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PRECIOUS STONES
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Another
variety is called the " table cut," and is used for coloured stones. It
has a flat top or " table " of a square or other shape, the edges of
which slope outwards and form the " bezils " or that extended portion
by which the stone is held in its setting. It will thus be seen that
the outside of the stone is of the same shape as that of the " table,"
but larger, so that from every portion of the "table" the surface
extends downwards, sloping outwards to the extreme size of the stone,
the underside sloping downwards and inwards to a small and flat base,
the whole, in section, being not unlike the section of a " pegtop."
A
modification of this is known as the " step " cut, sometimes also
called the " trap." Briefly, the difference between this and the last
is that whereas the table has usually one bevel on the upper and lower
surfaces, the trap has one or more steps in the sloping parts, hence
its name.
The
most common of all, and usually applied only to the diamond, is the "
brilliant" cut. This is somewhat complicated, and requires detailed
description. In section, the shape is substantially that of a pegtop
with a flat " table " top and a small flat base. The widest portion is
that on which the claws, or other form of setting, hold it securely in
position. This portion is called the " girdle," and if we take this as
a defining line, that portion which appears above the setting of this
girdle, is called the " crown " ; the portion below the girdle is
called the " culasse," or less commonly the "pavilion." Commencing'
with the girdle upwards, we have eight " cross facets " in four pairs,
a pair on each
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