Hexagonal gemstone (Period); step-cut gemstone (Accepted)

Jewelry are items of personal adornment, usually made from precious metals or stones.  While they are often shown worn on a human form, they are also used as charges in their own right.  Examples from Society armory include cameo busts, wristlets and arm-rings, and necklaces.

Individual gemstones are also sometimes found as charges, as in the civic arms of Beihlstein, 1605 [Siebmacher 226].  Gemstones should be cut in a period style:  for instance, the gem in the arms of Beihlstein is hexagonal.  In Society armory the step-cut (or emerald-cut), as seen in Holbein’s portraits, is the most common.  By default, gemstones are drawn as seen from above – gemstones in profile are considered a step from period practice – and should be solidly tinctured, not chased.  Post-period gem cuts, such as the brilliant cut, may not be registered.

The illustration shows an hexagonal gemstone, as in the arms of Beihlstein, and a step-cut gemstone as frequently seen in Society armory.  For specific entries, see:  brooch, crown, paternoster, ring, torque.

The Order of the Gemme d’Or, of Gyldenholt, bears:  Azure, a hexagonal gemstone Or.

Gerold Bright Angel bears:  Gules, a double cameo bust within two wings conjoined Or.

Branwen of Cherry Bay bears:  Gules, a boar’s-tooth necklace in orle throughout argent.

Lucia Greenstone bears:  Argent, a step-cut emerald palewise vert.