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Home » Loose Diamonds Education » From Rough to Polished Loose Diamonds
Diamond Education - Marking: Marking, which is the first step in the diamond making process, is done after each rough diamond is examined in order to decide how it should be cut to yield the greatest value. Here, the shape of the rough diamond, and the number and location of impurities and imperfections are considered. Taking these factors into account, the planner decides how the diamond should be cut and “marks” it to indicate where the stone should be cleaved or sawed. Diamond Education - Cleaving:After a diamond is marked, depending on the particular stone, it is sent to a cleaver or a sawyer. When the stone is very large and valuable, cleaving it is a critical process, because a mistake by the planner or the cleaver can shatter the diamond. The cleaver's job is to cut the diamond into two pieces, in order to bring out the best angles and establish what the final cut will be. Diamond Education - Sawing: Sawing is accomplished by using a blade that is paper-thin, turns at 4,000 rpm, and is made of phosphor bronze. Depending on the size of the diamond, each diamond is clamped resting against the rotating blade for several hours. Since diamonds are the hardest substance on earth, they can only be cut by another diamond, and that is why diamond dust is used, as well as the actual diamond dust generated by the crystal being cut. Diamond Education - Cutting: Girdling or Rounding are terms that come into play when cutting a round stone. Each diamond is placed into a lathe, with a second diamond held against it, to slowly round it into a cone shape. Next the stone goes to the blocker, who places the first 18 main facets on a brilliant-cut diamond, after which it goes to the brillianteer, who must place the remaining 40 facets. The above process, of cutting of 58 facets applies to Round Brilliants. For fancies shaped diamonds the process somewhat varies. Diamond Education - Polishing: The last step in the diamond finishing process is polishing. The diamond is clamped onto a revolving wheel that looks like a record turntable (remember those?) that is coated with diamond dust. The diamond dust is the abrasive that polishes away small imperfections Diamond Education – Additional QuestionsIf you have additional question about diamonds or would like to contribute to our diamond education pages please contact us. Loose Diamonds: Loose Diamond Search Matching Diamond Pairs Search |