Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-01

ing at a table which q country carpenter
would knock up for rs cents. The men
wear caps and rough suits. over which are
smocks made Of blue jeans. Their clothes
altogether would not sell for s. to a sec
ond- hand clothier; and the furniture OF the
room all told. tools included, would not
bring more than $40. Still those men are
daily handling stones worth many thou
sand dollars. They split single stones worth
a fortune, and each has a fortune in his
little workbOx.
But let us see how they do IL. One OF
the men speaks English. and he shall give
you the process as he gave it to me.
This" said he. as he picked up what
looked like an irregular piece of mica or
half-transparent crystal as big as the end
Of your little finger, "is a diamond in the
rough. 1t is just as II was taken from the
mines, with all it's hs US and imperfections.
All of these must be split OFF before IL can
go to the polishers, and it is my business
TO know how to do it. I have to split at
the flaws. and to do that must first cut a
notch, to hold my splitting wedge"
Now, nothing but a diamond will cut a
diamond" he went on. as he picked up a
little piece Of white stone not bigger than
the head Of a pin, so l take a little dia-
mopd with a sharp edge like this, and fix 1t
In SON cement at the end OF this split
ting tool" and he thereupon stuck 1t In
some cement on the md Of a stick not I'M
like the handle of a shoemaker's awl. He
softeued this cement in a gas flame and
cooled it after the stone was fixed by dip
ping IL in some water. As It became cold
the cement hardened and the diamond was
firmly held. He then fixed the rough dia-
mond into a similar tool, and taking the first
diamond Which he called his diamond knife,
he scratched with ii again and again upon
the flaw, making a noise as though sharp
ening a gritty slate pencil. 1t was only a
moment until he had cut a little notch In
the diamond. He then stood the tool hold
ing the diamond in a hole in a lead plate
fastened to the table in front OF him. He
picked I'D a blade Of steel, an inch wide
and about three inches long. He fitted the
blunt edge of this into the flaw. and gave
the back Of the blade a slight tap with a
little steel bar about a foot long. A mo
ment later he took OF the cement and
showed that the diamond was broken, point
ing out that one of the pieces was nat am
the other almost round.
This fat stone.' said he. will be used
to make q rose diamond and the other a
brilliant. All diamonds are cut as rose
diamonds or brilliants. The b%rilliants have
hfty-eight facets and the rose diamond
twenty-four."
But" said 1, ARE the pieces always
large enough to make Individual stonesr'
NO" was the reply. MANY are toe
coarse for even rose diamonds. Some are
very small. but we keep them all and usf
them in various ways. Even the dust h
saved. We burn this cement and save
every atom that comes from the diamonds
The diamond dust is employed in polishing
and grinding other diamonds and some
Of the small pieces are used for glass cut
ters."
Leaving this room we go to see tn,
polishers. They are on the third floor in
long hall filled with belts and grinding
tools. The room is walled with window
and the men sit with their backs to tn
light before long benches over which NOV
fiat wheels of soft iron at the rate of 200
revolutions per minute. Each wheel is a
big around as a dinner plate and 1t goes S
fast that you cannot tell il IL moving a
all. Fastened to handles like those wit
which / saw the diamonds split, fou
diamonds rest on each plate. The ar
/ set in a frame so that they just touch tn
I wheel. Each diamond is covered with
1 mixture OF diamond dust and water and
Y is the friction of this upon II as IL move
, around the plate that grinds 1t into tn
many faces or facets which so much in
v crease it's bTilliancy. The most valuabl
|. stones are cut in this way and 1t takes
z long time to transform a rough damon
[ into a brilliant.
( During my tour / asked one OF the e,
r perts whether an imitation diamond hs
: (Contlnued on Seventh Page.)