Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-06-10
AMERICAN DIAMOND CUTTERS
Industry Comparatively New One in the
United States.
FORMERLY ALL WERE CUT IN AMSTERDAM
New York ana Brooklyn Now Doing
Thriving Business In This
Line, All the Growth Of
Twelve Years.

Up to ten or twelve years ago all the
diamonds that added to the charms OF
American women were cut in Antwerp or
| in Amsterdam. the centers Of the diamond
industry, but though the American woman
may not know It, good many of her dia-
| monds are now cut right here in Brook
! Ign and Manhattan. says the Brooklyn
Eagle, where some of the finest diamond
cutting in the world is done. There are
! only nine or ten establishments in this
! country, but three OF them do work that
( perhaps outranks that produced In any
( other country One Of the largest Of these
/ establishments. and the first one started in
this country, is that Of a company which
! occupies the top story OF building at the
corner OF Union and Nevins streets and
| where are fifty men busted cutting and pol
ishing the brilliant gems TO Hash and
sparkle on the fingers or in the laces Of
! fortunes favored.
| It is a quaint, old-world looking place
away from the rush and hustle of down
town and looking the last place where one
would imagine luxuries are stored. There
| is a formality of barred doors. the only re-
minder of the presence OF valuables, and
once within the small enclosed front Of
| fee the manager of the establishment prob
| ably opens before your wonder-wide eyes
| little paper envelopes filled with glittering
brilliants They are stacked away like so
many pills in a druggists cabinet, thou
sands of dollars worth Of jewels, in every
state, from the rough mineral, as It comes
! from the mine, to the rnany-faceted jewel
in its perfection, ready to be mounted and
worn.
what Rough stones Are Like.
In the rough the diamond looks like a
| big yellowish piece of glass; some big
around as a quarter, and with little sparkle
| to them. One paper envelope shows the first
rough stone split up into smaller bits. some
OF the large stones make as many as fifty
stones. The next stage shows the diamond
just as it is when II has had its first
smoothing by the machines. This part of
the work is done in a small room Just of
the main office, Where FIVE men sit at re-
volving machines. the wheel of which has
embedded in it a diamond. To this the
worker applies his rough diamond held
i firmly with tweezers, the diamond in tn,
machine rounding OF the first rough edges
Of the other diamond and bringing II tc
some semblance OF the point that is found
on the under surface OF the completed gem
From this simple machine the gems &c
into great room adjoining where dozens
of machines are arranged all along tn,
windows. leaving a large vacant space in
the center of the room, which is of no
use in trade entirely dependent OIL
good light for its workers
Always had had visions of the diamond
cutter as bumped wizened person
who sat squirting over his work, bu
either my idea was fantastic or modern
invention has changed all that. Certainly
the lot of cutters I found at work whei
the manager of the establishment showet
me into the room on my visit the other da,
were neither bumped nor wizened. hut a 70
bust, jolly looking crowd of foreigners
most Of them hailing from Holland or iron
e Antwerp, I learned. There were only tw
i or three Americans in the lot, the manage
3 told me, and in all, he said, there are no
n more than $50 expert diamond cutters i
I this country. The men were singing a
: the machines whirred and each had hi
u joke for the manager. ! should have com
on Monday, the man at the first machin
told me, because Monday was always bar
gain day when diamonds could be had 10
four ninety-eight. They were al work cut
ting the diamond and polishing 1t. Fac
sat before a simple looking machine. hav
!, ing a rotating disk to which they heI
the diamond I'm what they called the dol
really holder containing a hardened miN
, ture of lead and tin in which the damon
is embedded. with that part of the surfaC
that is to be polished exposed.
: How Diamonds Are Cut.
The dop Is held down to the disk, whio
revolves at the rate OF twenty-five revoll
tions minute, and which is spread wit
d a compound of oil and diamond dust. tt
n old adage, diamond cut diamond" is Ii
y orally true in all the work of preparin
y the stone. The dust that flies of in II
first process of smoothing the rough stoT
Is held in fine sieve and is saved Il
u polishing the diamond and for polishin
n other precious stones. There is a sma
black circle on the disk where the work'