Fantasy Cuts

Ever since I was a kid visiting Idar-Oberstein, Germany, once the cutting capital of the world, I have been fascinated by fantasy cut gemstones.

We keep a small collection on hand of blue topaz, amethyst and citrine gemstones, as you can see to the left. We try to incorporate these stones into our designs every once in a while. Their unique shapes and refraction effects make it tricky to create the right settings.

Recently, a great article from the GIA has some spectacular pictures from the works of Munsteiner, Homer, Shank and others show what can be done to gemstones to bring out their colors and unique features even more than with traditional cutting.

These cuts usually catch the eye of the more artistic or avant garde designers and customers. If you can, take a quick look at the article referenced above to see some amazing colors and cuts.