Diamond Cutting
Diamond cutting is the practice of transforming a diamond into a faceted gem from a rough stone. Due to its extreme difficulty, cutting diamonds requires specialized knowledge, tools, equipment and techniques.
The first diamond cutter and polisher guild (diamantaire) was formed in Nuremberg, Germany in 1375 and resulted in the development of different “cut” types. In relation to diamonds, this has two meanings. The first of these is the shape: square, oval, etc.
The second concerns the specific quality of cutting within the shape, and the quality and price will vary considerably depending on the quality of cutting. Because diamonds are one of the hardest materials, they use special diamond – coated surfaces to grind down the diamond.
Diamond cutting is concentrated in a few cities around the world, as well as overall processing. Antwerp, Tel Aviv, and Dubai are the main diamond trading centers from where roughs are sent to India and China’s main processing centers.
Diamonds are cut and polished in Surat, India and the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. India has held 19 – 31 % of the world’s polished diamond market in recent years and China has held 17 percent of the world’s market share in the last year. New York City is another major diamond center.
Are Diamonds Cut by Hand or Machine?
By Hand And Machine. The process of cutting diamonds. Upon arrival of a rough diamond in India, New York, Antwerp, or elsewhere, a highly trained diamond cutter either cuts it by hand or using a machine. Despite the fact that diamond cutting machines are highly accurate and useful, hand cutting a diamond is an incredible craft work.
How Long Does It Take To Cut a Diamond?
The saw can cut through a 1-carat rough diamond in 4 to 8 hours, but it can take much longer if it hits a knot.
Where Are Diamonds Cut and Polished?
In South Africa, Belgium, China, Israel, Russia and the United States, apart from India, diamond cutting and polishing takes place. It takes great skill to cut a rough diamond. In the four Cs used to measure the value of a diamond, it is an integral step.
What are Diamond Cutting Process Stages?
The following steps include a simplified round brilliant cutting process:
- Planning: Using computer software, modern day diamond planning is done.
- Marking:outlining the best possible diamond shape and cut.
- Sawing the rough stone:as not all diamonds are sawn depending on the shape of the rough diamond.
- Table The girdle bruting.
- Blocking 8 main pavilion facets: these facets are divided into 4 corners and 4 pavilions as the diamond’s atomic structure causes the corners and pavilions to run in different directions.
- Crown: the crown is made up of eight main facets, divided into four corners and four bezels.
- Final bruting: ensuring a perfectly round and smooth diamond girdle.
- All 16 main facets are polished.
- Brillianteering: 8 stars and 16 pavilions and 16 crown halves are added and polished.
- Quality control: monitoring for symmetry, polishing and cutting (angles) after completion of the diamond.
How Diamond Cutting Is Done?
Diamond cutting is done by cleaning or sawing the diamond with a steel blade or a laser like the Sarine Quazer 3. The rough diamond is usually placed in a wax or cement mold to hold it in place and then cleaved along its tetrahedral plane, its weakest point. If no point of weakness exists, instead sawing is used. As new and better technology has become available, the process of cutting a diamond has changed over time.
A scaif, developed in the 1400s, was the first product that changed the way diamonds were handled. This was used to cut facets into diamonds and for the first time showed off the true beauty of a diamond. Diamond cutting was transformed using this machine to enable complex diamond shapes, cuts and designs that have never been seen before.
Once the stone is analyzed and cleaved, in one of three ways it must be bruted or girdled. The most common is when spinning axles set the cut diamonds opposite each other, turning in opposite directions so that the opposing diamonds grind against each other, breaking each other in a smooth and round shape.
It is also possible to bruise diamonds using lasers or grind them against a copper disk set with diamond dust that acts like a piece of sandpaper. The final step is polishing, followed by a final inspection, sometimes involving cleaning the diamond in acid to get a clear view.
The diamond is ready for grading and trading once the diamond cutting and polishing processes are complete.
How is Diamond Polished?
The next stage is to create and form the facets of the diamond once the rounded shape of the rough is formed. The cutter places the rough on a rotating arm and the rough is polished using a spinning wheel. This creates the diamond’s smooth and reflective facets.
Interestingly, this process of polishing is further divided into two steps: blocking and brillianting.
Blocking Process
In the blocking process, a single cut stone is made by adding 8 pavilion mains, 8 crowns, 1 culet and 1 table facet. This step is important in creating a template for the next stage.
Brillianteer Process
The brillianteer will then finish the job by adding and bringing it to a total of 57 facets in the remaining facets. He has great responsibility as at this stage the diamond’s fire and brilliance is determined.
