John Dyer Gems cut names

All you need to know about the different cuts we do on our gemstones.

We have a variety of cuts, from custom cut classic shapes with with flat faceting and exceptional brilliance, to concave faceted and avant-garde fantasy cut gemstones reminiscent of modern art. Brilliant faceted cuts, Concave faceting and designer "fantasy" cut gemstones, each piece of our gem rough is given careful consideration and the cut is chosen to bring out the best color, brilliance, design, and overall appeal.

These cut names and designs are copyright of John Dyer Gems.

Here are some of the cuts we do:

StarBrite™ Cut

They are faceted using a special grooving technique carved on the pavilion. This proprietary technique gives the impression of greater overall brightness and also gives great “Tilt” performance as the gem is viewed at different angles. Variations of this cut have won John 11 different gem cutting awards in recent years. While this cut can be almost any shape they are usually a “standard” shape such as round, oval, cushion, square or trillion. Normally they have no Bubbles carved in them and the grooves are straight. This is one of our favorite and most popular cuts and one we do in many gemstone types such as sapphires, garnets, aquamarine, morganite and more!  

The straight grooves give great brilliance even in darker materials. The cut can be fairly shallow and still have brilliance which gives you a great value by allowing you to have a gem that is much larger looking while not weighing or costing as much because it isn't as deep. The gemstones cut in a shallow style can also be set much lower in a ring which helps them not bump into things as you wear them and also allow gloves to be worn over the ring if needed.

It also has great “tilt” performance, even when viewed from an angle, it is still bright.

For more gemstones cut like these, click here.

oregon sunstone starbrite cut 7.72cts
Oregon Sunstone Starbrite™ Cut 7.72 cts

australian sapphire starbrite cut 4.14 cts
Teal Australian Sapphire Starbrite™ Cut 4.14 cts

Bolivian ametrine starbrite cut 12.37 cts
Bolivian Ametrine Starbrite™ Cut 12.37 cts.

dichroic Oregon sunstone special fantasy cut by John Dyer
Green Tourmaline Starbrite™ Cut 6.45 cts

RippleTop™ Cut

This gem design has “waves” or ripples carved into the crown combined with either a faceted or carved AND faceted pavilion. The design of this cut gives the gem's brilliance a unique "liquid" look which some people love and goes great with water themed jewelry designs. It is somewhere in the middle between a standard flat faceted cut and a fantasy cutting style. The RippleTop™ can be almost any shape, but we usually opt for doing more standard shapes that are more easily suitable for jewelry use. Since this cut has a standard and level girdle just like a flat faceted gem it is much easier to set than many other gemstones which are entirely carved, don't have a standard girdle and are irregular.                        

To see our selection of RippleTop™ cut gemstones, click here.

a rare lime beryl rippletop 25.58 cts
Lime Beryl RippleTop™ Cut 25.58 cts.

Dreamscape™ Cut

These fantasy style gem cuts can have grooves, bubbles, flat facets and/or other gem carving techniques all designed and chosen for the specific gem to give it a unique and beautiful appearance. The name Dreamscape™ was created These tend to be some of our most free and modern artistic looking cuts and since they can have such a wide range of gem cutting techniques used on them and since each one is custom cut to tailored it to the unique gem rough one can look quite different from another. The Dreamscape™ style can be almost any shape but must have carvings in them. They can also sometimes look similar to our Sculptural Gems™, SunRay™ or Light Weaver™ cuts. 

In the cases of the Dreamscape™ fantasy cuts with bubbles carved into the crown the bubbles act as reducing lenses and shrink whatever is reflected in them or seen through them.

Most Dreamscapes™ are one of a kind. Some of these gemstones are also quite shallow which is good for jewelry use allowing them to be set lower to the skin and don't required being made into pendants that are top heavy and twist or rings that stand up a mile and snag on everything.

This style of gem cuts have won us multiple prizes in the AGTA Cutting Edge Awards. 

For more fantasy cut gemstones like these, click here.

morganite dreamscape cut 2.93cts
Morganite Dreamscape™ Cut 2.93 cts

Bolivian Ametrine dreamscape cut 10.97cts
Bolivian Ametrine Dreamscape™ Cut 10.97 cts

Blue Topaz dreamscape cut 93.53 cts
Blue Topaz Dreamscape™ Cut 93.53 cts.

citrine dreamscape cut 13.91 cts
Citrine Dreamscape™ Cut 13.91 cts

Light Weaver™ Cut 

Flat faceted gems with thin interlaced grooves on the pavilion. Lightweavers™ can be any shape but are most often symmetrical shapes. They are a fantasy gem cutting style which can look similar to some of our Dreamscape™ cuts.

