234 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.
obtained
by reducing the diamond to the shape of a pair of truncated cones,
united at the base with thirty-two facets above and twenty-four below
the girdle or largest circumference.
Reference to the illustrations will explain the following technical terms : a, the upper surface, is called the table ; b, its sloping edge, the beasil; c, the girdle; d, the lower pointed portion, is called the pavilion, and the bottom plane, the collet. Of the thirty-two top facets only those are called star-facets which touch the table ; all the rest, as well as those below the girdle, are called skill-facets.
The
old " table diamonds," once so highly prized, may be described as
having the table and collet greatly enlarged at the expense of the
beasil and pavilion. The rose diamond is covered with equal facets,
either twelve or twenty-four in number, the base of the stone being
flat. This rule holds only for European roses; the Orientals covered
their diamonds with irregular facets following exactly the shape of the
stone,
