The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-01
CUTTING A M'COY DIAMOND.
spLIT mo CARATS TO MAKE A LII
LIAM RUSSELL BROOCH.

Acted a. Chorus In . New BFoadWal
PHS0rmAnee-Jetse LewisOhn, Angel
Kid Mccoy, who has gone into the dia
mond trade here, superintendent yesterday
Afternoon the cutting up OF what he sai'
was a $50 carat diamond. After treatmen
by his diamond experts II In TO go to Lillian
Russell, via Jesse Lewisohn, In the form o.
n heart shaped broooh-a S carat ruby
surrounded by fifty diamonds Of one cara
each. all OF which, besides a few more
are coming out Of the big diamond. 1t IL
understood that Lillian Ia going TO have 9
birthday soon.
The opening and splitting Of the diamont
happened yesterday at 8 o'clock In the
back Of Kid McCoy's store. MI. Selby him
self was there, also Abe Attell, feather
weight champ, and several other gentle
men, who wore a display Of Mccoy wares
like the horseshoe In the opera.
Were going to rail 'em of, Mccoy said
indicating the diamond cutters. We're
going to let the public come and look to zee
what they're getting. We buy 'em ourselves
in the rough and cut EN- ourselves, saving
the middleman'e profits. This Is a picture OF
Kafirs mining gems in South Africa. And
this is The Diamond. He reached over and
picked from the litter Of the work bench
a dull yellow mass about as big as a small
walnut. He said that it wal also carat Kim
berley diamond, a yellow stone and fawless
There's Kid McCoy's word for it. To the in
expert it looked just like glass that has lain
In the weather a long time and had its edges
worn of.
Its yellowl" said Abe Attell, who had
hitherto taken no part in the conversation
Its yellow. My father was a jeweller."
Joe Groen, the head diamond cutter,
smiled q superior smile.
Wait till we get lone with it, he said.
I'm going to get fifty pure white stones
out OF that diamond, besides a half dozen
canary ones"
"Geel' said Abe Attell, weighing the
pebble in the hand that won the champion
ship. How much is 1t worth2"
Twelve or thirteen thousand said Kid
Mccoy.
"Geel' said Abe Attell again and dropped
1t quick.
Then Joe Groen got ready to split. A
diamond isn't split like a log Of wood. These
are the things which Joe Groen did:
He took q stick shaped like the handle OF
a big paint brush, and built up on the end
Of it a cylinder Of waxlike stuff which he
melted and worked up in the flame of a
spirit lamp; Into this he set the big
yellow pebble and dropped the whole thing
into q glass OF water. The cement came
out flint hard.
He fixed a little uncut diamond the same
way. This looked like a little diamoad,
but it really weighed two and a half carats
and almost any girl would stand for IL as
an engagement ring. This was his tool.
Diamond cut diamond, said Kid Mccoy,
wisely.
That's right" said Joe Groen.
-Gee!' said Abe Attell.
Then Joe Groen took his big diamond
and squinted at it through a magnifying
glass.
-, I'm going to split it into three slabs,'
he said. I've got to start it just on the
grain. II I don't ! could hammer all day
and nothing doing
little diamond across the big diamond. 1t
made a noise like filing saws-a speak that
put an edge on every tooth. Abe Attell said:
Joe Groen held up the tool.
Its the rough edge does it, he said.
Sec, this is worn of now And he set
another diamond and Some more teeth.
So he kept on, rubbing $500 against Sl2, 900
until there was a crease not much more
than a scratch in the surface Of the big
stone. And as he worked he talked.
You think this stone is yellow. 1t is
Al Ihe color goes 10 tne neart.
The smaller l get 'em the less color there
will be. Wait till l get this slab off and III
show you. Out Of the centre III get six
Or seven canary colored stones, but the rest
IF EN-, the ones that go in the brooch, will
Dc what we call commercial white
They'll be all matched, which is the adj
Of getting 'em all of one stone.
You'd be a long time matching fifty dia-
"Yes, most of these big stones are cut up
mall. They don't want EN- so big over
here. Now, back in Europe the ladies
great big earrings. I've split one
into two forty carats for one pair
# earrings. But American ladies are
more refined
The scratch was getting bigger. Joe
iroen took up a little fiat chip, set it and
some more.
Now I'm ready" he said.
Kid Mccoy stood at attention theatre
You're nervous, amt you, Joe9' he
aid.
Sure" said Groen, who was missing
lis cues. I'm always nervous on a big
OBJ" He set his handle into a socket and
pread an apron over his lap and the work
ooked like scraps Of barrel hoop he chose
ne whose edge Just fitted the scratch. He
ct this and lifted a little hammer.
Hes going to do it," whispered Kid
,lcCoy. The hammer fell. Into the apron
a third of the little pebble, split
fl cleaner than any cut. Joe Groen held it
Up triumphantly.
"Gee!", said Abe Attell. "How much is it
worth, that one?"
Groen told the truth about color. This
Of pebble was nearly white. Even
when he fitted it on the break it didn't
at all, because the light from the
heart wouldn't refract through the
That's all there is to splitting a diamond.
lid Mccoy says it was a real diamond, so
+ must be true. This piece will be split
into fifteen or sixteen pieces and the
ieces will be set in lead and ground sixty
our times each, until they have the sixty
our facets of fashionable diamonds, on
wheels fed with diamond dust and oil. 1t
VII take weeks. Everybody works for
lillian.
That's all there is to it-exoept that Kid
lcCoy and Lillian Russell get almost a
and even Abe Attell is mentioned.