Nearly every ancient civilization developed independently the concept of adornment with jewelry. The immutability and sun color of gold was revered, and translucent and colorful stones valued.  These stones were often rubbed and polished into simple rounded shapes utilizing varied simple methods.  This rounded shape of a stone, with a flat back, as opposed to any faceted cut stones, is known as a cabochon.

Until the 1400′s all gemstones were cabochons.  In some of the ancient civilizations; Egypt, Greece, Babylonia, Persia, Rome, and the Indus Valley, these simple cabochons were further refined by carving intricate designs known as “Glyptic” gem carvings, to create personal seal sets or seal-stones which could be used to produce a signature when pressed into clay or wax.  These may be cut as intaglios of cameos.

Throughout Asia the cabochon cut stones predominated even until recently, when the worldwide fashion of the cut stone, and the technology behind it, became available in the East.

But there are some that still prefer a cabochon cut stone. particularly one that has interesting patterns of light and reflection from impurities or internal imperfections. I am one of those people. This blog is created for those such as myself…