, 1880-06-10
How Brilliant Gems are Cut.

ul1InOHu CulblHB SOuiiohyS AN'"NNN ="
number Of interesting facts respecting
the diamond products in various parts
of the world, His opinion of the man
ufacture of diamonds was given, and is
the same as that of Tiffany 4 Co., and
other large dealers.
"When the report was made public"
he said "that diamonds could be manu-,
factured in the labratory, people became
timid about investing large sums OF
money in valuable brilliants During
the last holiday season, in consequence
great many cheap diamonds were sold.
But the depression was only temporary,
in fact, valuable stones, but in the rough
and in the form of brilliants, are appre-
ciating in value all the time. 1t is not
thought possible by diamonds to produce
diamonds of any practical value. AS
yet, 1t is only claimed that crystals of
very minute size--not larger than a
grain Of sand-have been produced by
chemical processes, Should the chemist
succeed in; making diamonds of a size
sufficiently large to cut, it would cost as
much to bring them into the requisite
shape as it does the stones found in ma
ture. As long as small crystals only
are produced, the discovery amounts to
nothing. There are natural diamonds,
such as are used in the mechanical arts
by lapidaries and jewellers, that sell as
low as @ dollar piece" x
"Where are the diamonds mainly pro-
duced that are sold in New York"
"The principal diamord fields of the
world are in South Africa and in Brazil
Owing to the great production in the
Kimberly mines in South Africa and the
consequence reduction in price, the Bra
zil mines are not worked as much as for
merly. A few stones are found in In
dia, some small ones in China, and occa-
sionally one has been found in California.
1t is claimed that one or two have been
found in Indiana and one or two in
Georgia. But those that have been sent
from Georgia have turned out to be
either beryl or common crystal. The
popularity of the great Kimberly mines
which are now $50 feet below the sur
face and cover large area a-is that the
diamonds are found imbedded in stea-
tite or soapstone. Those found in the
Bahia district in Brazil-which is about
400 miles below Rio Janeiro--are usu-
ally imbedded in a cong.omerate com
posed of small pebbles
"The diamonds which are not fit to
cut for gems are used for mechanical
purposes. Those most used are what
are called carbons from the Badia dis
trict. They are irregular in shape and
of dark brown color, about the size Of
a hazel.nut. When broken there is a
gray fracture. They were discovered
many years before they were known to
have any value. Since the discovery
that they were diamonds by an Amster-
dam diamond cutter they have risen in
price to $S carat and more. They are
used in burning millstones and in dia-
mond drills. Another variety, known
as Brazilian boart, is too poor to cut,
and is used for drilling. They are of
different colors, and vary in size from a
pin-head to q pea. These little white
ones, too small for gems, have good cut
ting angles, and are used by lithograph-
ers and hook-note engravers in prepar-
ing plates The labor connected with
cutting and polishing diamond adds
greatly to its cost. Some are very diff
cult to shape and polish. A particular
seven-caret diamond took seven months
labor--more or less work every day--to
get 1t cut and polished ready for the
ieweler, and sold at loss of $1,000
Such diamonds are not crystalized in
regular planes, and may be compared to
a knotty piece of wood. As a rule,
however, diamonds have regular cleavage
planes. The cutter Just makes line on
the face Of the stone where he wishes to
cut with the point or angle of another
diamond. Then he uses short instru-
ment of steel and mallet to effect the
cleavage"
SIS every stone cut into the same
general form p
'They all have the same number of
tacets-6fty-six-b may be round at
the grdle (circumference) or oblong, ac-
cording to the original shape Of the
stone. They are cut as rule, with as
little waste as possible"
"To what extent does color affect the
value of brilliants I"