Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1922-05-18
ANGEL HIS FRIEND
How Youth Learned the Secret
of Diamond Cutting.
According to History, the First Stone
Was So Treated at 5ruges In
the Year 1870.

With the exception of the few stones
cut I'm Antwerp, all the rough diamonds
of the world are cut in Amsterdam
There the diamOnd-cutting business Is
carried on In between 20 and 80 estab-
lishments. which give employment 10
1900 cutters, that is, in normal times.
The first cutting OF a diamond was
accomplished something like 400 years
ago. SAYS the Kansas City Star. The
anclents knew nothing OF the hidden
beauty of the stone, called by Seneca,
"The sage whose impassability MOTH
ing can conquer" But, even in the
rough, the diamond won the favor or
princes, and, very gradually, expert
ments revealed some OF its fires. Until
the Fourteenth century enameled but
tons were the chief articles of jewelry.
In the beginning of that century,
when the price of enamel fell SO low as
TO bring the decorated buttons within
the reach of all purses, enameling lost
the favor of the fine world, and buttons
Of gold and silver, ornamented with
pearls, diamonds and colored stones
took the place of the enamels. The
finest of the stones then known as 4
diamond-a formless mass the size of
n pigeons egg-was a gem worn on
great occasions by the king Of Portu-
gal.
In the year 1870, when Bruges was
a residence city, the court lived "A life
of extravagant luxury. Men and WON
en- went about in garments stlh win
gold and silver ornaments, and sewed
over with pearls and precious stones.
But the stones We're uncut and shape
less Charles, son of the duke OF Nor
mandy, owned a great diamond, which
he amused himself by exhibiting TO his
"chaperon" but, as he declared its
virtue. he bewailed its shape and its
lack of light.
At that time one Of the important
level merchants of BrugeS was served
by clerk who was a native of Elan
ders-a young man named Louis de
Berduem. who was deep in hopeless
love of his masters daughter. Young
BcrGuem was on the verge Of despair
when, one night. as he was hanging up
his apron and preparing to go home to
his attic. he saw his master bending
over his bench, grooming at the futility
of his labor. When Berquem asked
"Can do something for you before
go?" the master sneered:
Eyes, bring me tool that Will cut
these accused stones. l will give a
fortune to the man that does it,"
From that hour the boy thought of
nothing but to find means of conquer
ing the hardness of the diamond. All
day he did the bidding of his master;
all night he sat at rough bench in his
attic trying 10 make some impression
on a stone stolen from the workroom.
one night he fell asleep at his bench,
and dreamed that an angel said 10
him: Iron is the master cutter; steel
IS iron purified. Take the file. get
powder; take thy steel and powder 1t,
then cut"
Berquem awoke. He fixed two dia-
monds in a wise, filed like mad, and
collected the fallen dust. That done
he made a set Of little wheels and with
wheels we'll powdered with the da-
mond dust set to work to win q for
tune. Some days later he stood before
his master, and in his outstretched
palm lay n brilliant whose facets
cleaned with light.