Swat Emerald Rough To Cut

https://amzn.to/2JNIZWY https://amzn.to/2RgStOR https://amzn.to/2JMyq6N An emerald is the green variety of beryl (some of the finest blue beryls are called aquamarine). Gemstones in the beryl family have a hardness of 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, which makes them suitable for jewellery. The most desirable emeralds are a saturated pure green, with a fantastic clarity and cut. However, some emeralds contain many inclusions that are commonly referred to as an internal ‘jardin’, from the French word for garden. These inclusions make the gemstone susceptible to fractures, and possible breaks. Emeralds are brittle, often included and blemished in nature, making them naturally susceptible to fractures. Therefore, protecting the gemstone when it is set in jewellery is important. Emeralds are formed in long crystals, which makes a rectangular-shaped cut an obvious place to start to ensure maximum yield. By fashioning an emerald with its weakest points taken off (the corners), the shape becomes stronger and more durable. Plus, by cutting an emerald into a long and elegant shape, it helps to showcase the beautiful depth of colour. With all this in mind, a specific-cut – later known as the ‘emerald-cut’ – was developed for emeralds by lapidaries around the 1500s to prevent accidental chipping or breakage in the cutting process. As the centuries progressed, expert diamond cutters began to see the benefit of using the emerald-cut on diamonds too. The popularity of emerald-cut diamonds soared during the Art Deco design period (circa. 1925-1935), especially because of their eye-catching, geometric shape. In the history of diamond cutting, possibly around the 13th century, the table facet was the first to evolve by removing the point of an octahedral diamond crystal. This facet created a flattened window looking into the stone. As cutting continued to develop, long facets were cut alongside the table facet in rough that was particularly elongated, resulting in a step-like facet pattern towards the girdle. This had the effect of maximising the yield of the stone and was later known as the ‘step-cut’. The architectural emerald-cut is derived from this step-cut, with a more octagonal outline thanks to truncated or canted corners. The emerald-cut allowed diamond cutters to get the most out of their rough, while showcasing the perfection of diamonds with a particularly good clarity (thanks to its flat table surface). The cut also proved popular with customers in the late 19th and early 20th century thanks to its long, elongating elegance on the finger. It entirely depends on what you look for in a diamond. Due to the nature of an emerald-cut, diamonds fashioned in this way will not sparkle the same as a brilliant-cut diamond, for example. However, emerald-cut diamonds do offer lovely flashes of light and, as previously mentioned, do showcase the clarity of diamonds beautifully. This also works in reverse though, and the eye-visible inclusions in a diamond will be made more obvious if an emerald-cut is applied. Interestingly, although developed for emeralds, the emerald-cut is now more commonly used in diamonds (thanks in large part to some fantastic celebrity engagement rings, like Amal Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Beyonce). Today, emeralds are often presented as round cabochons, or presented in ‘halo’ style designs with a protective border of diamonds.