 |
Diamonds evolve over millions of years deep within
the earth’s core. Nature is the consummate magician, creating these incomparable gems
and bestowing them upon us “rarely”, lest we take them for granted. Over 250 tonnes
of diamond ore will be excavated to produce just one carat of beautiful gem quality diamond. |
 |
Once mined the diamond crystals are separated from the ore and
the diamond “rough” is prepared for the cutting process. The rarity of the diamond
is further reiterated when you consider that up to 85% of the diamond roughs are then also
rejected as not being up to gem quality standard. |
 |
Once a “rough” has survived the vigorous culling
process it is then individually scrutinised to determine the method of cut that will accentuate
the brilliance whilst maintaining carat value. |
 |
The cutting and polishing process is rarely a “one off”,
as most diamonds will be painstakingly recut and repolished numerous times until the diamond’s
brilliance is optimised. |
|
|
 |
The cutting process begins when the “rough” is
cut into two functional working pieces by using a high speed saw with a diamond blade. Given
the renowned hardness of diamonds this task is a long and onerous one. In days gone by this “cleaving” of
the stone would have been laboriously completed using a hammer and chisel. |
 |
Due to their hardness diamonds would be almost impossible to
simply cut into a round shape so the two separated stones are placed on opposing turners and
carefully “ground” against each other. This process to “round” them
out is known as “brutting.” |
 |
Now that the diamond is taking shape, the facets or planes are
gently cut by “working” the stone on a spinning wheel coated with diamond dust.
Working against the diamond’s grain the facets take shape. Once the facets are completed
the wheel is spun with the diamond’s grain in the alternate direction and the polishing
process takes place.
|
|
