Cabochon - what is this? Cabochons from natural stones

Today, needlework is more popular than ever, and the whole world has remembered that products made by themselves bring real, incomparable pleasure. Each person is engaged in this kind of this direction, which is more to his liking. Women are more inclined to create subtle and beautiful things. Bijouterie, created at home, gives women not only the opportunity to diversify their appearance, but also provides a certain occasion for pride. Starting to produce jewelry, many needlewomen ask the question: "Cabochon what is it?" They meet this word in the books on needlework, on the pages of online stores, and therefore, should carefully consider this issue.

Requirements for processing cabochons

To begin with, the very word cabochon comes from the French word caboche, which means "head." The object itself really looks like the top of the head. That is, a cabochon is a stone having a certain shape, conditioned by special processing. As a rule, cabochons have the shape of an oval or a circle, but there are other options. So, on the one hand the stone is convex, and on the other hand it is even, flattened. The convex part should be absolutely smooth, without chipping or unevenness. Therefore, it is clear that the cabochon is such a smooth stone, which is intended for use in making jewelry. It is very nice to touch, so the products with it are so popular.

Method of processing

In addition, the question "Cabochon - what is this?" There is also such an answer: the name of the same name is the method of polishing stones. It must be understood that the method implies grinding, not faceting. As a rule, cabochons are made of natural stones, but they can also be made of artificial, semiprecious and ornamental, but they do not use such a procedure as cutting stones. It should be noted that the cabochons are cloudy and soft materials, because grinding can not bring them to a mirror shine. Therefore cabochons from natural stones seem a little ground, since they have no faces, and the light does not play, that is, it is not refracted. The external attractiveness is given to them by the color and pattern of the stone used.

For cabochons from natural stones, specimens that have a beautiful pattern or an interesting optical effect are selected. In addition, the priority is bright and unusual colors with all kinds of veins and divorces on the surface. Beautiful and unusual effects in the exterior of the stones are called asterism and iris. Such a thing as cutting stones, In the creation of cabochons is not applied, only the method of grinding is used. Also, sometimes cabochons come with an untreated surface, that is, a natural kind. Usually for such cabochons use crystal minerals or stones with an effective surface.

Standards cabochons

I must say that in this production there are some standards, and cut cabochon Is recognized only if it corresponds to certain forms. Therefore, when a person asks the question "Cabochon - what is this?", It must be understood that this object can only be in the form of a circle, an oval, a heart, a cross and a polygon. Other forms will not meet the standards. In addition, cabochons are divided in height, it varies depending on the curvature of the surface being treated. So, if the chosen stone is very fragile or tends to be chipped, it is usually given an oval shape. And of the stronger stones, which are very amenable to processing, create crosses and hearts.

Materials for cabochons

Separately, it is necessary to highlight such a question as the processing of precious stones. Usually, cabochons use precious and semiprecious stones only on request. The development of cabochons is for the most part gems and stones with a pronounced interesting pattern or an unusual color scheme. But there are a number of precious and semiprecious stones that show all their charm in cabochons, for example, star sapphire, starry ruby, oligoclase or moonstone, chrysoberyl or cat's eye, turquoise and hairy. Also for the production of cabochons are used ornamental stones, that is, lapis lazuli, jade, agate, malachite, serpentine and tiger's eye. In addition, cabochons from rock crystal and black agate look amazing. Brooches and rings with these stones look extremely impressive.

Application of cabochons

Further, answering the question "Cabochon - what is this?", Should talk about the use of this product. Cabochons are inserted into rings and pendants, bracelets and earrings, and also used to decorate bags and purses. On sale today there is a large selection of special metal blanks for the same rings and coulombs, as well as for earrings. Each needlewoman, as a rule, has its own set of tools for making jewelry, with which you can easily insert the cabochon into the existing workpiece. For example, the manufacture of a brooch or a ring in the presence of a preform does not take much energy from the needlewoman. The main thing here is to carefully select the shape and color of the cabochon itself, and then a few small strokes in the form of crystals or polymer colors will help create a truly unique product.

What is combined cabochons

Also very good looking cabochons, braided with beads, as a rule, this method is used in making necklaces. On the drape or other strong fabric basis, beads are sewn in the form of some beautiful pattern or pattern. And in some fragments of this ornament interweave cabochons of various forms. Sometimes masters braided with beads cabochons are used for earrings, and even for rings. In order to qualitatively coat a cabochon with beads, one should use not fishing line, but a string, because the line has a tendency to stretch, and the cabochon can fall out. Also, you need to carefully select the beads themselves - it must be necessarily calibrated, that is, the same size. This is necessary to ensure that the cabochon lay flat and looked expensive.

In general, we can say that the variety of materials and color shades in the production of cabochons give masters and foremen a huge scope for using their imagination. Therefore, these products made of stone are so in demand and are very popular.