GemDiagram Docs

Guided Creator: Step 1 Setup

Setup prepares the wizard with your design's name, the shape you're building, and the symmetry (how many times the pattern repeats around the stone).

Name your design

Step 1 of 4 — the dialog opens here.

Type a name for your design in the Design Name field. This name becomes the filename when you save later — if you type "Round Brilliant", the save button will later suggest round-brilliant.facet.

You can rename the design at any time:

  • Now, in this field.
  • Later, in the main editor after finishing (the design name field in the top toolbar is editable).
  • At save time, by changing the filename your browser suggests when you download.

The name field is optional — if you leave it blank, Save will use a default like design.facet.

Choose an index wheel size

Below the name field, the Index Wheel dropdown defaults to 96 (the standard for virtually all cuts). Leave it at 96 unless you have a specific reason to change it.

Other options exist (64, 128, etc.), but 96 is the universal standard in GemDiagram and nearly all real faceting designs.

Move to Shape (Step 2)

Click Next → to move to the Shape selection screen.

See Guided Creator: Step 2 Design for the next stage. (Note: "Step 2" in the wizard's top label refers to Shape, not Design — the 4 wizard steps are Setup step 1 (name), Setup step 2 (shape), Setup step 3 (symmetry), and then Design (step 4). The main doc sections group the three Setup sub-steps together.)

Pick a shape (Step 2 of 4)

Step 2 shows a grid of gemstone shapes:

  • Round (the default, most common)
  • Octagon (8-sided)
  • Princess (square with pointed corners)
  • Others (Trillion, Cushion, etc. — depending on the system's preset library)

Click a shape to select it. The shape choice determines:

  • The girdle profile (how many tiers, and the default tier angles).
  • The symmetry axis (4-fold, 8-fold, etc. — shown in the next screen).
  • Which presets are available elsewhere in the app.

For a beginner's first design, Round is the safest choice. Click Next → to move to Symmetry.

Set symmetry (Step 3 of 4)

Step 3 controls the symmetry pattern — how many times the design repeats as you go around the stone, and whether it's mirrored.

Two controls:

  • Fold Count: How many times the design repeats (4-fold = 4 repeats, 8-fold = 8 repeats, etc.).
  • Mirror: A checkbox (on/off). If on, each repeat is mirrored across a plane through the stone.

For the Round shape, the defaults are 4-fold and Mirror on. This combination produces an 8-fold appearance (4 repeats × 2 for mirror = effectively 8 copies going around).

Most cuts use these defaults. Change them only if you're building a custom design with a specific symmetry in mind.

Click Next → Design to move to the Design stage, where you'll add tiers to the Pavilion, Crown, and Girdle.