These thin grooves look like shafts of light and give brilliance. They reflect across the gem while appearing to “weave” themselves in with the grooves on the other sides  Also some of these grooves will appear further away and some will appear closer based on if they are reflected or not.

For more gemstones like this one, click here.


Citrine light weaver cut 6.51 cts
Citrine Light Weaver™ Cut 6.51 cts

ZigZag™ Cut

This gemstone cut uses advanced micro grooving techniques in addition to flat faceting to give exceptional brilliance and a unique look to the gem. By alternating the locations of the grooves on the the pavilion John was able to create a cut design where the culet “ZigZags” down the length of the gem. ZigZag™ cut gemstones can be any shape, but we often choose this cut as being one of the best on rectangles, longer cushions or some variation of that general shape. This cut has won a Gemmys™ Award. This cut is similar to CrissCross™ cut. 

The grooves give brilliance and interest to a long gem that would otherwise be kind of Blah if cut in a standard step cut emerald cut style. They can also be quite shallow at times which makes them easier to put in jewelry. 

For more gemstones like these, click here.

Chrome Beryl zigzag cut 4.12cts
Chrome Beryl ZigZag™ Cut 4.12 cts

Bicolor tourmaline zigzag cut 13.44 cts
Bicolor Tourmaline ZigZag™ Cut 13.44 cts

blue Australian sapphire zigzag cut 1.79 cts
Blue Australian Sapphire ZigZag™ Cut 1.79 cts

golden beryl zigzag cut 6.14 cts
Golden Beryl ZigZag™ Cut 6.14 cts

SunBurst™ Cut

A round cut with an octagonal table facet, in some cases using a very small table facet for a specific effect. This designer cut has some similarities to the round brilliant cut but is our custom version of a round for gemstones that are best cut with flat facets. Around the table is a signature sun or flower pattern created by the first row of facets around the table which is where it gets its name and is part of what makes them different from a standard round brilliant cut. As with all our cuts each one is custom cut to the unique characteristics of the rough so there are slight variations between them. Similar to our Fireball™ cut which has a small square table. The SunBurst™ cut has no frosted facets. 

They are very bright (as the name implies) and give a combination of scintillation and brilliance along with a traditional shape which is very popular in engagement rings, especially in sapphire. From a distance they look like a sparkling orb and provide far superior brilliance to the standard round cut gemstones on the market. 

For more gemstones like these, click here.

parti color australian sapphire sunburst cut 1.09 cts
Parti Color Australian Sapphire SunBurst™ Cut 1.09 cts
morganite sunburst cut 1.65 cts
Morganite SunBurst™ Cut 1.65 cts

amethyst sunburst cut 8.97 cts
Amethyst SunBurst™ Cut 8.97 cts

zircon sunburst cut 6.62 cts
Red Zircon SunBurst™ Cut 6.62 cts

Super Trillion™ Cut

This gemstone cut is all flat faceted with a unique faceting pattern that John has customized through much experimentation to give maximum brilliance and scintillation in the trillion shape. It it designed with many rows of small facets, due to these many rows of facets it can be a deeper cut, but the appearance is well worth it. 

Super Trillions™ are EXTREMELY brilliant and one of John's favorite cuts. They are also one of the cuts that has won him the most awards, with variations of this cut having won him 6 gem cutting awards so far. These gems are amazing as they look great not only up close, but also from a distance. When seen from a distance of 6 feet or more the sparkle is wonderful, especially on a larger gem. Subtle differences in the cut design make it the most brilliant trillion we have ever seen. 

For more gemstones with Super Trillion™ cuts, click here.

blue toppaz super trillion cut 16.99 cts
Blue Topaz Super Trillion™ Cut 16.99 cts

golden beryl super trillion cut 8.14 cts
Golden Beryl Super Trillion™ Cut 8.14 cts

Oregon sunstone super trillion cut 9.99 cts
Oregon Sunstone Super Trillion™ Cut 9.99 cts

amethyst super trillion cut
AMethyst Super Trillion™ Cut 11.51 cts

Regal Radiant™ Cut

A radiant style cut design which is faceted with a flower or star shaped facet pattern around the table facet. We do not do this cut on round gems but almost every other shape has a variation of the Regal Radiant™ that has been custom made to fit it. If a round gemstone looks similar it is a Sunburst™ cut as that also has a star pattern around the table facet. The Regal Radiant™ cuts often have fairly small table facet but as with all of our designs that depends on what we feel is best for the specific rough we are working on based on the shape, clarity, saturation of color and other factors. This cut has no carvings and is a favorite of those who love a traditional looking gemstone cut but want one with rare sparkle. 

