Why does a gemcutter choose cabochon instead of facet?

[PickieBee]

I'm still learning about gems and am just curious. Since cabochons seem to fetch less money than faceted gems, what are the reasons a gemcutter would choose to cut a stone into a cab instead of faceted? Thanks!

 

[theredspinel]

It's usually lower grade material that is cut into a cab. *Lower then gem grade faceted material not just 'low grade' in general

 

[aussiejamie]

There can be a few different reasons for cutting a gem cabochon style beyond just being of a 'low grade' . For instance in the case of rutile or hematite inclusions in sapphire. If these are orientated and cut en cabochon a star sapphire can be produced. This also goes for cats eyes in a few other gems. Another reason is saving weight, a cab is generally somewhat heavier than a faceted gem of the same size
Also, if you have a piece of rough that is quite shallow but nice colour, it can be better to cab it into a larger shallow cab than cutting a faceted stone. There will be a lot of wastage in faceting the gem due to having to adhere to the critical angles / etc. when faceting.
Hope this helps a little.
Jamie