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 Cutting |
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  The
5 operations necessary for the transformation of rough diamond into a cut diamond are as
follows: cleaving, sawing, bruting, cross working and
brillianteering.
The transformation of a octahedron rough diamond
(top line) and a dodecahedron rough diamond (line below) into a cut diamond. |
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 Cleaving |
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Not all rough diamonds
needs to be cleaved or sawed.  Some
rough diamond are well formed and can be considered ready to be cut. In order to remove any impurities or
irregularities in the diamond, a rough diamond is placed in a quick-drying cement. A sharp groove is then
carved into the diamond, using another diamond or a laser, along the plane of weakness. Then, a steel blade
is placed in the groove and a sharp blow to the blade is applied spliting the stone. The diamond is then
removed from the cement. |
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| sawing |
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Sometimes, diamonds have to be cut
against a  cleavage
plane, which cannot be done by cleaving. Using a phosphor-bronze
blade rotating at about 15,000 rpm, the saw slowly cuts through the diamond.
Lasers are also being used to saw diamonds. |
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| Bruting |
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This procedure is performed only for
diamonds that are  to be finished as round, brilliant stones (fancy shaped stone require a
different type of preparation). The diamond is placed in a lathe, and another diamond in
the lathe is rubbed against it to create the rough finish of the girdle. |
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| Cross Working |
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The function of crossworkers is to
lay the foundation of the  diamond and to follow the instructions to obtain the optimum
value for the finished product. Cross-workers can decide to process a diamond, fully
aware that the finished product will contain inclusions. On the other hand a decision may
be made to improve the quality with a resulting smaller diamond as a finished product. The
work is done on a polishing disc driven by an electric motor. The disc is covered with
diamond powder. The diamond to be polished is held in a clamp and the facets are polished
one by one. Crossworkers do polish 18 facets to a very stringent measurements and angles. |
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| Brillianteering |
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The function of brillianteers is to cut and
polish an extra 40 facets onto the already polished facets done by the cross-workers, in order to
create a round brilliant cut diamond with 58 facets that will unlock the full brilliance
and fire of light being reflected by the polished diamond.
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1.16 carat D-VS2 |
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1.50 carat G-VS2 |
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0.44 carat G-VS1 |
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1.71 carat F-IF |
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0.48 carat G-SI1 |
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 Price: £ 6,246 |
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| Price: £ 7,023 |
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| Price: £ 618 |
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| Price: £ 22,190 |
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| Price: £ 590 |
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