Gemstone Cuts and Shapes
From the shop: read our buying guides here, one for every Jyotish gem, from color and clarity to size.
When shopping for an astrological gemstone, it’s helpful to understand the industry terminology used to describe the gem. Shape and cut are frequently referred to when assessing individual gemstones in the trade.
The shape of a gem is usually pretty easy to identify. Standard shapes are Round, Oval, Rectangular, Square, etc.
The cut of a gemstone can be Brilliant, Step (Emerald) or a mix of both. A brilliant cut stone has facets that are angled like triangles or trapezoids and they tend to stay away from square and rectangles. Diamonds are very often a form of Brilliant cut, while colored stones are more commonly a combination, or mix, of the two.
There are a number of other shapes that are well known in the gemstone market but not quite as common. Shapes like Marquis, Trillion, Pear, Princess and more are often available but demand for these shapes tend to follow trends in fashion more than the more standard ones. The proportions of the cut is an important factor when determining the astrological benefit of the stone.
Every flat edge of a stone is called a facet. The facets of a gem are arranged in specific way to reflect light. When cutting a stone, cutters have to determine the best combination of color and size. Poorly cut stones are stones that do not reflect the light well and the results are called “windows” where the color is less saturated or “extinction” where an area appears very dark. All stones have some windowing and extinction but they should be minimal (less than 15% of the total face) and should not detract from the overall beauty of the stone.
It is very important that stones used for astrology are cut in such a way as to maximize the brilliance of the stone as in Jyotish this is believed to be how the energy of the stone is transmitted to the wearer. Brilliant cut stones are traditionally considered the best for transmitting the most energy but step cut stones can be cut by extremely skilled cutters to an excellent standard. While the shape of the stone is not extremely important to the astrological benefit, certain people will find themselves drawn to certain shapes that are believed to pacify imbalances in their physiology. If you find yourself drawn to a certain shape it may be beneficial for you to go with that shape.
You can find photos, prices, and descriptions of our complete astrological gemstone inventory on our primary website, AstrologicalGemstones.com.
Graduate Gemologist and Inventory Manager at Astrological Gem. I work with jewelry designers to create unique pieces for our customers. Meet our authors here.
