Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-15

thin; but that's about as far as their tech
meal knowledge goes on that line The
brilliant is the finest form of cutting. 1t is
not always the same; but all the forms of it
have certain main features in common. The
front or top of a brilliant consists of an eight
sided facet, called the table, which is sur
rounded by thirty-tw smaller facets. These
reach to what is known as the girdle the
thin edge separating the upper part, called
the crown or bizet, of the stone from the
lower part, or pavilion The pavilion has
twentv-four facets terminating in a small
facet called the culet. Sometimes there are
added eight extra facets round the culet. 1t
used to be thought that a stone should have
one-third above the girdle and two-thirdS
below. Now the best are cut with less than
a third above, and the change, or spread,
makes for greater brilliance.
A properly propOrtloned stone will show
as much light and color in the very center,
under the table, as at the edge where it is
cut thin to receive the light. If a diamond
is too deep, it has a dead center, black
well without light or color. If it is too shall
low, it has a CLASSY look and is technically
known as a fish eye. Many persons buy
these fish eyes because the stone looks as if
it was larger than it really is. AS a matter
of fact, their lack of brilliance is so much
more conspicuous than any detail of size
that fishy stone is bad bargain at almost
any price. As for the thick stones, called
lumpy by dealers, person simply pays for
that much extra weight, and after all gets
a dead-centered stone:
The American cut brilliant has the same
fifty -eight facets as the regular; but the
proportions are different. The twentieth
century, a comparatively new form of the
brilliant, first had lightweight facets, and
instead of having the table it was carried to
a low point in the center. Later it was cut
with eighty facets, the central ones being
almost fiat. Opinions vary as to this cut
ting; but it is probably best suited to shall
low stones, whose defects it would help to
conceal. The rose cut is used only for thin
stones 1t is circular, with the front COW
cred with triangular facets, and the back is
quite fiat. The Dutch rose has twenty-fOur
facets, the Brabant rose six, twelve, or
twenty-four each, and the double rose has
twenty-four above, and, instead of a fiat
back, twenty-four below.
Briolettes are pear shaped or oval stones
covered with triangular facets. They are
generally drilled through the narrow end so
that they may be worn as pendants. Indian
cut is a clumsy form in which most stones
from India reach Europe. They are cut by
the natives with the sole idea of retaining
as much weight as possible, without regard
to be recut for European and American
trade Colored stones, if they are cut too
thin, are weak or black conferred. Color can
be distributed only by cutting the stone full
and deep; though if it is very dark it must
not be made too thick. Step cut is the form
in which emeralds are almost always cut. 1t
is nearly square or oblong, and generally has
a large table with straight facets round it
parallel to the edges of the stone. En- Cabo-
chon cutting has rounded front and fiat
back This is the form for turquoises, cats
eyes, opals, and other opaque stones; but
it is sometimes used also for transparent gems.
DIAMONDS are grouped under different
- names according to their color. Old mine
diamonds were originally Brazilian stones
from the old diggings; but it is the term
now applied to most old cut diamonds of
good color. Jagers is the trade term for
blue-whte stones. 1t comes from the fact
that the Jagersfontein mine produced
great many of these blush diamonds. Riv-
ers are the purest white stones, SO called
because the diggings on the River Vaal
yielded this type. In general stones from
wet diggings are better than those from
dry. Next to Rivers come crystals and top
c<o1-