Gemstone shapes and cuts - W.R. Metalarts

Gemstone shapes and cuts

There are an endless number of ways to cut gemstones to suit design styles, bring out the most sparkle, and get the most saturation of color. We especially love working with our stone cutters to get custom cuts for our designs but here is an assortment of shape possibilities that gemstones can be cut into.

  

 

 

The Rounds: 

 

The classic brilliant round is often the best way to cut a stone to maximize its sparkle. Round stones can have fewer facets (like the leftmost stone) or more facets (like the rightmost stone). The bottom of these stones is pointed so this is the classic diamond shape.

 

The Rose Cut:

 

This is another round cut but with a very different faceting pattern from traditional brilliant rounds. This style of stone cut has a rounded geometric pattern on the surface of the stone and a flat base. It's called a rose cut because the stone has the appearance of a rose bud!

 

The Step Cuts:

 

Instead of the triangle facets of brilliant and rose cuts, step cuts consist of rectangular facets that give the illusion of steps ascending the stone when viewed from the side. Some examples of step cut stone shapes (pictured above from left to right) are: Classic step rectangle, baguette, square, emerald rectangle (emerald refers to the cut not the gemstone here), emerald octagon, and Asscher.

This is a great style of cut to show off the color and clarity of a gemstone.

 

 

The Square Cuts:

 

There are some repeats in this section from the step cut section but this section includes some of the multiple ways to cut a stone into a square shape. From the stunning princess cut to the classic cushion - square cuts are a beautiful addition to any design. These cuts can have sharp crisp corners or gentle rounded edges. The cuts listed above (from left to right) are: the square step cut, the French cut, the princess cut, the Asscher cut, and the cushion cut.

 

Other Shapes:

You don't have to go with a traditional cut stone for your design either! Here are some of our other favorite stone shapes to work with (from left to right): Trillion, pear, radiant, marquise, and oval.

 

Custom cuts:

If we can't find a cut you love for your stone we also work with custom-cut stones! Our stonecutters hand facet stones to bring your dream shape to life. 

 

Learn more about specific gemstones in our 'Stone Spotlight' blogs. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get more tips and tricks for designing and buying the perfect ring in your inbox!

 

 

 

 

 

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