Page:A treatise on diamonds and precious stones including their history Natural and commercial.djvu/132

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96
SAPPHIRE.

would require; the four-sided facets, (steps[1]), may also be made much larger, which will greatly add to its splendor. The table should be large, and must be regulated by the judg~ ment of the workman, as well as the bizel, and which, however low, ought to have double work upon it. If the color is light, the stone will require greater thickness and more work, that is, the facets must be smaller, and separated by ribs at equal distances: the bizel must in this case be higher and full of work, and the table consequently less; aspheroidal form may also be given to the stone. Small facets (technically a deal of work) greatly assist the color, as each facet refracts a portion of the transmitted light to the table, which gives it additional intensity.



  1. Colored stones should be cut in steps, see frontispiece, to a point or ridge on the collet-side; and if very thin, the bizel and collet-side should have a spheroidal outline.