1. Bruted girdle
2. Polished girdle
3. Facetted girdle
“Bruted girdle“
The girdle may be bruted, i.e. rounded by grinding against another diamond. Bruted garlands have a frosty appearance and a grainy, sugary texture. This “beardy” texture is unique to diamonds and helps distinguish real diamonds from imitations.
Some cutters believe that polished or faceted rondelles reflect the interior of the stone, so they leave stones with K color or lower rondelles.
Bruted Girdles do have one drawback, however. During rounding and sanding, feathers or tiny cracks sometimes form along the round bar.
Polished Girdle
A clear and smooth polished girdle becomes a large facet that allows the viewer to see inside the stone.
Faceted Girdle (Belt)
Faceted rondels have numerous facets along the entire edge. Today, most diamonds, especially high quality stones, have faceted borders.
Faceted diamonds are first cut. Any tiny feathers or cracks created during the grinding process are then removed during the faceting process. The production of faceted rondelles therefore takes more time and may result in a slight loss of weight. However, they do give the diamond a cleaner, more finished look.
The rondelle itself is usually not visible to the naked eye unless the diamond is extremely large or the rondelle is unusually thick.