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[D255]Diamond Cutting And Polishing

by John Toure, Joh

Diamonds have been around for a long time and have undergone various changes. At one time, they were held to have mystical powers on account of there inability to be cut or defaced. Wouldn't it be something if people of that time period saw what we are doing to them these days? There have been many inventions made along the way to assist and benefit us. This definitely applies to diamonds as well.

It wasn't until the 14th century that people finally found out how to shape diamonds. Before then, they were either worn as talismans due to the belief in them having mystical powers or they were worn as uncut and unpolished amongst the royal people. During that century, the scaif was born.
The scaif was created by Lodewyk van Berken. This machine was made up of a disk lubricated with olive oil that was imbedded with diamond dust. The rough diamond was held by a ?dop? against the disk as the diamond dust ground the stone creating flat reflective facets and producing a more brilliant gem. This invention only encouraged others to find a more effective way of creating the perfect diamond.

Although there was a rising demand of cut diamonds since this invention, there were no new innovations made until the 20th century. This innovation is called the Diamond Saw. This invention made it possible to cut against the grain of a diamond without destroying it. It also allowed cutters to correct sub-par cuts or irregularly shaped stones.

Unfortunately, this idea was more costly than cleaving. To saw a carat of diamonds, it required 1/10th carat of diamond dust and it took a considerably longer amount of time to cut through a diamond than cleaving (it took days to saw through a 2 carat stone).
However, the biggest advancement in diamond cutting was made by a 21 year old young man by the Marcel Tolkowsky. In 1919, he published a 104 page book called Diamond Design that proved on paper what many cutters were attempting for years through trial and error. In Diamond Design, he explained his formula for maximizing the refracted light while minimizing the amount of sacrificed light.

Now that cutting diamonds could be described in a mathematical format, semi-automatic machines were developed to do the job of the polishers, and that is just what DeBeers did in the 1960's. These machines still required trained workers to oversee the process, but they could be trained to operate these machines in months rather than years.

Rough diamonds come in several basic shapes. The most common shape is in the form known as an octahedron. The octahedron resembles two Egyptian pyramids placed base to base, that is the usual crystal form of a diamond. A rough diamond is rarely found in the perfect octahedral shape. Another rough shape found, especially in Brazil, is the cube. Often times the rough diamonds shape is a bit distorted, or have lost edges or edges have failed to develop. Diamond cutters will have to deal with very irregular shapes at times. The history of improving the appearance of the rough diamond is exceedingly interesting. The earlier facetted stones were usually very similar in shape to the rough piece from which they came. In the past only when a defect had to be covered up did the cutter apply lots of facets.

The methods of the diamond cutter has not changed much over the years, but the shape of the finished product has. The ancient rubbing together of stones by hand is very rarely done. Another way to diamond cut is by attaching one of the stones in wax as a handle, while the other is rotated at a moderate speed in a specially constructed lathe type machine. The facets are sometimes polished in the same manner.

The object of the slow laborious process of cutting and polishing the rough stones is to obtain as much of a total reflection of light as possible, used to dazzle the beholder. A very popular cut is the round brilliant. The brilliant serves to refract and reflect the light that falls upon it, which also takes place dispersion of white light into prismatic colors. Rarely does a cut reduce the carat weight of the stone more then fifty per cent.

There is no definite form which will totally reflect light falling upon it from every direction equally. From trial and error and experience, cutters make shapes that give maximum possible effect for light that enters the stone from the front. Cutting the stone only a few degrees different from the angles of the ideal shape, results in a decrease or increase of the brilliancy of the stone, and hence the value.

To obtain total reflection of light within the brilliant, the back of the stone must be cut so that no considerable amount of light should strike it more steeply than 24 degrees from a perpendicular to the surface at the point where the light strikes. Anybody with knowledge in geometry and trigonometry can calculate what angle the back should have, after an angle has been chosen for the top. Some good angles for a diamond are 35 degrees for the top and 41 degrees for the back. Angles cut more or less will most likely lead to less light being reflected, equaling a far less brilliant piece.

Although poorly cut stones are less brilliant than well cut stones, the market is full of lumpy stones. There are many reasons for these so called lumpy stones. Diamonds are sold by weight and have been going up in price over the years. Anything that will allow a dealer to quote a lower price per carat makes sales easier. A smaller nicer diamond will cost more per carat than a larger less finished one. Not only will a larger stone weigh more, but it will also be less labor intensive. To the average buyer, price per carat is what is compared, so it makes sense for dealers to carry some large lumpy stones.

Article Source : White Diamonds Gift Set

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Both John Toure & Mitch Endick are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

John Toure has sinced written about articles on various topics from Diamonds, Buy Diamond and Diamonds. John Toure has shown great interest in and other styles of jewelry. To view more information about stair lifts, please visit,. John Toure's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.

Mitch Endick has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home, Puppies Dogs and Education. Mitch Endick is a short article writer for the popular jewelry site . He provides informative advice on buying rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces an. Mitch Endick's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.