Year: 1872

Until very recent date, Amsterdam has held tue monopoly of the business of cutting and polishing diamonds, and by an experience of hundreds of years, dur ing which period generation after gener- alton has been born to and educated in the art, that city has attained an almost world renown. The work is now done in New York and Boston. The business is divided into three distinct branches and such is the proficiency ne- cessary in each branch that it is extreme ly seldom that workman can be found who is master of all three.

 The rough diamond is first handed to the 'cleaver." He is expected to see in an instant where any flaw in the stone is situated he must be able to tell what parts must be split off in order to get rid of any flaw and at the same time retain as much weight as possible, with the greatest brilliancy. He calculates how much the clippings will be worth, wheth- CT they will make small brilliants or rose diamonds, and having reached his deci- sion he fastens the. stone in the end of wooden stick, securing it by a cement made of rosin and brick-dust. Another diamond already split and having very sharp edge, is served in like manner, and with this he cuts notch in the diamond which he is about to split. This opera tion is performed over small box con. taining sieve which catches the dia- mond dust. The notches being made the cleaver takes Q small steel rule, which he places on the line in the direction of which the cleavage should be made. Having apparently taken his aim, he | ,1o S,, hn rN&oh orI wi IF h one or two quick taps with steel rod the stone is split. Heating the cement the workman removes tho diamond; it has been so split that the flaw has been entirely removed, The diamond may be worth hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars, and any ignorance or error on the part of the cleaver might destroy for his employer more than they can recover in weeks.

 From the cleaver the stone is handed to the ''cutter," and secured in exactly the same way. The diamond to be shaped is held in the left hand, winch is protected py heavy leathern glove. In the right hand is the stone to be used in grinding down the facets of the diamond which is under treatment. The process is very slow, and when the stone leaves the hands of the cutter it has lost what. ever brilliancy it may have had, and looks more like common pebble. But now comes great transformation.

 Visiting the polishing room the at } tention is first attracted by what seem tc : be round steel tables. Upon a closer exam , ination these are seen to be the disks , which are used in polishing the dia , monds. They are making 2,000 revolu , tions per minute, and are covered w4tE compound of oil and diamond dust The first process is to solder the stone into sort of brass cup, leaving visible only that portion of the diamond whicl is to be polished. Taking into consider ation the fact that every stone has 64 different surfaces to be polished it vii be immediately seen how difficult tht work of this operator is, and how exact he must be. Taking the stone he places it in the solder, now in almost Hquic state, ,and with his finger shapes the met al around the diamond. This is ther plunged into the water, and as the stean arises from the molten mass, one natur ally turns to see if the workman is pro vided with hands of iron. But no practice has made him invulnerable.

 The polisher now takes the diamond touches the point with the oil and dia- mond dust, clamps tho cup containing the precious stone in a wooden rest sc that the diamond shall just touch thu polishing disk. By weights he regulate the pressure. Experts will have thre' diamonds undergoing this process at thu same time. At times the stone may b. so hard that months are required to give it the proper brilliancy; but sooner O later, the luster appears, and the diamond comes forth perfect gem.