Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-12-24
GEMS IN THE MAKING.
Diamond Cut Diamond-The Neces
sary Sixty -Four Facets-The Pro-
cess of Cutting, Setting and Polish

When a woman dOns her diamonds
| she seldom realizes how much labor is
l.entailed in the cutting and polishing
OF the stones before they are ready u
be set and made up into ring, tiara
necklace or whatever other form de-
sired
A diamond factory does not mean a
factory where imitation diamonds are
made, but place where real diamonds
are cut and polished from the rough
stones. There are four branches of
Tire trade; therefore in q factory the
men are divided into cutters, setters
poishers and polishers laborers, who
assist the polishers.
1t is q. privilege to he allowed to
peep behind the scenes and see the
various stages through which st dia-
mohd passes until it is ready for set
ting, and the experience is a most in
teuesting one.
Perhaps it would be better to start
from the very beginning said the
manager of the factory TO a Pail Mall
Gazette reporter, and then you can
see how the stone looks as it passes
through the various processes. Here
are the rough stones They do not
look like flashing diamonds? No; as
the ordinary person would say, they
seem just dull dirty-1ooking, gray
particles Of stone. That is the rough
diamond. The first thing to be done
is to cut the stone. and to do this the
| cutter decides whether he will cut It
| by hand or machinery"
Tn this particular factory the stones
We're all cut by hand until compare
lively recently, but now machinery is
used, which renders the process much
| less laborious 1t is really a case of
diamond cut diamond. as by rubbing
| tive stones against each other one
gradually assumes the shape desired
and the requisite thickness. The cut
ter has long stick. on top of which is
] a brass cup, in Which he puts GER
tain kind of cement; in this lie emheds
the rough stone. the cement must be
heated first. and the cooling process is
nest primitive. as the cutter merely
blows on the hot cement and tries il
against his lips to- see if it is cold
enough To commence cutting.
Does not. that Burn your mouth ?"
the cutter was asked.
Well, / suppose it does" he said,
but it merely dries the lips. and one
can always use something to minimize
that With the new machine the cool
| ing is done by dipping the stick in
| water,a which certainly seemed the
Letter way 4lS..s
on the way diamond is cut a
| great deal depends. because the cutter
decides which way a stone is TO be
taken, and if it is done in the wrong
| way the value of the stone is de-
I flo 10 hac oh NJ
| the stone its lustre is much dimmed.
| Pure stones" said the cutter, are
| very rare. and, of course a perfectly
pare stone is extremely valuable.
/ Taking mp the two sticks in which h.
had placed two rough diamonds, he
proceeds to cut one by hand-that is
to say, he slowly rubbed one against
the other the minute particles falling
into a box, in the bottom of which was
a very fine sieve. through which the
Gust fell into an air-proof box.
If the stone is large one this
/ hand cutting is very laborious, as t
requires great amount of strength
to cut it, and naturally the process is
rather slow. BY the machine it il
really the same process, except that
one stick Is held in place by the ma
I c T y
ter heIdfrg The other stick in his right
| hand. Each side of the stone has to
lbe cut separately; ii is generally the
| back or pointed part of the stone
which is cut first, the flat side being
| treated next.
what becomes of the diamond
dust?"
| well" said the cutter lit is used
it makes a paste which is put on the
plate used by the polisher. Inferior
diamonds are ground down to a dust
alse. SO that nothing is wasted
The setter now takes the diamond
ana puts ii into a mould composed OF
tin and lead. which is brought to q
white heat and when the diamond is
slipped into this the mould is i'm
mersed in water for the purpose OF
cooling it, The setter has to 50 place
the stone that it, viii be at the proper
angle for polishing. be it the side. back
or front Looking at a diamond, one
sees fat surface in the middle of the
stene: this is called the table or top
part of the diamond; the back or
! pointed part is called the culet. When
both these are made the facets have
to be cut. Altogether there are Sixty
four facets, no matter what size the
stone may be.
To the naked eye it is absolutely
impossible to discover these facets,
they are so minute, but the polisher
can see them without a magnifying
glass his eyes are so trained to the
work that he makes the facets so
many on top. so many at back and so
many at the sides. The mould is held
in position by a metal holder, the
diamond being barely visible through
I the mould. and although the stone is
only lightly placed on the revolving
plate, the high speed at which it re-
wolves is sufficient to cut the facet in
the required position.
Each time 81 facet is done the stone
has to be taken out of the mould By
!, the setter and refixed at different
angle until the whole sixty four are
! made. 1t should be added that when
sixteen facets are made the stone is
returned to the cutter for improve
ment in shape. 1t is sometimes cut