Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1907-10-10
How Diamonds Are Polished.

| NNHoUA AoAh S' Lii EAfCo bH0 AOA-
lowing interesting particulars of the
diamond cutting and polishing as pur-
sued in one of the big factories of
Amsterdam
"The tools employed in diamond
cutting are very similar in appearance
to those employed in the first process,
that of diamond splitting. In both
cases diamonds are used as knives af.
ter having been firmly waxed into the
the tip of pearl-shaped tools. The
workmen hold IN the left hand the
rough diamond they wish to cut,
which has also been firmly waxed into
a wooden frame. Little jets of gas
are always kept burning on the va.
rious tables, ready to be used at any
moment when melting wax is neces-
ssry.
1.-The only real difference in the
two processes of diamond splitting and
diamond cutting lies in the fact that
whereas the men who split the dia-
mond use pressure on one spot only,
where the flaw occurs, the work men
spend their energies in rounding the
whole stone and carefully cutting of
all angles to be seen on its surface by
means of the sharp diamonds they
they hold in their right hands. OC-
casionally they have very large dia-
monds to cut, which take great deal
of time, but an ordinary stone weigh
ing about ten carats would take on an
average of whole day work-a day
of eight hours. When the diamond
has been sufficiently cut and rounded,
it is then ready for the third and last
process, that of polishing. This work
requires great deal of time and skill,
and is performed entirely by machin-
cry, huge steam engine supplying
the motive power for all the iron
! discs.
There are ten large work-rooms in
which the 800 men work who are en-
gagged in the difficult process of dia-
mond polishing, their wages averaging
about twenty guilders week ($8.O4)
The process consists in giving to the
rounded diamonds what is termed in
technical languages their necessary
sides. All diamonds are divided
into two classes, brilliant and roses,
although the only real difference be-
tween them lies in the number Of
sides they individually possess after
having been polished in one of the
diamond factories.
"a brilliant must possess So sides
"a few years ago the lowest number
was "a, for there are fashions in dis-
mond cutting), but rose need only
possess "a sides. Another, though
slight, difference between them is that
u brilliant is pointed at both ends,
while rose, diamond has one end
hattened and the other pointed.
When the diamond is ready to be
polished it has to be first soldered
into pear.shaped frame made of zinc
and then dipped into a preparation OF
oil and diamond dust before being
fastened with three others) into a
strong frame placed in close pron-
nifty to an iron wheel. This little
disk is then set in motion by connect
ing it with the great engine on the
ground floor, and the wheel Immediate
| ly turns at the rate Of 2, 600 revolutions
to the minute. As it revolves the
four diamonds set in the adjacent
frame are gradually polished BY means
of the friction produced on their sur.
face by the PARTICLES Of diamond dust
still adhering to the oil into which
they had been previously dipped.
"Only one portion of a diamond can
be polished at once, and consequently
when this part has been~dealt with
the stone has to be resoldered, so that
another portion Of its surface may be
subjected to the friction of the wheel.
The process of resOldering takes place
about twenty times in the case Of ev-
cry brilliant before it can be consid-
cred to be thoroughly polished and to
have acquired all the necessary So
sides. The rose diamond with its
smaller complement Of "a sides needs
to be resoldered only about six times.
"Many celebrated diamonds have
been cut and polished in this factory,
among them the Victoria, weighing
400 carats; the 'Mogul, '279 csrats, and
the Regent of France, now in the
Louvre. The great 'KohinOor' dis-
mond was recut here, and, although
it lost half its weight in the process,
its value has been more than doubled.
DeWnt's Carbolized Witch Hazel
| caIve il good for little burns and Dig