Faceting a briolette gemstone has the same design attributes as a regular gemstone; however, the pavilion is elongated and the crown is usually domed. This is perfect for an elegant pendant, earrings or a pendulum. When faceting, keep in mind how the jeweler is going to set the briolette. Most briolette gemstones will have a hole drilled in them for either a ring or post setting. I prefer to put a 360-degree concave facet in the gemstone girdle for mounting the gemstone.
The Acorn Faceting Design
The briolette lends itself to variety. It can have matching motifs for both the pavilion and crown or have a mixed-cut design as in the provided Acorn design by Kim Lembke. Since the gemstone is viewed from the side and not the top, one can forgo the concerns of light return and focus on cutting patterns and scintillation of the gemstone. Variations in the length of the pavilion and crown can be explored, but there needs to be proper proportions between the two. The design also lends itself well to opaque, phenomenon and included gemstones.
Bi-Color Citrine
I used a bi-color citrine from Bolivia in this example. When oriented properly, the two colors can play with each other as the gemstone is moved. A spectacularly cut gemstone like the briolette will dance with the light when the wearer moves.
The bi-color is split between the pavilion and crown, and the yellow citrine part of the crown reflects in the culet (bottom point) of the briolette. The reflection can be strong or almost vanish depending on the angle you are viewing the gemstone. The second example has silver rutile and chlorite inclusions. This gives the piece an exciting and ever-changing look.
Cutting & Mounting a Pendulum
When cutting a pendulum, keep in mind how it is going to be set and how it will swing from a single attachment. The best mounting methods for a pendulum are to use the concave girdle rind mount as seen in my example or drilling a hole straight down the table. In either fashion, having a ring mount on the gemstone gives the owner the ability to both wear or dowse with the gemstone pendulum.
I facet more briolette designs than the average facetor because I enjoy both the challenge and the beauty of them set in jewelry. My stones can be found at Storied Gemstones and Hashnu Stones.
Note: The table was not faceted on the Bi-Color Citrine gemstone example. Instead, a 15-degree tier of facets was added in place of the table.
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This story about faceting the briolette Acorn design previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Mark Oros.
