HOW DIAMONDS ARE CUT?

Diamonds when mined are not what we perceive them to be – glittering stones. While in the rough state a diamonds resembles broken piece of glass. To transform it into a beautiful gem it has to be cut and polished. Diamonds are the hardest substance known to occur on earth. So the big curiosity arousing question is “How are they cut”. Most diamond cutters prefer to stick to the primitive methods of cutting because they still are the best ways to handle diamonds. The most ancient technique is Cleaving. Cleaving involves location of the weakest point where the chisel is placed and then using a mallet to tap it. This breaks the stone into manageable gem size to be worked at. If the diamond is hit at the wrong place or in the wrong direction it will shatter and will no longer be of use.After cleaving the diamond was placed in an egg shaped tin cup called a Dop. The diamond was then stroked with another diamond, since only diamonds were hard enough to cut diamonds. The striking helps get rid of the imperfections and defects and attain the desired shape. This is called Bruiting. In the fifteenth century the Scaif was invented which revolutionized the cutting process. The scaif was a polishing wheel that was lubricated with olive oil and diamond dust. The diamond was clamped in a dop with only that side of the diamond being exposed which was being worked at. The diamond protected by the dop was held against the spinning wheel to ground away the diamond to the desired angle. The scaif made possible to polish symmetrically all facets of the diamond in a way to reflect maximum light giving it more brilliance. A relatively recent addition in the diamond cutting techniques is the Diamond Saw. Diamond saws are circular steel blades which are lubricated with oil and diamond dust continually. Special cooling holders are used to cool the diamond as the diamond saws may produce a great deal of heat. The diamond saw became the most popular method of cutting diamonds due to the relative simplicity of the process. It didn’t require locating the weak point of the diamond. The diamond could be worked at from any facet.After the cutting and polishing of the diamond is complete, the lusterless, translucent crystal is transformed into a dazzling, stunning, irresistible gem.