Antique jewelry glossary

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Emerald cut

The style of cutting a large transparent gemstone (usually an emerald or a diamond) so that the table and the contour of the stone are square or rectangular with chamfered corners and the sides are step cut. It emphasizes, because of the large table, the colour of the stone rather than its brilliance, and results in less loos weight than in a brilliant cut.

This cut was developed in the late 19th century but seldom used until the 20th century. A recent modification is the royal 144 cut.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson