Jewelry Cabochons | The largest selection of individual pieces

What is a cabochon?

Cabochon is a cut stone designed to be used in jewelry. The definition of a cabochon refers to a highly polished stone with a convex or rounded top, a flat bottom and an oval shape without sharp edges.

Cabochons can be high domed, low domed, carved, pointed or flat. Cabochon cutting is usually used when the stone is translucent or opaque. It works better with softer stones and stones that have chatoyancy (tiger's eye) or schiller (labradorite).

Cabochons are not only made of different types of stones. They can also be cut out of wood, glass, plastic, resin, old plates, skittles, shells, bones, etc.

Cabochon is a shape that brings out the natural beauty of the stones. These stone shapes are used to make jewelry and can be found in pendants, bracelets, brooches and rings, and in matching pairs in earrings.

Cabochon cut is characterized by a flat underside, making it easy to set. Cabochons can also be glued directly onto objects. Historically, cabochons were used to decorate swords, crowns, and even clothing.

Cabochons can be set in precious metals using a number of techniques, including lost wax casting. They can be wrapped with wire, embroidered or inlaid.

Cabochons also come in other forms:

• Intarsia - where pieces of similar thickness are cut and shaped to fit together tightly, without gaps or interruptions, to form a pattern.
• Intaglio - a gem carved in negative relief.
• Cameo - a gem carved in positive relief.
• Doublet (or Triplet) - a thin layer of stone is glued to another. This is often seen in Australian opals.
• Cabochon cut - a gem that is round on top but has facets cut into it at the bottom.
• Fancy cut - gemstones cut into fancy round shapes such as flowers, leaves, stars, kites, etc.
• Natural cabochons - natural cabochons that may remain partially uncut.
• Non-stone cabochons - cabochons made of other materials, such as wooden cabochon, plastic, porcelain, glass, etc.

Glossary of cabochon terms

• Botryoidal or bubble - means “bunch of grapes” and is used to describe a cabochon that has a bumpy or grape-like surface.
• Brecciated - a gemstone consisting of fragments of different minerals in a matrix.
• Cabochon - (usually) a semi-precious stone cut for jewelry purposes.
• Lapidary - is someone who cuts and polishes stones.
• Calibrated - When a gemstone is cut to a specific, standard size.
• Chatoyant/Chatoyancy - a shimmering cat's eye effect seen in some gemstones and minerals.
• Dendrites, plumes, moss/mossy - used to describe the formation of inclusions in gemstones, usually agate. Dendrite means tree, plume is usually feathery, and moss... looks like moss.
• Druse - these are layers of crystals that have formed in a rock cavity.
• Defect - a flaw in a gemstone or rock. Defects include: cracks, chips or “dents” and some natural inclusions or fractures.
• Fossil - the term fossil refers to any preserved remains or imprints of a living organism, such as a bone, shell, footprint or leaf impression.
• Fracture - a crack in a gemstone or rock that can be natural or caused by human activity.
• Freeform - cabochons can also have irregular shapes, e.g. they can reflect the shapes of animals, leaves, etc.
• Hardness - the Mohs scale of mineral hardness determines the scratch resistance of various gemstones on a scale from 1 to 10.
• High Grade - High Grade means high-quality material and, in the mineral collection, it means selecting the best specimens.
• Mine Run - The term “Mine Run” usually means that the material is sold in the condition in which it came out of the mine.
• Irisation/Labradorization - the cabochon has many shimmering, changing colors. Irisation or labradorescence is caused by light scattering in cracks and flaws, resulting in a rainbow-like play of colors. The colors change with the viewing angle.
• Inclusion - an inclusion is a particle of foreign matter found in a mineral or gemstone. Inclusions can be solid, liquid or gaseous. A pocket filled with water is called an enhydro. Organic inclusions only occur in amber.
• Luster - the appearance of the gemstone surface caused by the reflection of light. The most common is glassy (glassy), the most desirable is adamantine (diamond like). Other types are: metallic, pearly, silky, waxy and matte.
• Matrix - the normal rock in which the mineral or crystal is embedded.
• Metaphysical properties - the belief in healing stones, healing crystals or the magical properties of gemstones and minerals is nothing new. The belief in the supernatural properties of rocks and minerals, bringing peace, well-being and protection, goes back beyond recorded history. There are ancient legends that attribute the creation of the Earth and the Universe to rocks, minerals and crystals.
• Orbicular, Eyes - refers to the circles or orbs in the pattern, usually found in jasper stones.
• Opaque - Opaque means that no light can pass through the gemstone.
• Synthetic - A term given to gemstones that have been produced by man.
• Stabilization/processing - Impregnation with resin to make the stone harder or more durable, so that it can be cut into cabochons more easily. “Treated” can also refer to a process carried out to change the attributes of the cabochon, such as heat treatment, irradiation, coloring, etc.
• Suite - cabochon stones cut to order so that they can be used together, in one piece of jewelry or in matching pieces: like a pendant and earrings. Also called a cabochon set.
• Symmetrical - cabochons with different shapes, whose sides are mirror images of each other. For example, square, rectangle, circle, oval, tongue, etc.
• Transparent - transparent cabochons allow some light to pass through, but the light is diffused. The material appears to glow.
• Vug - this is a natural hole or hollow in the rock. It is also called a pocket or hollow. Sometimes it can be filled with crystals and called a geodesic.

