CUT
CUT
The three major parts of a polished diamond, top to bottom, are the crown, the girdle, and the pavilion. The crown and the pavilion—and sometimes the girdle—have small, flat, polished surfaces called facets. Some polished diamonds also have a flat facet at the bottom of the pavilion, called the culet. After all, you won’t gain much respect as a jewelry professional if you describe the bottom of a diamond as “the pointy end.”

Brilliant Cut
The term brilliant cut is used as a general term for gems of any shape with facets that are mostly triangular or kite shaped and that radiate from the center. In most retail settings, the standard round brilliant is by far the most
popular diamond cut. It has 57 or 58 facets, depending on whether there’s a culet or not. Very small round diamonds are sometimes fashioned as single cuts, with just 17 or 18 facets.
Fancy Cut
Shapes or cutting styles other than the standard round brilliant are called fancy cuts. Fancy cuts also have names of their own. The most familiar are the marquise (mar-KEYS), princess, pear, oval, heart, and emerald cut. You’ll learn more about each of these in a later assignment. Some fancy cuts are brilliants, and some are step cuts. Their “steps” usually consist of three rows of four-sided facets that are parallel to the girdle on the crown and pavilion. The emerald cut is the most popular step cut. Like standard round brilliants, emerald cuts normally have 57 or 58 facets. The table is usually rectangular, with beveled corners. Baguettes are small, rectangular or tapered stones, often used as side or accent stones for a large center stone. Baguettes are step cuts with only two rows of facets and unbeveled corners.
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