Issue 15.11
Question: If diamonds are the hardest material on earth, how are they transformed from the rough and unpolished stone that mother nature gives us, to the fantastic and brilliant stones that the world over covets?
Answer: The only substance that is able to cut a diamond is a diamond!
Early man used such simple methods as a piece of wood with olive oil covered with diamond dust to laboriously hand polish a few facets onto a diamond. As time went on, technology and science advanced, and so did the cutting of the diamond. However one thing has remained the same, it takes a diamond to cut a diamond.
The process starts with careful planning. A skilled worker maps out the rough diamond crystal to plan the best yield from each piece of rough. Once it has been planned it receives its initial cut. Historically this was done by notching a small grove in the diamond and splitting the stone with a special wedge and hammer. This method is called cleaving. Such historic diamonds as the Cullinan Diamonds (which now adorns the Queen of England’s crown jewels) were split using this method. As this is a very risky method of separating a diamond, newer methods have been created, including the use of a special saw blade that is covered in very small pieces of diamond dust. This method can take several days on larger diamonds and creates substantial amounts of heat. The newest method involves the use of a high power laser that safely cuts the diamond into multiple pieces.
Once the diamond has been sawn it is then transformed into its rough shape by a process called Bruting. This is not a gentle process, as its name suggests. The diamond is rubbed against another diamond on a special lathe slowly removing the edge of the diamond until it is the rough shape desired.
Then it is time to facet. Here is where history meets technology. A wheel is covered in diamond dust, just as the piece of wood from many centuries ago, and spun at high speeds. The diamond is then pressed down on the faceting wheel until each of its facets is complete and in the perfect position, a task that requires a very steady hand and a sharp eye.
The training a diamond cutter receives takes many years. The cutter must start out as an apprentice to learn all that the job entails. They then start on simple and smaller diamonds until they are highly skilled and confident enough to take on the time consuming task of turning a fairly uncommon stone from the ground and turning it into a work of art.
McArthur Jewelers is privileged to have a Master Diamond Cutter, Don Weber, join them for several live demonstrations of this once in a lifetime journey. Please come and enjoy at these free events on Saturday, May 16th and again on Friday and Saturday the 22nd and 23rd. These demonstrations will be held at McArthur Jewelers on 41 North Main Street in St. George Utah.