Asscher Cut
A square step cut with deeply cut corners, giving a distinctive concentric hall-of-mirrors effect.
Developed by the Asscher brothers in Amsterdam in 1902, it is essentially a square emerald cut with a higher crown.
The deep corners make it read as octagonal, and the stepped facets create a receding square pattern when viewed face on.
Like all step cuts it demands clarity, since there is nowhere for an inclusion to hide.
Emerald Cut
A rectangular step cut with cut corners and long parallel facets. Named for the cut used on emeralds.
Princess Cut
A square brilliant cut. Nearly as much sparkle as a round, with far less of the rough crystal wasted.
Cut
How a stone is shaped and faceted. The one thing that most affects how it looks, and the one buyers examine least.
Baguette Cut
A small rectangular step cut, used almost entirely as a side stone flanking a larger centre.