[Jewelry making - Article 00123] - Re: [Orchid] Finish behind stones

[Dave Arens]

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Hi Neil,

>     My concern is to maximize reflection back into the stone, from the
>     pavilion side. 

    The way to maximize the light return from the pavilion of a stone is
    governed by the laws of physics & the refractive index (RI) of the
    material that the stone is made of. 

    There's a angle called the 'critical angle' (CA) that's dependent on
    the RI of the stone. The higher the RI of the material, the lower
    the CA. If the pavilion of the stone is cut at an angle greater than
    the CA any light striking a pavilion facet cut that way will go
    right out the back of the stone. To reflect it back into the stone,
    the facet must be cut at less than the CA. Because most faceted
    stones don't remain in one position, when the stone is tilted, the
    apparent CA to the viewer changes & this causes loss of brilliance
    in a stone. The best way to minimize this is to cut the pavilion a
    degree or more below the CA. 

Dave

 
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