---
title: "Cabochon: meaning in gemology"
description: "A cabochon is a gem polished to a smooth, convex dome, with no facets. It is one of the oldest and simplest cuts."
url: https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/cabochon
image: https://digitalgemology.com/img/og-digital-gemology.png?v=d224fb01
---

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[Glossary](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary) · Cuts and shapes

# Cabochon

Also called cab, cabochon cut, double cabochon

A cabochon is a gem polished to a smooth, convex dome, with no facets. It is one of the oldest and simplest cuts.

## In more detail

Star and cat's-eye gems are usually cut as cabochons to show the effect best. A double cabochon is domed on both sides. The cabochon is popular for colored stones but rarely, if ever, used for diamond. Diamond's extreme hardness makes a smooth, rounded surface hard to polish.

## Related terms

- [Chatoyancy](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/chatoyancy): Chatoyancy is a single band of light that glides across a gem, like the slit eye of a cat. Light reflects from many aligned, needle-like inclusions.
- [Asterism](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/asterism): Asterism is a star of light that glides across the dome of a gem. Light reflects from fine needles, often rutile, that lie in two or three directions.
- [Opal](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/opal): Opal is a gem made of silica that water left in cracks of underground rock. Precious opal is made of tiny spheres stacked in a grid, and these diffract light into play-of-color.
- [Jade](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/jade): Jade is a trade name for gem rocks made mainly of jadeite or nephrite. Their tiny interlocking crystals make them exceptionally tough.
- [Moonstone](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/moonstone): Moonstone is a feldspar gem: orthoclase with thin layers of albite inside. Light scattered between the layers gives a floating glow called adularescence.

[All 369 terms](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary)