While modern precision methods of gem cutting and faceting are being used to serve the demand for calibrated stones with stricter stones lapidaries in Sri Lanka follow traditional and modern methods of precious stone cutting technologies to enhance the quality of stone with the minimum weight loss.
Although Western and Japanese buyers view traditional cutting as an outdated method of faceting, one cannot but appreciate the dexterity of these cutters who use centuries of traditional knowledge and experience to orient the rough gemstones to achieve the best face-up color while losing a minimum of weight.
Of all the cutting steps for colored stones, orienting the rough to display the best color through the table requires the highest skill, especially with valuable rough where weight retention is foremost. For high-quality sapphires, this method is still preferred by Sri Lanka cutters, especially for performing.
Local lapidaries cut most of the island’s gem rough. Striving for maximum weight in each finished stone, cutters frequently align the faces poorly with the center of the stone. Therefore, many stones must be re-cut, causing a weight loss, before reaching their full potential.
A skilled cutter can make slight angle adjustments to the table to achieve a fine color with a higher weight yield. With the initial orientation properly set the stone can be re-cut to close windows and to optimize proportions and symmetry with a minimum of weight loss.
While some cut names may describe the face-up shape of the finished gem, others refer to the shape and arrangement of the gem’s facets. These cuts are also known as gem cutting styles. The three most basic cutting styles are brilliant, step, and mixed. For example, a “round brilliant diamond” has a round shape but a brilliant cutting style. Faceters can combine these styles to create many different gem designs.
