Crossword clues for cabochon
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. A convex-cut, polished stone.
WordNet
n : a highly polished convex-cut but unfaceted gem
Wikipedia
A cabochon , from the Middle French word caboche (meaning "head"), is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex (rounded) obverse with a flat reverse. Cutting en cabochon (French: "in the manner of a cabochon") is usually applied to opaque gems, while faceting is usually applied to 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 the case of asteriated stones such as star sapphires and chatoyant stones such as cat's eye chrysoberyl, a domed cabochon cut is used to show the star or eye, which would not be visible in a faceted cut.
The usual shape for cutting cabochons is an ellipse. This is because the eye is less sensitive to small asymmetries in an ellipse, as opposed to 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 round.
The procedure is to cut a slab of the rough rock with a slab saw, and next to stencil a shape from a template. The slab is then trimmed to 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.
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.
Image:moonstone.cabochons.arp.jpg| Moonstone cabochons in a jewellers window Image:Cabochon on watch crown.jpg|A round sapphire cabochon on the crown of a men's dress watch. Image:amber.pendants.800pix.050203.jpg| Amber pendants. The oval cabochon pendant is 52 × 32 mm (2 × 1.3 in).
Usage examples of "cabochon".
In the center of the huge domed ballroom was a round pool illuminated in such a way as to make it appear like an enormous aquamarine cabochon jewel.
A golden spark popped from the amber cabochon on my left middle finger.
Tessa had huge, unfaceted cabochon sapphires, almost as simple as deep blue glass pebbles, in invisible platinum settings, to wear with jeans and denim shirts.
The cup was, like Adelheid, a thing of beauty: carved sardonyx decorated with a filigree of gold wire studded with cabochons, an echo of those in her belt.
For the most part, it contained rings, some plain, others ornamented with enamel or engraving, a few heavy cabochons and more seals that must have been worn for generations before crossing the ocean in hopes of reaffirming their ownership.
Helen says, and spreads her hand on the counter, her fingers sparkling and loaded with step-cut emeralds and cabochon star sapphires and black, cushion-cut bort diamonds.
Rings glinted on his fingers, set with gemstones, a banded cabochon of onyx, polished sapphire, and a waxy red carnelian.
Absently, Calum stroked a thumb over the signet he wore, feeling the sharp roughness of the family crest engraved in the cabochon ruby.
Last Son brought the chest, carved out of ivory, banded with gold, and ornamented with cabochons of pale aquamarine and dark red garnets, and placed it on Stronghand's thighs, then retreated to stand by the others.
Set into small bezels in an oval pattern around the Ember were fifteen opaque black diamonds, cabochon cut, surely the zenith of understatement since they functioned as studs for the tiny integral computer terminal.
I hung around my neck a pendant of pearls and cabochon emeralds-from my father the day I received the title doctor of philosophy.
The Ja-Gaar watched her incuriously with the cabochon jewels of their eyes, their tails swishing back and forth like the metronomes used at choir practice.
The twenty-carat cabochon star sapphire in his ring was a high-quality Burmese blue.
Incorrectly called lazurite in the South, lapis lazuli is usually cabochon cut and polished to show off its golden inclusions.