Any negatives to a Portuguese cut stone?

[joy2theworld]

This is not a cut that I''m familiar with nor have I ever seen the cut in person. However, I''m close to buying a lighter pink imperial malaya garnet in that cut. Is there anything I have to keep in mind when setting a stone with that type of cut or anything?

 

[D&T]

It is a deeper cut stone than say a paradise round brillant or the other brillant cut rounds so in a setting, it will sit up slightly higher than other rounds of the same diameter

 

[Liane]

I've had jewelers express surprise that they had to use more metal than anticipated to make a custom setting for a Portuguese round vs. a standard round brilliant, because the Portuguese was unexpectedly deep, but I don't know how marked the difference is exactly. I get the impression that it would be fine to fit a Portuguese round into a calibrated setting as long as it wasn't too huge (like 5 to 8 mm seems okay; it was when I was setting a bigger stone that the problems came up).

The Portuguese round is one of my absolute favorite cuts for colored gemstones. I never get tired of watching the kaleidoscopic flower it makes inside the stone. I do think it works best for larger stones where the full play of the facets can be seen, but I could happily collect one of these in every imaginable stone and color.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 11/21/2009 10:31:57 PM
Author: D&T
It is a deeper cut stone than say a paradise round brillant or the other brillant cut rounds so in a setting, it will sit up slightly higher than other rounds of the same diameter

Interesting point D&T.

I love this cut in colored stones.

 

[ma re]

Date: 11/22/2009 1:16:30 AM
Author: Liane

I do think it works best for larger stones where the full play of the facets can be seen

I agree with this - since facets are smaller here than in some other similar cuts it''s best if the stone is larger. Otherwise all the facets blend together and you get an effect similar to the one found in concave cuts (more of a shimmer than sparkle)

 

[Lady_Disdain]

If it is the stone I think it is, go for it.

 

[morecarats]

The reason that portuguese cuts tend to be deep is that there are so many tiers of facets to cut.

The classic Portuguese cut (as in the Vargas "Diagrams for Faceting") has 161 facets (10 rows of 16 facets plus the table). But there are some modified Portuguese cuts with fewer facets. Because of the depth needed to cut all those tiers, usually lighter colors in gems with higher refractive indices work best. As I understand it, the Portuguese cut was originally designed for round shapes, but has now been done in other shapes as well.

 

[D&T]

I also agree with others, that the facet pattern would be much better suited for a large stone, I have an 8mm peridot with this facet pattern, It is pretty but now I think I like them in a much lighter color gemstone as well as maybe even a larger gem

the problem with my peridot is that it gives my gem an illusion of extinction, in certain angles, the facet pattern will make the gemstone go dark in areas, and it just plays around like that where it doesn''t show all to pattern well but if I do a Tilt-a-whirly with my gemstone you can see that the dark areas moves all over

in different spots a bit mesmerizing though

 

[Michael_E]

If they are properly cut, Portuguese cuts will give a stone more intense colors and are really nice. The only thing to watch for is the setting which you choose for it. The pavilion break facets next to the girdle can be quite steep, making it necessary to cut the prongs used in the settings at very steep matching angles. This makes it critical to have a competent bench person doing the setting, as it''s really easy to over cut the prongs making them too thin and prone to bending. The up side is that these same steep angles make the stone much stronger and more durable.

 

[joy2theworld]

Setting the stone is what I''m most worried about as I don''t have a jeweler here that I trust. I went to Nashville yesterday to look at some settings, but couldn''t find anything I liked.

 

[Michael_E]

To find a jeweler to do this I would suggest walking into some of the custom shops around Nashville and seeing if you can talk to some of the bench people working in them. Ask them how they feel about setting colored stones and steep stones like Barions and Portuguese cuts. It''s important to ask about colored stones since setting them is very different from setting diamonds and involves more strategy with regard to how the seats are cut and the prongs or bezels pressed into place. Ask if they do many colored stones and what sort of responsibility they take in case of breakage or chipping. Nashville is big enough that you can probably find the right person for you pretty rapidly...and have fun looking at beautiful pieces while you''re at it, (remember that this time of year has the biggest inventories and the most stuff to look at).

 

[chrono]

I too like portugese cut stones. I don't find them overly deep if they are well cut. I have 2 (one a square and the other a rectangular) that are precision cut portugese cuts. They face up a little smaller but since both stones have high RI (garnets), the final result is amazing brilliance and sparkle. I am in agreement that the stone has to be a decent size for the facet pattern to work well since it has a greater number of facets than the traditional cutting style.

 

[haagen_dazs]

this thread makes me want to get a Portuguese cut stone
haha

 

[bookworm240]

Ditto HagenDaz!!!!

 

[joy2theworld]

Well, the stone is on its way. I couldn''t pass it up. Maybe when it arrives some of you can help me find a setting for it. I have an idea that I''d kind of like it in a setting that looks like a crown of sorts.