A lapidary (lapidarist, Latin: lapidarius) is an artist or artisan who forms stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameos), and faceted designs. The word lapidary is also used to describe the methods used and the products of the lapidary's work.[1][2] The primary techniques employed are cutting, grinding, and polishing.[2][3] Hardstone carving is the term used to describe other specialized carving techniques and the objects produced by those techniques.[3]
Diamond cutters are generally not referred to as lapidaries, due to the specialized techniques which are required to work diamonds. In modern contexts a gemcutter is a person who specializes in cutting diamonds, but in older historical contexts it refers to artists producing engraved gems such as jade carvings. By extension, the term lapidary has sometimes been applied to collectors of and dealers in gems, or to anyone who is knowledgeable in precious stones
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