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A cabochon (/ˈkæbəʃɒn/; from Middle French caboche 'head') is a gemstone that has been shaped and polished, as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex (rounded) obverse with a flat reverse.[1] Cabochon was the default method of preparing gemstones before gemstone cutting developed.[2]
A collection of tourmaline cabochons in a variety of colours
Cutting en cabochon (French: "in the manner of a cabochon") is usually applied to opaque gems, while faceting is usually used for transparent stones. Hardness is also taken into account as softer gemstones with a hardness lower than 7 on the Mohs hardness scale are easily scratched, mainly by silicon dioxide in dust and grit. This would quickly make translucent gems unattractive—instead they are polished as cabochons, making the scratches less evident.
In asteriated stones such as star sapphires and chatoyant stones such as cat's eye chrysoberyl, a domed cabochon cut can show the star or eye, which would not be visible in a faceted cut.
The usual shape for cutting cabochons is an ellipse, because the eye is less sensitive to small asymmetries in an ellipse, as opposed to in a uniformly round shape, such as a circle, and because the elliptical shape, combined with the dome, is attractive. An exception is cabochons on some watches' crowns, which are circular.
The procedure involves cutting a slab of the rough rock with a slab saw, and then stencilling a shape from a template. The slab is then trimmed near the marked line using a diamond blade saw—called a trim saw. Diamond-impregnated wheels or silicon carbide wheels can be used to grind the rough rock down. Most lapidary workshops and production facilities have moved away from silicon carbide to diamond grinding wheels or flat lap disks.[citation needed]
Once the piece is trimmed it can be "dopped" or completed by hand. "Dopping" is normally done by adhering the stone with hard wax onto a length of wooden dowel called a "dop stick". The piece is then ground to the template line, the back edges may be bevelled, and finally the top is sanded and polished to a uniform dome.
^Cutting and Polishing Gemstones - A Collection of Historical Articles on the Methods and Equipment Used for Working Gems. Read Books Ltd. 2014. ISBN9781473395398. Retrieved 21 August 2022. The cutting and carving of gems were probably first done in ancient Babylon several thousand years before Christ.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cabochons.
Look up cabochon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
January 20, 2023
cabochon, this, article, relies, largely, entirely, single, source, relevant, discussion, found, talk, page, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, citations, additional, sources, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, 202. This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Cabochon news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2020 A cabochon ˈ k ae b e ʃ ɒ n from Middle French caboche head is a gemstone that has been shaped and polished as opposed to faceted The resulting form is usually a convex rounded obverse with a flat reverse 1 Cabochon was the default method of preparing gemstones before gemstone cutting developed 2 A collection of tourmaline cabochons in a variety of colours Contents 1 Application 2 Gallery 3 References 4 External linksApplication EditCutting en cabochon French in the manner of a cabochon is usually applied to opaque gems while faceting is usually used for transparent stones Hardness is also taken into account as softer gemstones with a hardness lower than 7 on the Mohs hardness scale are easily scratched mainly by silicon dioxide in dust and grit This would quickly make translucent gems unattractive instead they are polished as cabochons making the scratches less evident In asteriated stones such as star sapphires and chatoyant stones such as cat s eye chrysoberyl a domed cabochon cut can show the star or eye which would not be visible in a faceted cut The usual shape for cutting cabochons is an ellipse because the eye is less sensitive to small asymmetries in an ellipse as opposed to in a uniformly round shape such as a circle and because the elliptical shape combined with the dome is attractive An exception is cabochons on some watches crowns which are circular The procedure involves cutting a slab of the rough rock with a slab saw and then stencilling a shape from a template The slab is then trimmed near the marked line using a diamond blade saw called a trim saw Diamond impregnated wheels or silicon carbide wheels can be used to grind the rough rock down Most lapidary workshops and production facilities have moved away from silicon carbide to diamond grinding wheels or flat lap disks citation needed Once the piece is trimmed it can be dopped or completed by hand Dopping is normally done by adhering the stone with hard wax onto a length of wooden dowel called a dop stick The piece is then ground to the template line the back edges may be bevelled and finally the top is sanded and polished to a uniform dome Gallery Edit Moonstone cabochons in a jeweller s window A round sapphire cabochon on the crown of a men s dress watch Amber pendants The oval cabochon pendant is 52 32 mm 2 1 3 in References Edit Rock and Gem 1st American ed DK ISBN 0 7566 0962 3 Cutting and Polishing Gemstones A Collection of Historical Articles on the Methods and Equipment Used for Working Gems Read Books Ltd 2014 ISBN 9781473395398 Retrieved 21 August 2022 The cutting and carving of gems were probably first done in ancient Babylon several thousand years before Christ External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cabochons Look up cabochon in Wiktionary the free dictionary Cabochon Making 101 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cabochon amp oldid 1115108467, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
