The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1893-09-15
THE TRADE IN DIAMONDS
AN IMPORTER TALKS Apo,,r ,.s
TRICKS AND ANNoYANuEs.
"nere tho Precious Stones Como
'm-Cutting and Modelling tho
Diamouds-Their Color.

~
0 IL said a member of e one
OF this city, "cemo from. Az Hon Hri
Th m'nes Mt the southern end of Afric,
hnere aro seven or oight of the.
MINES the largest being the KfmberI,
mnleh covers some twenty acres :
lena' In the last sixteen wears tbos
la mines nave yielded largely, many tlh
cnes having been found. Bnt tb
nin,periy stones with the excent;o,
OF tho celebtated Peter Rhodes ston,,
"hi'h weighed $50 carats in the ronn,
~, nare not always of tho finest onalitS
Ihomgh largo they get them IA h;GI
as ouo carats) many of them are oni,
worth cutting into smaller stones,
India once did but nd inHaor a,o.
enter into trade considor,t;T "oos
Ere Erea1 diamond producing country
Inc Brazilian diamond, though srnaii
aeon oieen OF finer quality than the
n'rican or Indian stone. In Broz;I
'he "amond is usually found in tho
'ahoy beds OF rivers, whilo tho Cam
s"n ,Sohes arc dug out ut depth of from,
ooo to 900 feet below the snfface M.
brazilian stones arc found in n k;nd ~
soit' seapy muck called blue eortI
Sons are almost round, while Others
92Te- eight sides In weight theywill
Average from <-->-1- tsn-so--.4-'I VIII
paratively few stones above fifteen
carats being found. This is in tho
rough. Cutting reduces them nearly
half their natural size
"The carat that I speak of is ono
peculiar to diamonds, rubies, sap
phires and opals. A carat is trife
over seven pennywcight Troy weight.
"Most of the Cape stones are sent to
London, where they are reshipped to
Amsterdam and Antwerp, the great
cutting cities. Diamonds are also cut
us well in Maiden lane rs in Amstcr-
dam. In cutting diamonds there il II
general rulo that opc'third of the stone
should be above the girdlo and two
thirds below it. This proportion ;s
sacrificed in order to avoid
lmperfcction in n stone, such rs black
spots and feathers, and at least ono
half of the stones are more or less i'm.
perfect.
"Again, the size and shape of Il
wnoInur II snnr re e,,,5 HSea a"a"o H's|
cut or rose-cut diamond.
"You may have noticed tho many
little places or sides to n cut diamond.
These are technically called facets. A
diamond has eighteen facets
and full.cut stone has fifty-eight
facets, distributed above and below
the girdlc in the proportion I havs
just mentioned. a small stone will
usually have only the single cut of
eighteen sides A full-cut diamond is
called a brilliant, and this term is in
correctly applied sometimes to Paris
ian or paste diamonds.
"Thc third, or roso-cut, is given to
stones which arc too small and thin for
either of the other cuts. The shape Of
the rosc-cut diamond is peculiar, in
asmuch ns the stone is flat on the bot
tom and faceted on top, and You will
understand how small the rose-cut
stones are when I tell you that it often
n carat weight. They are very useful,
however, IN filling in corners, etc.
"Apnrt from the consideration I
have noted, the diamond cutter is
guided by his own discretion and taste
in modelling a stone. The operation
is simple enough. 1t is the old saying
about diamond cutting diamond il
mstrntcd. The workman merely rnbs
ono rough diamond against the other.
Then comes the polishing, which is
done by holding the cut stone down
against wheel which revolves at m
extremely rapid rate. applying the
- b., ,,,h,nI f1,n Of
look out for flaws, or tho diamond will
bo caught on some rough point and be
ruined in less than the traditional jiffy.
AS to the time taken to cut and polish
stone, one cutter will work fnst
enough to keep half II dozen polishers
busy, aud II good polisher will polish
about twenty carats II week.
Regarding the color of diamonds"
continued the speaker, "thcre is every
tint, but the principal
trade colors arc tho standard white,
the BLUSH tint, the yellow and the
brown. The white, while the most
valuable, is not always the most brill
liant. The BLUSH tint is favorite and
much sought after. The yellow stone
is tho most common, and there is q
growing taste for dark brown, bright
yellow or canary, as it is called, and
other natural colors.
"Peoplo not acquainted with the
diamoa market abroad cannot COM
prchend tne ufrfUultiaa- perpIeXl-
ties that harass diamond buyer. Hes
has to be constantly on the alert for :
sharp practices, for the persons hold
ing the stock of diamonds in Europe
are among the shrewdest merchants to
be found anywhere, and they not only
work in collusion, but play one GUS
toner against another to obtain higher
prices. They are wonderfully given
to romancing, and their statements like
their goods, are only to be taken after
Investigation.
"rhc diamond merchants abroad do
not grade their goods, but, when u
purchaser comes along, II parcel com
prising good, bad and Indifferent
stones is shown to him, and he usually
has to bid for the whole parcel. The
grading, pairing and selectin.s js don,