What is concave cut?

[hoofbeats95]

I''ve seen quite a few references to this recently. But I don''t understand what it is. I know what concave means, but I don''t think I "get it" in terms of cut. Do I have to see one in person to see the difference. For example I found one on this page: http://www.precisiongem.com/html/html/Garnet_Red.html It''s the first one and is sold of course, but it looks pretty cool in the picture. But I don''t know what is concave about it. Can someone educate me? TIA!

 

[PrecisionGem]

Concave refers the the surface of the facet. Rather than being flat, the facet is curved in a concave direction. The cutting process is similar to traditional faceting except that rather than cutting on a flat disk, a smaller cylinder is used. This cuts the curved facet. THese curved facets work like lenses and create a more dramatic difference in light and dark area''s in the stone, and give the illusion that there are a lot more facets than there really are. The most noticeable effects come from facets on the pavilion of the stone.

Stone cut this way typically cost a bit more, since it takes longer to cut the stone, and the weight of the finished stone is slightly less.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Thanks Gene! I am not sure I can visualize how that might look in real life, but I love the looks of it online. Now if only there was one in stock in a blue stone . . .

 

[laurel25]

Here''s what mine looks like. I really like them - they are very sparkly and have a different look from any other type of cut.

 

[laurel25]

And another one before it was set -

 

[misspinky]

Here's a picture of my concave cut tourmaline

 

[LostSapphire]

Maybe this will help: My sapphire is cut by Jeff White (not concave).

You can compare it with Laurel''s a couple of posts up. They are both beautiful, it''s just a different "look".

LS

 

[arjunajane]

Imho, concave gives a very modern and "streamlined" look to the stone (for lack of a better word right now).
Whereas traditional faceting seems a bit "chunkier" (in a good way), and..well, classical I guess. My personal tastes lean towards that.

But I definately appreciate how pretty some of the concaves are, and think some very original jewellery can be created with them.

Just Diff'rent strokes basically

nb. I realize this is a rudimentary comparison, just a consumers' very basic POV.

 

[Babyblue033]

Here''s my concave cut Topaz. I''m normally not a big fan of concave cuts (I just prefer the chunky facets) but it seems to bring out the beauty of this unique shape.

 

[chrono]

I have both traditional and concave cut gemstones. I strongly believe that you must see them in person to decide if you like them. While I adore my Richard Homer concave cut stone, it seems rather "static". There isn''t the usual large and bold flashes of colour, just pinpoint lines of colour, more like it glows and shimmers. It is extremely well cut and the turquoise colour is very suited for the concave faceting. Still, this tells me that I prefer traditional flat faceting.

 

[hoofbeats95]

So do concave cuts not sparkle as much as traditional cuts? That seems to be what I have read in various threads. Interestingly imo the pictures seems to make me think a concave would sparkle more? It seems a lot of people do not like them because all the light is internal to the stone? Don''t know if I''m saying that right . . .