like a heart.  It is a very romantic stone and uses a similar style of cutting to a pear shaped but with the extra cut to make the cleft.  It has 59 facets and is often given as a Valentines present or a birthday gift to a loved one, though it tends to be popular in necklaces and earrings than rings.

Emerald cut

The Emerald cut is actually a rectangular stone with the corners cut off and is known as a step cut because it has broad, flat cuts that look a bit like a flight of stairs.  It was created to bring the best out of emeralds, with their natural inclusions and has between 50 and 58 facets.  It is one of the oldest gemstone cuts known.

Asscher cut

The Asscher cut is related to the Emerald cut and is considered a square version of it, with four equal sides and cut corners similar to a rectangular shape.  It was created back in the early 20th century by Joseph Asscher who was famous for cutting the Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever found, into three different stones that were set in the crown of Edward VII. 

There are two versions of it – the classic with 58 facets and the modern Royal with 74 facets.

Radiant cut

The radiant cut is a combination of the emerald and the round cut.  It has 70 facets with 25 on the top, 8 on the girdle and 37 on the pavilion so needs more depth of stone than for other cuts.  It therefore only works with the very best quality gemstones.

Princess Cut

The princess cut is a relatively new cut that gem cutters invented in the 1980s and is second only to round styles in terms of popularity.  It has straight edges and sharp, uncut corners so is also quite an economical cut to use with little wasted stone.  Stones with this cut give the illusion of being bigger than they are and use 76 facets.

More gemstone cuts

These are just a few of the many gemstone cuts you will see in both fine jewellery but also in costume jewellery which uses the similar cuts with lesser gemstones or even crystals.

What are your favourite cuts?