74 GENERAL CHARACTERS OF PRECIOUS STONES 



edges ; those which He above the girdle are lettered a and c in the figure, while those which 

 are below are lettered A and C ; these facets are not, however, invariably present in the same 



Fig. 29. Brilliant (ti-iple-cut). a, view from above ; h, from the side ; c, from below. 



number. The girdle, RR, always lies in a plane, and forms the boundary of the stone as seen 

 in Figs. 29 a and 29 c. 



Several varieties of the brilliant-cut are distinguished according to the number of facets 

 present. The double-cut brilliant, shown in Plate II., Fig. 1 a, 6,c,has four triangular star facets 

 arranged so that their four upper edges form the boundaries of the square table, while the 

 four opposite angles of each lie in the girdle. The space between each pair of adjacent star 

 facets is occupied by three cross facets, the central one of each group having the form of an 

 isosceles triangle, and the cross facet on either side having the form of an oblique triangle. 

 On the crown or upper portion of such a stone, therefore, there are sixteen facets besides the 

 table ; these facets are arranged in two series, hence the term " double-cut brilliant." The 

 under portion consists of twelve triangular cross facets, which are the same in number and 

 arrangement as the cross facets in the upper portion ; between these lie four five-sided 

 facets, intersecting the small culet in short edges. 



The Eoiglish double-cut brilliant, differing somewhat from the double-cut brilliant just 

 described, is shown in Plate II., Fig. % a, b, c. Here the table is the centre of an eight- 

 rayed star, formed of eight triangular star facets, which alternate with eight triangular 

 cross facets. The facets of the lower portion are similar to those of the ordinary double- 

 cut brilliant (Fig. 1 r;) ; the corner cross facets having the shape of isosceles triangles are, 

 however, occasionally absent (Fig. 2 c). 



The number of facets present in the forms of double-cut brilliants does not allow of 

 the perfect development of the brilliancy and the play of prismatic colours of the stone. 

 Such forms are therefore given usually to small and less valuable stones ; for large stones 

 the triple-cut brilliant is more appropriate. Here three series of facets lie one above the 

 other on the upper part of the stone ; the total of thirty-two facets, exclusive of the table, is 

 made up of eight triangular star facets, sixteen triangular cross facets, and eight four-sided 

 facets. The arrangement of these different facets is shown in Fig. 29, and in Plate II. 

 Figs. 3 and 4. The under portion of the stone has also sixteen cross facets, while the small 

 culet is surrounded by eight large, five-sided facets. The form, shown in Fig. 29, and 

 Plate II., Fig. 3 a, b, c, in which the girdle has a roughly square outline, is now somewhat 

 out of date; since the eighteenth century the form shown in Plate II., Fig. 4 a, b, c, has 

 received more favour. The facets of this form are the same in number and arrangement, 

 but are more nearly equal in size, and the outline of the girdle approximates very close to a 

 circle. The outline of the girdle is not, however, by any means constant, it depends largely 

 upon the natural form of the stone before it is cut. In Fig. 5 b, a, it is oval, in Fig. 6.b, c, 

 it is pear-shaped, and in Fig. 7 a, b, c, it is roughly triangular in outline. The last case is 