Their pavilion is designed for maximum brilliance and scintillation while the crown gives and interesting facet pattern to please the eye. This kind of cut won multiple prizes in the AGTA Cutting Edge Awards. 

For more gemstones like these, click here.

morganite regal radiant cut 3.14 cts
Morganite Regal Radiant™ Cut 3.14 cts

blue zircon regal radiant cut 4.88 cts
Blue Zircon Regal Radiant™ Cut 3.22 cts

green tourmalie regal radiant cut 6.68 cts
Green Tourmaline Regal Radiant™ Cut 6.68 cts

Mali garnet regal radiant cut 1.86 cts
Mali Garnet Regal Radiant™ Cut 1.86 cts

Deep Concave™ Cut.

A specialized concave gem cutting technique using a smaller radius cutter that creates deeper concave cuts which is useful on smaller gems. With this signature cut we can also put more concave facets on larger gems than would otherwise be possible. 

These small concave facets give a very brilliant appearance to the gem and are very popular for jewelry use. Gems with this cut also have very good tilt performance as they don't tend to have much tilt windowing.

It is also a great technique for adapting to the rough in hand and giving brilliance and interest to longer gems or shallow gems which aren't deep enough for a flat faceted radiant style cut.

In rounds, squares, cushions and other gem shapes with similar length to width ratios it can sometimes be confused with our StarBrite™ cut as the appearance is similar.

We don't do this cut in super dark materials since we feel it isn't the best for those pieces of rough as it can darken the gem a bit, but in lighter to medium tone gems like morganite, aquamarine or many sapphires it is often a great choice!

For more gemstones with concave faceting, click here.

blue sapphire deep concave cut 1.67 cts
Blue Sapphire Deep Concave™ Cut 1.67 cts

neon tourmaline deep concave cut 1.90 cts
Neon Tourmaline Deep Concave™ Cut 1.90 cts

green tsavorite garnet deep concave cut 5.15 cts
Tsavorite Garnet Deep Concave™ Cut 5.15 cts

bicolor tourmaline deep concave cut 4.91 cts
Bicolor Tourmaline Deep Concave™ Cut 4.91 cts

Sculptural Gems™ 

These unique and super artistic cuts feature a carved outline which can lead to all kinds of fascinating gemstone shapes. As with all our cuts they are custom cut based on the shape of the unique and rare piece of gem rough they are cut from. But the freedom and creativity allowed by this freeform fantasy cutting style is unparalleled and the perfect answer for some rough gem crystals. They are usually freeform in shape and can have either a bufftop crown or one with multiple levels. Because of the variety of fantasy gem cutting techniques used on them they can, at times, look like a Dreamscape™ cut. The main difference between these two gem cutting styles is the outline of a Sculptural Gem is freeform carved instead of faceted as a Dreamscape™ cut usually is. 

They provide very unique and artistic looking finished gem with brilliance and visual beauty being the mains goals. In spite of being related to gemstone carvings they are designed to have more brilliance than a standard freeform carvings done by other people and also a girdle so they can be set in jewelry. (In spite of having a girdle their girdle will sometimes not be on a level line to allow for full creative freedom in the cutting. Most of our other cuts are designed with a level girdle. So the Sculptural Gem cuts do require a more experienced goldsmith to set them.) They are not just a pretty shape and a unique look, they're bright!  

For more gemstones with this unique fantasy cutting style, click here.


blue topaz sculptural cut 364.65 cts
Blue Topaz Sculptural™ Cut 364.65 cts

golden beryl sculptural cut 3.20 cts
Golden Beryl Sculptural™ Cut 3.20 cts

JD Select™ Outsourced Cut

Some of the only cutting on our website not done by us, JD Select™ Outsourced gems are a category of gems with better than standard commercial cutting and polish. They are not ones that we have cut ourselves, but instead have carefully selected other cutters or cutting shops with a higher quality work than is normal in the market to cut select gems according to John Dyer’s specifications and with his guidance. This is done with rough which we often could not afford to cut ourselves which allows us to use the smaller pieces in the rough parcels we purchase.

The resulting finished gems are priced at a lower price per carat than our own cuts and are often smaller too so they are a great opportunity to own a relatively well cut gem for a more affordable price.

For more gemstones like these, click here.

Mandarin garnet JD select outsourced 1.20 cts
Mandarin Garnet JD Select™ Outsourced Cut 1.20 cts

green tourmaline JD select outsourced 3.01 cts
Green Tourmaline JD Select™ Outsourced Cut 3.01 cts

Mandarin garnet JD select outsourced 2.15 cts
Mandarin Garnet JD Select™ Outsourced Cut 2.15 cts

Mali garnet JD select outsourced 2.69 cts
Mali Garnet JD Select™ Outsourced Cut 2.69 cts


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