Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-07-26
CUTTING OF DIAMONDS
How the Precious Gem is Pol.
ished and Made Ready for
the Market.

inc tools employed in diamond cut
ing are very similar in appearance
TO those employed in the first nro.
cess. that of diamond splitting T.,
oo'h cases diamonds are usci rs
knives after having been firmly vnx.
cd into the tip of pear-shapoi tool,
me women mold in the left hand tho
rough diamond they wish To crt
winch has also been firmly waxcd
INTO wooden frame. Little iois OF
gas are always kept burning ON The
various tablets, ready to be uscd nj
any moment when melted wax is ne.
ccssary
The only real difference in the two
processes of diamond splitting md
ui"ihohd cutting lies in the fact that
whereas the men who split the dia-
iloiius use pressure OH one spot only
NMhcre me iiaw occurs), tho women
spend thcir energies in rounding the
wnoIe stone and carefully cutting off
all angles to be seen on lis sm,f.n,.
u! means of the sharp diamonds ia
cut. which take a great deal Of limo
pul an ordinary stone weighing nbout
ten karats would take on an average
Il whole days work-a day of eirb,
hours. When the diamond has boon
sufficiently cut and rounded II is
then ready for the third and last pro.
cess, that of polishing. This worI,
REQUIRES great deal of time and
skill, ana Is performed entirely bv
machinery, huge steam engine sun.
plying the motive power for all the
iron disks.
mere are ten large workrooms i'm
which the 800 men work who arc on.
saSed IN the difficult process of dia.
mond polishing. their wages averaging
anout 20 guilders week SS.4O). The
process consists in giving to the
rounded diamonds what is termed in
technical language their necessary
sides All diamonds are divided
INTO two classes. "brill,ants" ana
roses although the only real differ.
ence between them lies i'm the nun
Ter OF sides they individually pos.
scss after having been polished in
one of the many diamond factories
brilliant must possess fifty.
eight sides" Ga few years ago the
lowest number was s'xty-four for
there are fashions in diamond cut.
ting) but rose need only posses,
twenty-four sides" Another thouph
slight difference between them is
that brilliant is pointed at both
ends, while rose" diamond has
one end flattened and the other point-
cd. When tho diamond is ready TO
be polished 1t has To be first soldored
INTO pear-shapcd frame made OF
zinc and then dipped into prcpara
tion of oil ana diamond dust before
being fastened with three othersl
INTO strong frame placed In close
proximity to an iron wheel. This III.
tie disk is then set in motion by con.
meeting ii with the great engine on
the ground floor, and the wheel i'm
mediately turns at the rate of 1000
revolutions to the minute. AS it re-
wolves the -four diamonds set in the
adjacent frame arc gradually polish
cd by means of the friction produced
on their surface by the PARTICLES OF
diamond dust still adhcrng to the oil
INTO which they had been previously
dipped
Only ono portion Of a diamond can
be polished ut once. and consequently
when this part has been dealt with
the stone has TO he rcsoldercd SO that
another portion of its surface may be
subjected to the friction of the wheel.
This process of rcsOldcring takes
place about twenty times in the case
of every brilliant before it can he
considered to he thoroughly polished
and to have acquired all the necessary
fifty'cieht sides" The rose" dia.
mond. with its smaller complement OF
twcnty-four sides needs 10 be re.
soldcred only about six times
Many celebrated diamonds have
been cnt and polished in This factory,
among them the Victoria. weigh 'ng
400 karats; the Mogul. 279 karats
and the Regent of France. now in the
Louvre The great Kohinoor diamond
was rccut here, and although it lost
half It's weight In the process, it's