Learn about Stone Cutting

The stone cutter carefully inspects the raw stone and chooses how best to cut it to yield as many shapes as possible. Perhaps a certain part of the rough would look best as a round, whereas another portion would make a beautiful oval. Cutters must find the natural flaws of the stone and find the ideal way to disguise them inside of a finished stone or use them to their advantage in finding the best shape. There are several shapes that stones may be cut into, depending on the rough stone with which the cutter begins. There is the classic round, princess, oval, marquise, and emerald, just to name a few. The emerald cut is named for the Emerald, as it was found to be the best way to not only bring out their beauty but also to protect the fragile, naturally flawed gems from damage while cutting.

Faceted stones

Facets are the flat reflective surfaces of any cut stone. Faceted stones come in all sizes, from .01 carats to over 20,000 carats or more (the “Malaga”, the world’s largest faceted Citrine, weighs 20,200 carats). With transparent or semi-transparent gemstones like Diamonds or Fire Opals, the facets reflect the light back to your eye both on the surface and from the interior of the stone. The facets act like a window and a mirror; they let the light in and then bounce it around before it comes back out. With opaque stones like Onyx and Turquoise, the facets create sparkle on the surface.

Cabochons

A cabochon (cab-a-shon) is a stone that has been polished, but not faceted. They are usually rounded smooth on top (like a dome) and left flat on the bottom. They can also be flat, like a disc. Many opaque stones, like Opals, Lapis, and Tiger Eye, are formed into cabochons. This is because they display a phenomenon known as chatoyancy (an iridescence that arises from fibrous inclusions in the stone). You may even see gemstones like Sapphire, Ruby, and Emerald cut into cabochons. With stones like Ruby and Sapphire, this is done because those types of gemstones can also display an asterism (a six-pointed star that appears when light is shone onto the top of the stone).

When would I use stone cutting?

Diamonds may be the hardest substance known to mankind, but they are also brittle. Hardness is the resistance to scratching, whereas toughness is the resistance to breakage. The only thing on Earth that can scratch a Diamond is another Diamond, but if you knock your engagement ring really hard against a countertop you can chip the Diamond. Depending on the way the Diamond is chipped, it is possible to have it re-cut. Most of the time, only a small amount of the original carat weight gets sacrificed to remove chips from the stone. If you are considering having a chipped Diamond re-cut, bring it to us; we are more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Colored Stones like Tanzanite and Amethyst don’t have the hardness of a Diamond, so they may become abraded when worn often, especially in a ring. Abrasions and wear tend to make colored stones look dull, and you may not wear those pieces anymore just for the fact that the stones have become drab. Miner’s Den can help you make them like new again. Let us look over your rings, earrings, and anything and everything that you feel would benefit from a re-polish. With our help, you’ll be able to wear them regularly again, worry-free.