This historic metal type size sits between the slightly smaller brilliant and the slightly larger diamond. It measures just over four points, packing roughly 222 lines into a single vertical foot of text. Printers reserved such microscopic letters almost exclusively for footnotes, miniature bibles, and pocket dictionaries where space was at an absolute premium.
Heard on the job
We found a dusty case of gem in the back, but the sorts are so small you can barely read the nicks without a loupe.
Insider tip
Because it is so minuscule, printing with gem requires exceptionally smooth paper and perfectly adjusted press pressure to prevent the counters of the letters from filling in with ink.