Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-28

is done. 1t is the same in which the great
Kohinoor diamond was polished. 1t is Oh
the size of an ordinary parlor but the noor
is as bare as that of kitchen, and the two
men who are handling the stones are
working at a table which country car
penter would knock up for IS cents. The
men wear caps and rough suits, over which
are smocks made of blue jeans. Their
clothes altogether would not sell for 81 to
a secondhand clothier and the furniture
of the room all told, tools included, would
not bring more than So Still those men
are daily handling stones worth many thou
sand dollars. They split single stones worth
a fortune, and each has fortune In his
little workboX.
But let us see how they do 1t. One of the
men speaks English, and he shall give you
the process as he gave 1t to me.
This" said he, as he picked up what
looked like an irregular piece or mica or
half-transparent crystal as big as the end
of your little finger, lis diamond in the
rough 1t Is just as it was taken from the
mines. with all its flaws and imperfect1ons
All of these must be split off before 1t can
go to the poliShers, and 1t is my business to
know how to do 1t. 1 have to split at the
flaws and to do that must first cut notch
to hold my splitting wedge"
Diamond Cut Diamond.
Now, nothing but a diamond will cut a
diamond he went on. as he picked up
little piece of white stone not bigger than
mond with a sharp edge like this and fix It
in some cement at the end of this splitting
tool" and he thereupon stuck 1t In some ce-
ment on the end of a stick not unlike the
handle of a shoemaker's awl. He softened
this cement in a gas fame and cooled 1t
after the stone was fixed by dipping it in
some water. AS it became cold the cement
hardened and the diamond was firmly held
He then fixed the rough diamond into a
similar tool and taking the first diamond
lit oh hn lie liz 1OY7H Uni "a
scratched with it again and again upon the
flaw, making a noise as though sharpening
a gritty slate pencil. 1t was only moment
until he had cut a little notch in the dla-
mond He then stood the tool holding the
diamond in hole in a lead plate fastened
to the table in front OF him. He picked up
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 slight tap with a little steel bar
about foot long. A moment later he took
off the cement and showed that the Gia-
mond was broken, pointing out that one
of the pieces was fiat and the other almost
round.
This nat stone" said he, will be used
to make rose diamond and the other a
brilliant. All diamonds are cut az rose dia-
monds or briIliants. The brilliants have
ifty-eight facets and the rose diamond
twenty-four."
But" said I, "are the pieces always
large enough to make Individual stones?"
NO" was the reply. Many are too
coarse for even rose diamonds. Some are
very small, but we keep them all and use
them in various ways. Even the dust Is
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 Cor glass cutters.
In the Polishing Room.
Leaving this room. we go on to see the
ha I'D ip
long hall filled with belts and grinding
tools. The room Is walled with windows,
and the men sit with their backs to the
light before long benches over which move
fiat wheels Of soft iron at the rate of 1000
revolutions per minute. Each wheel Is as
big around as a dinner plate, and 1t goes so
fast that you cannot tell 1t Is moving at
all. Fastened to handles like those with
which l saw the diamonds split, four dia-
monds rest on each plate They are set in
frame SO that they just touch the wheel.
Each diamond is covered with mixture of
diamond dust and water. and it Is the fric-
ton of this upon 1t as 1t moves around the
plate that grinds ii into the many faces or
facets which so much increase it's bril-
liancy. The most valuable stones are cut
in this way, and 1t takes a long time to
transform rough diamond into a brilliant
During my tour 1 asked one of the ex-
perts whether an imitation diamond had
ever been made which could deceive him or
He replied that real diamonds are like
nothing else upon earth, and that any one
who understands them can easily detect
the real from the false.
Stringing Diamonds Like Beads.
This man showed me models in glass of
all the diamonds cut by the factory, in
Guiding some of the largest of the world.
He showed me real stones ready for sale
worth thousands of dollars, and among
others several diamonds strung upon wires
as fine as hair, just as though they were
beads.
The holes In these diamonds were made
here in Amsterdam. There Is only one man
upon earth who knows how to do It, His
process Is a secret, and so far no one has
been able to initiate 1t. The holes he makes
are as fine as a hair, but Notwithstanding
this they are polished on the inside Those
I saw were made at the tip Of the diamond.
1 talked with my guide about wages and
learned that they vary according to the
work from SIS to $50 week. The polishers
are not so well paid as the splftters and the
best work commands tthe big money The
great money In the business goes to the
capitalists. notwithstanding more than
100000 are annually paid out for such
work.
Chances for American Goods.
like the looks Of the people of Amster.
dam. They have plain, common-senss air
about them. They look thrifty and EVIL.
IDENTIFY have plenty OF money to spend. Il