This page gathers the stones in our collection cut in the checkered cut — also known as the checkerboard — a style in which the crown is divided into a grid of small square and kite-shaped facets rather than a single large table. The result is a surface that breaks incoming light into many small, rapid flashes, giving a lively, faceted shimmer across the whole face of the stone. The crown is frequently gently domed, which spreads that scintillation outward and can make a stone read slightly broader for its weight.
Every variety represented here belongs to the tourmaline family: Paraiba tourmaline, green tourmaline, pink tourmaline, rubellite tourmaline and blue tourmaline. Tourmaline suits this cut particularly well, as its strongly saturated, often richly toned colours benefit from the way many small facets return light near the surface and lift the overall brightness.
When choosing between them, weigh colour first — the hue and saturation you want to live with — then transparency, the evenness of the dome, and how the outline will sit within your intended setting.
