# Briolette

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{{short description|Style of gemstone cut}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

[[File:Rose quartz briolettes, edited.jpg|thumb|Close-up of briolette cut [rose quartz](/source/Quartz)]]
[[File:Empress Josephine Tiara.jpg|thumb|Briolette-cut diamonds dangle in the [tiara](/source/tiara) of [Empress Joséphine](/source/Jos%C3%A9phine_de_Beauharnais)]]

A '''briolette''' is a style of [gemstone](/source/gemstone) [cut](/source/cut_(gems)). It is an elongated, mostly symmetrical along the main axis, pear shape covered with angular [facet](/source/facet)s usually with a pointed end and no [girdle](/source/Girdle_(gemstone)).<ref name="brit-drop" /> It is often drilled to hang as a bead. The name is also sometimes erroneously used for [pendeloque cut](/source/pendeloque_cut) gems.<ref>{{cite web|title=Briolette of India Diamond|url=http://www.internetstones.com/briolette-of-india-diamond-famous-jewelry.html|publisher=Internet Stones.COM|accessdate=7 January 2011|archive-date=31 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231200155/http://www.internetstones.com/briolette-of-india-diamond-famous-jewelry.html|url-status=live}}</ref> While the briolette is a symmetrical drop shape, the pendeloque cut is flatter and has two different sides: one with a large table [facet](/source/facet) and one with a point or ridge. The top of a briolette is attached to the piece of jewelry, usually by a hole drilled in the stone, and a pendeloque cut stone needs to be mounted in a [prong setting](/source/prong_setting).<ref name="Knot101">{{cite web |url=https://www.theknot.com/content/engagement-ring-settings-101 |title=Engagement Ring Settings 101 |last=Seto |first=Lori |work=theknot.com |publisher=[XO Group](/source/XO_Group) |accessdate=January 11, 2025 }}</ref> The briolette is one of the [drop](/source/Drop_(liquid)) cuts for gemstones.<ref name="brit-drop">{{cite web |last=Kuiper |first=Kathleen |title=Drop cut |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/drop-cut#ref267038 |website=www.britannica.com |publisher=[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica) |access-date=11 January 2025}}</ref>

The briolette cut is said to have been designed by Belgian [Lodewyk van Bercken](/source/Lodewyk_van_Bercken) in 1476. This cut requires a more advanced technique than the round cuts, like the [brilliant cut](/source/Brilliant_(diamond_cut)), and results in a much larger loss of the original stone's weight, making briolettes very rare and expensive. The cut is mostly used for stones with color, like [sapphire](/source/sapphire)s and varieties of [quartz](/source/quartz). It is rarely used for diamonds.<ref>{{cite web |title=ブリオレットカットの魅力 |trans-title=The charm of the briolette cut|url=https://bauletto.co.jp/diamond/briolettecut/ |website=www.bauletto.co.jp |publisher=Bauletto |access-date=11 January 2025}}</ref>
The style was popular during the [Victorian era](/source/Victorian_era).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Anna M. |title=Illustrated Guide to Jewelry Appraising: Antique, Period, and Modern |date=2012 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=1-4615-9717-X |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czYLBgAAQBAJ}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [Briolette of India](/source/Briolette_of_India)
* [Pendeloque cut](/source/Pendeloque_cut)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Gemstone cutting

{{Design-stub}}
{{gemology-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Briolette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briolette) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briolette?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.