  Depending on the mineral they come from, natural stone cabochons come in different colors and patterns. The color and pattern can even vary for the same type of stone!

  Some stones have a fixed color - Azurite is always blue, Malachite is always green, and Magnetite is always black. Although color is a good basis for identifying a mineral, the color alone is not always enough to determine the name. There are many other blue, green or black precious and semi-precious stones. Even the same type of natural stone can have different colors - turquoise can be blue, green, or even white, calcite can come in many colors, alexandrite can change colors in different lighting, as can labradorite, which can be blue, green, or yellow in sunlight.

  What are the light effects in cabochons?

  In different types of cabochons, we can have different light effects caused by reflection, interference of light or its refraction.

  These effects include:

  • Chatoyant or Cat's Eye - resembles a slit in a cat's eye. When the stone is moved, its reflection moves across it. (Tiger's eye and selenite).
  • Asterism or stars (star rubies).
  • Aventurization - shiny reflections (aventurine).
  • Iridescence - play of colors like a rainbow (Ethiopian opal). Labradorite - play of colors in metallic shades (labradorite).
  • Opalescence - the pearlescent effect of a normal opal - not to be confused with the rainbow colors of Ethiopian opal.
  • luminescence or fluorescence. When we look at minerals in ultraviolet light, they will glow in bright colors. Fluorescence is caused by the presence of small metallic impurities.

  Does every semi-precious stone have a shine?

  Another characteristic of stone cabochons is their shine. The types of shine are divided according to whether we are describing metallic or non-metallic stones:

  Metallic cabochons have the same luster as the finish of metals - bronze, silver, gold, etc.

  The luster of non-metallic stones can be divided into:

  • silky
  • fibrous appearance visible in tiger's eye or selenite
  • pearly
  • greasy
  • waxy
  • glassy - (most common luster)
  • adamantine - meaning diamond-like
  • matte

  How hard are cabochon stones?

  When talking about the hardness of a cabochon stone, one thinks of the 10-degree Mohs scale. The gradation of the scale means that each mineral on the list can be scratched by each mineral higher up on the list. The scale is not proportional, which means that the difference in hardness is not the same between 1 and 2 as it is between 9 and 10. However, hardness should not be confused with strength. The hardest diamond can be broken more easily than jade.

  The Mohs scale for gemstones is as follows:

  • 10 - Diamond
  • 9 - Corundum
  • 8 - Topaz
  • 7 - Quartz (this usually includes chalcedony, including agate and jasper)
  • 6 - Feldspar
  • 5 - Apatite
  • 4 - Fluorite
  • 3 - Calcite
  • 2 - Gypsum
  • 1 - Talc

  Are minerals magnetic?

  Magnetism can be easily tested with a household magnet. The vast majority of minerals are not magnetic. Only the nickel-iron meteorite and the lodestone variety of magnetite are magnetic.