The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-16
YALhEY0F DIAMONDS
HOW STONES REACH THE STORES
OF FIFTH AVENUE AND
BROADWAY.
HUNDREDS OF FIRMS CUT.
THREE PAIRS OF EYES WATCH
EVERY WORKMAN WHO
HANDLES GEMS.
RUsJ OF CHRISTMAS
In D;rey Rooms and Dusty Lofts
Diamonds Are Prepared for
the Market.

In dingy rooms and drs+y lofts, where
dark PASSAGES lead to doors OF frosted
glass. is TIE home of the diamonds.
There is a section Of this city consist
ing of three narrow little streets, where
practically all the diamonds in this
country are passed over dingy counters
at some time or other. The diamonds
which at this Christmastidc find their
vav to the houses of wealth and re-
fnement Gene from a la1d of noise
and dust: from a region Of cobWebby
windows and wheezy doors, says the
New York Herald.
The diamond market of New York,
and practically Of the whole country,
is hemmed in by Maiden lane and Full
ton ard John streets.
The dealers whose handsome stores
are in the upper part Of the city near
" all patroniza Maiden lane. There
about 80 PEI. cent Of the $15,0o000Q worth
of diamonds which annually come to
this country are bought and sold. The
stock of the dealers whose grimy shops
are perched in TOOkery-like buildings
is worth more millions than can be
estimated There is no way of aacer-
tanning the exact amount except by
going from dealer to dealer ard asking
each the value Of his wares. They
probably would not tell, and even if
they felt disposed they are too busy
these days with selling Christmas gifts
to stop and talk over a matter of sta
tistics.
Twenty-Five large firms do most of
the importing. hundreds of others cut,
polish and set the bits of mineral which
we call diamonds The small dealers
do work for the larger concerns. They
are the tributaries of the crystal tide
which sweeps in and out of Maiden
lane.
Did you ever notice as you wandered
through Maiden lane and John street
that the entrances to the dingy build
ings down there were hanked by signs,
not more than a foot long, which an
nounced that innumerable 80 and
Sos" had diamonds to sell? The most
valuable part of the wares of the dia-
mond district is not found in the stores
with plate glass windows and tempt
ing displays, which occupy the ground
floors. The diamonds are up in the
dusty lofts far from the sight of those
who walk the streets.
Suppose that we dive into one of
these Railways and ascend to the shops
of those who sell cObblestOnes-d
mOnds, I mean. Here is a tumbledOWn
building in a narrow alley which runs
off from Maiden lane. A shriveled coat
of paint hangs in places to the mOulder-
ing wall. Narrow Sits pierce the sides
of the tumbledown old structure They
are covered with sash filled with tiny
panes of glass. BY courtesy the Sits
may be called windows. Mind the step,
if you please. Yes, this is a staircase.
You will be able to see more clearly
soon. The wooden steps are worn and
splintered by the tread of many feet.
You had better hang to the rail, or you
will slip on the rounded edges of the
planks. The rail is somewhat dusty, to
be sure. 1t is well to wear gloves when
you go crawling UP to the abode Of
diamond merchants of Maiden lane.
REGION OF DARKNESS.
You will become accustomed to the
noise very soon. The lathes of the
diamond cutters, the pounding of dies
and the grinding of emery wheels can
not be made nOiseless. Here is a little
light, anyway. That faint glimmer
which you see in front of you comes
from the workshop of one of the lead
ing diamond settlers of this city. You
can see more distinctly now. That
name upon the door is Dutch. The
man learned his trade in Amsterdam,
where gray bearded men bend over
whirling wheels year in and year out.
Be careful! You almost fell then. The
steps are of assorted size, and it is
hard to get accustomed to them in the
dark. That thing which whirls and
writhes before this panel of frosted
glass is the betting of some strange
machine used by the maker of settings
for diamonds.
The places where diamonds are cut
look much like steam stone yards
where tagging is prepared for the
trade The shops of the diamond cut
tiers are in the top floors of the dingy
Ole buildings which line the streets of
the district. The way to them is reach
ed by narrow and tortuOus passages.
Dust, noise and confusion describe the
average place where gems are pre-
pared for mounting.
Among other places I visited the es-
tablishment of one of the veteran dla-
moEd cutters, an apprentice of Marsh,
OF Boston, the pioneer OF the craft IN
this country.
In the center of long and narrow
loft a dynamo was whirling, keeping
three belts in rapid motion The belts
were run to awkward looking, massive
frames close to the back windows. The
frames were so high that the men who
worked IN front OF them had to sit
upon tall stools. The operatives were
bending over a narrow ledge of wood
in which were embedded steel wheels
which revolved so rapidly that the
sight of them made the brain Whirl
The disks of metal were moving at the
rate of $500 revolutions a minute, as
I afterWard learned.
Bending over the swiftly revolving
wheels sat men in oil stained OVeraIls
and jumpers. Their hands were rest
ing upon great clamps, which held tc
the whirIing metal a lump of lead, OF
acorn shape, attached to a short stick
The diamonds were fixed in these
metal heads. While the lead was soft