Evening star., 1901-12-03
RARE STONES
DIAMOND CUTTING AN IMPORTANT
INDUSTRY IN NEW YORK.
More Brilliants Produced in the
American Metropolis Than I'm
Any European City.

From the New York Evening Post.
New York now leads the world in the art
of cutting and polishing diamonds. In the
twenty diamond-cutting concerns in this
city 10000 carats OF rough diamonds are
polished each year, rather more than the
annual output of the Brazilian mines. About
2OO skilled workmen are employed In the
trade, and the bosses say that the diamond
cutters of New York now excel those OF
London or Amsterdam. The business has
practically grown up within the last twen-
ty years, and nearly all the apprentices
are now native born. A clever lad begin
ming the trade at fifteen may become a
skilled workman In five or six years. The
best diamond-cutters under favorable con-
ditions earn from $40 to $50 a week These
are better wages than those earned by even
the most famous foreign diamond-cutters
Workmen here are more intelligent and
trustworthy than those of Holland, France
or England, the chief diamond-cutting
countries of Europe Theft is common
abroad, but is unusual here.
American Extravngance.
Proverbial American extravaganza is the
secret Of New Yorks lead in diamond-cut-
ting. Foreign diamond-cutters are not per-
mitted to lose more than so per cent on
each stone. Here the loss is seldom less
than 60 per cent. and often greater. The
diamond is almost indestructibie. 1t loses
nothing by long wearing. and acids cannot
injure 1t. The prevalent idea that soap and
water dim the luster of the diamond is
mistake. This is the dull season. and the
diamond dealers OF London are holding
back rough diamonds with the hope OF an
improvement in prices. Ordinarily, how
ever, rough diamonds may be bought in
this market at about $50 per carat for small
stones, say up to three carats. Above that
the price rises by great leaps. The method
of getting at the price is to multiply the
rate per carat by the square of the number
Of carats A ten-carat diamond often brings
$4,000. A diamond weighing three carats in
the rough, and worth here $50. will, when
polished, weigh something over one carat,
and sell. unset. at q jewelers. at from $50
with certainty Of these things. because the
diamond trade is full of tricks. No one
knows how often duties are evaded: no one
can guess what commissions brokers re-
ceive. Diamond cutters seldom deal direct
iy with the jewelers.. skilled broker acts
as a go-between. He goes about town with
perhaps 100000 worth of diamonds In his
pocket. On credit sales his commission is
l per cent, but on cash sales 1t may be
almost anything.
A DEMONSTRATING Shop.
In looking about a diamond-cutting es-
teblishment one would hardly suspect the
precious character of the material in use.
The floors are bare, the windows are open.
and any one may enter by the door un-
challenged.
When q diamond-cutter receives an In
voice Of stones he carefully studies each
one and takes note of its color, size weight
and shape. The whittier ones look like bits
OF clear alum, the darker like clouded
quartz. The rarest and costliest stones are
of sky-blue, pink and black. When the
boss cutter has made accurate record of
his rough diamonds he divides them into
groups OF four and five and gives a group
to each workman. From that time forth
the men to whom they are intrusted are
responsible for the stones. He returns
them each night to the boss. and the prog
ress Of the work Is carefully noted. In
this way It Is made extremely dif1cult for
fraud to be practiced. cutter 10 seldom
permitted to polish stone belonging to
any one but the boss. Doubtless the work
man would be careful to prevent confu-
sion. but mistakes might ariAe. Now and
then clever substitution Il managed, and
once In long while outright theft h oom-
mitted.
Preparing . D1axaAa.
The dr0t work done upon fha rouGh dia-