Emerald cut Heart shaped cut Maquise cut

Oval cut Pear cut Princess cut

Round brilliant Square cut Trillion cut

Gems are shaped and polished to make them more beautiful and to remove faults. Gems are shaped by being ground on abrasive wheels or revolving abrasive disks. The oldest and simplest of gemstone shapes or cuts is the cabochon cut, in which the stone is smoothly rounded. Various forms of faceted cuts, in which the gem is given a number of symmetrical flat surfaces, or facets, include the round brilliant cut, which generally has a flat top, a flat bottom, and a total of 58 facets. A variety of square, triangular, diamond-shaped, and trapezoidal faceted cuts are also used.