The culet is a tiny flat facet that may be put on the bottom of the pavilion of a diamond, parallel to the table facet at the top of the crown.
Most modern round diamonds have either no culet (also described as pointed or closed), or a very small, or small culet. Large or extremely large culets were common in diamonds cut in the early part of this century, such as the Old European or Old Mine Cut. However, such large culets are rarely seen today.
For many years all diamonds had the culet facet added to protect the tip of the pavilion from being chipped or damaged. Diamonds used to be set very low in jewelry and often the pavilion actually contacted the skin of the wearer’s finger, thus greater risk of damage to the exposed tip. A culet of medium size or larger may adversely influence light return, since such a facet is effectively a hole in the center of the diamond. Modern jewelry styles raise the pavilion of the diamond. The setting itself usually provides sufficient protection for the pavilion from impact and wear, so there is no need to add a culet. Any culet medium or larger is now rare.
Technically, a round brilliant with no culet is a 57 facet diamond, while one with any culet is a 58 facet diamond.
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