Date: 7/19/2006 6:30:36 PM
Author: C Smith
A faceted girdle is a nice touch and it often betrays a nice attention to detail by the cutter. It will have reflective properties whereas a non-faceted girdle is simply hit with the wheel a bit and often has a frosted look about it. Either is fine but faceted is just a bit classier in my opinion.
I''d add a caveat to this: Because of that reflectivity a faceted or polished girdle may cause color to be reflected back inside. Therefore unfaceted girdles are more common in J/K color grades and down, and in small goods .25 and lower. This can be a practical decision, that does not reflect (enjoy the pun) a lack of detail or class.