So when the Crystal Gems are all at the forge, Bismuth calls Amethyst “Deep Cut”. She says “Hey deep cut, what’chu packin’?”
When Amethyst pulls out her whip, Bismuth is genuinely impressed and continues, “Not every Quartz can make a whip like this”
I looked up what a “deep cut” means in gem terminology.
“When we discuss colored gemstones such as sapphire, ruby and emerald,the main motive of cut is to maximize color to itsfull potential. In contrast, cutting in diamonds mostly refers to maximizing brilliance.”
“Stones that are too deep will look smaller than expected but they will show off more color than they would if they were cut to normal proportions. Deep-cut stones also preserve weight, increasing the cost of the stone without the expected increase in the size of the crown (top portion of the gem).”
Well, we now know why Amethyst is considered a defect by Homeworld, she came out cut too deep, so she looks smaller. But check out what else it says about deep cut gems; their color is more saturated, vibrant, beautiful. I think that’s why her weapon is special.(Or, if the color has nothing to do with it, then a deeper cut would mean her potential is maxed out. Like maxed IVs!) They also ‘preserve weight’ without having to be physically bigger. That could mean Amethyst has more mass packed in her body than the other gems, which would explain her shapeshifting prowess.
In particular, why Amethyst can shapeshift into someone twice her size like The Purple Puma, or Jasper, without taking damage (when she’s used to the form, Purple Puma vs Jasper, she’s been shown to sustain Puma for much longer without resting). Even then it took a long time before being Jasper started to be hard for her.
In contrast, remember how tired Steven got, from just stretching his body a few inches??
Her smaller body is ALSO why when she finally accepts herself, it takes her TEN SECONDS to reform after she’s poofed the second time:
How long did it take Pearl the Perfectionist?
TWO. WEEKS. So in battle, Amethyst’s small size gives her a tremendous advantage; she can literally save herself from being shattered by reforming almost immediately. No other gem has had that ability so far.
Finally, Amethyst is just deep. She’s a very deep person.
Why else do I think this is relevant? Well…
“Stones that are too shallow will look big for their weight and appear lighter in color than deeper-cut stones.”
Why does that sound familiar?
Oh.
Shallow has several meanings here. Her weapon is a helmet. Her battle strategy is to run into her foe.
That’s a shallow strategy. No one will stay with Jasper because she only thinks of things from her perspective; she lacks insight in other’s emotions. She’s, in a way, shallow.
Or, an allegory for being born with pure talent vs having to work for everything you have, and how shallowpure talent alone really is.
In Conclusion
Homeworld has a recourse problem, and Amethyst’s deep cut gives her all the abilities of a regular cut Quartz soldier plus more, while taking half the resources to create, and they’d consider her a defect?? Homeworld, you fools.
