A briolette is a style of

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

cut Cut or CUT may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** ...

. It is an elongated, mostly symmetrical along the main axel, pear shape covered with angular

facet Facets () are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cu ...

s usually with a pointed end and no

girdle A belt without a buckle, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle in various contexts, especially historical ones, where girdles were a very common part of everyday clothing from antiquity until perhaps the 15th century, especially for w ...

. It is often drilled to hang as a bead. The name is also sometimes erroneously used for

pendeloque cut A pendeloque cut or pear cut, is a pear-shaped modification of the round brilliant cut used for diamonds and other gemstones. The pendeloque cut is sometimes erroneously called briolette cut, another drop-shaped cutting design. While the briolett ...

gems. While the briolette is a symmetrical drop shape, the pendeloque cut is flatter and has two different sides: one with a large table

and one with a point or ridge. The top of a briolette is attached to the piece of jewelry, usually by a hole drilled in the stone, and a pendeloque cut stone needs to be mounted in a

prong setting Prong setting or prong mount refers to the use of metal projections or tines, called " prongs", to secure a gemstone to a piece of jewelry. A prong setting is one component of what is known to jewelers as a ''head'', a claw-shaped type of binding ...

. The briolette is one of the

drop Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowing ...

cuts for gemstones. The briolette cut is said to have been designed by Belgian

Lodewyk van Bercken Lodewyk van Bercken (also known in French as ''Louis de Berquem'') was a mid- to late-15th century Flemish Region, Flemish jeweller and diamond cutter, renowned in the industry for inventing the scaif. The device revolutionized the diamond cutti ...

in 1476. This cut requires a more advanced technique than the round cuts, like the

brilliant cut A brilliant is a diamond or other gemstone cut in a particular form with 57-58 facets so as to have exceptional brilliance. The word 'brilliant' is also used for a diamond cut in this fashion. The underside is conical, a shape that provides maxim ...

, and results in a much larger loss of the original stone's weight, making briolettes very rare and expensive. The cut is mostly used for stones with color, like

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

s and varieties of

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

. It is rarely used for diamonds. The style was popular during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

References

Gemstone cutting {{gemology-stub

See also

References