Jeweller - August 2021

Lapidary Design | GEMSTONE FEATURE
Round brilliantcut
Montana pink
sapphire by Phil
Lagas-Rivera
Rough and
polished amethyst
in a variety of
shapes and cuts
long parallel rectangular facets. There are different types
of Step cuts – both the Emerald cut and Asscher cut
are types of Step cuts, although the traditional one is a
square or rectangular baguette shape.
Because the pavilion of the stone is rounder and slightly
deeper than a Brilliant cut, this style ends up being the
best way to retain the weight of the rough stone as well
as intensifying the colour saturation.
Almost any cutting pattern
can be applied to any shape,
so there is a creative choice to
be made by the cutter when
designing the stone"
The Step cut is the traditional cut for coloured
gemstones and we can go all the way back to the 1400s
to see where it started being used in sapphires, rubies,
and later on in emeralds.
The rectangular Step and the Emerald cut are very
popular for gemstones that grow in long shapes such
as emerald, tourmaline, and aquamarine.
These stones have a crystal habit which is long and
pencil-like, and it makes sense to give them long designs
with long facets that follow the shape of the crystal.
» Mixed cut – The Mixed cut combines the best of
both the Brilliant and Step cut designs.
The crown of the stone is faceted as a Brilliant cut to
give the stone sparkle and flash, and the pavilion of
the stone is faceted as a Step cut to retain weight and
optimise colour.
This is the most popular type of cutting in the world
today and many popular cutting houses have put this
style in the spotlight.
It originated at the end of the 1800s, coming from the
Step-cut emerald by
Doug Menadue
'Starbrite' Mixed-cut Malaya
Garnet by John Dyer
Portuguese/Brilliant-cut yellow
tourmaline by Daniel Stair
Old Mine-style diamond cut, but has now been adapted
with different angles that are more appropriate for
coloured gemstones.
We often see this cut used on ruby and sapphire, though
any gemstone can be found with this style, from spinel
to garnet to tourmaline.
It’s a popular style that makes almost any gemstone
look good, though it would probably be hard to find an
emerald with this cut.
Popular cutting styles
The next set of cuts are ones that we see frequently in
the coloured gemstone market but are not as readily
available, as the major three described above.
All of these popular styles are cut in the various cutting
centres around the world, and all have unique benefits.
» Portuguese – The Portuguese cut can be very
hit-or-miss. The famous cutting houses in Germany’s
Idar-Oberstein have been popularising this cut for more
than 100 years and, in their careful hands, the cut can
make a subtle-coloured stone like a peachy morganite
or a seafoam tourmaline look vivid and soft, without
becoming too flashy and bright.
The famous cutting houses in
Germany’s Idar-Oberstein have
been popularising this cut for
more than 100 years"
Unfortunately, many other cutting centres have adopted
this cut as well and typically when you find the cuts
coming from India or Thailand, they aren’t well executed.
When done poorly, the cut is used solely to retain weight
but at the cost of making the stone look undesirable.
The typical Portuguese cut has a bulky pavilion that
makes the stone have a lifeless window when looking
44 | August 2021