The Hallmark Society
Stones & cuts
Before electricity, every facet was placed by eye and by candlelight. The way a stone is cut is often the fastest way to date the piece around it.
- Emerald cut Step Cuts: Emerald, Asscher, Baguette and Carre How step cuts work, why they show inclusions that a brilliant would hide, and how to tell a period Art Deco emerald cut or Asscher from the modern revival.
- Old mine cut Old Cut Diamonds: Mine, European, Transitional and Rose How to tell an old mine cut from an old European cut, a transitional and a modern brilliant, why the culet is open, and what each cut is worth against the others.
- Marquise Fancy Shapes: Marquise, Pear, Oval, Briolette and Cabochon Where the marquise, pear, oval and briolette come from, what a bow tie is and why every elongated stone has one, and why cabochons date nothing at all.
- Diamond cuts Every Diamond Cut, in the Order It Was Invented Sixteen cuts from the medieval table cut to the modern brilliant, each drawn face up and in profile from real proportions, with the date it appears and the fastest way to recognise it.