The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1870-02-25
DIAMONDS AND DIAMOND CUTTING.

The rough diamond is little more at
tractive than the common pebble; its
brilliancy being concealed under a hard
crust, that can only be removed by dia-
mond powder. Though the art of cut
ting this gem has only been brought to
perfection during the last few centuries
those being cut and polished ut Col
oonda being of clumsy workmanship
the stone was formerly valued for other,
and for the most part fabulous qualities.
1t the Eastern monarchs wore diamonds
about their persons, it was principally
because they regarded them as tails
mans, as having magical properties and
the same belief was shared by all ma
tons. Serabius ascribes to this gem
the power of keeping at safe distance
lemures, incubes and succubos; and OF
making men courageous and magnani-
nous. 1t was also thought to nullify
the attractive power of the magnet.
The Indians believe that diamond pow
der taken into the mouth causes the
teeth to fall out; and that the stone
acts as preservation against lightning.
There is mention in history of cloak
OF Charlemagne's, the clasp of which
was formed of two diamonds; aud in
the inventory of the effects of the Duke
of Anjou, in 1860 or 1868, a diamond
cut into the form of a shield is among
the list of valuables. 1t was not, how
ever, until the time of clever lapidary
of the name of Herman, in the begin
ming of the fifteenth century, that q
glimpse was obtained of the real mag
nificence of the diamond as an article
of ornament; but it was reserved for
Louis Van Berghem, Forty years later,
to discover the method of cutting the
diamond into regular facets, thus re-
vealing the jewel in its full beauty. He
established a guild of diamond-cutters
in Burgess; but his pupils, driven from
this place by the intolerance of the
priests, afterward settled in Antwerp
and Amsterdam. The latter town still
has the repute of possessing the first
diamond-cutting factory in the world.
1t was here, in the establishment of NJ.
Coster, that the Koh-i-noor was recut
in 1852.
The operation may more properly be
described as grinding than cutting. The
stone is applied to the surface of fiat
iron plate covered with oil and diamond
dust, and rotating with great velocity.
The extreme nicely required in dia-
mond-cutting may be imagined when it
is remembered that multitudes of these
gems are so small, that it takes one
thousand to weigh a single carat.
The origin of the carat-four grains
Troy weights from the Arabic word
''Kuara," the name of the seed of pod
bearing plant. These seeds are uni
formly of the same gravity, and were
used for weighing against gold dust.
The weight was adopted in Hindostan,
and thence all over the world.
The rage for the possession of these
precious stones so much increased after
the revelation of their extreme beauty
by Van BerghenI, that Paris alone, in
the time of the Cardinal Mazarin-who
was great diamond fancier-supported
seventy-five diamond-cutters. In Eng
land also were several renowned lapida-
ries, whose work was so perfect that
even now the diamonds called cold
England" are much priced. The art,
however, in this country has declined
Tho 1a.0oe,y